Captain's Corner

By Ed Walker

© St. Petersburg Times, published June 27, 2000

Recently I took my 8-year-old fishing buddy Mikey Connor snook fishing along the beach. As we walked up to a large rock in the water, a school of small snook attacked a school of tiny whitebaits. The water seemed to boil and snook were flying out but neither one of us could get a strike on our artificial lures.

We threw jigs and plugs with no success as the snook continued their feeding frenzy. It was clear that they were only interested in the real thing. Since we had no cast net, I tied on a single hook and tried to snag one of the minnows that had been balled up by the snook.

Finally I got one, and handed the rod to Mikey to cast. Not long after that he had his first snook, about a 3-pounder, lying on the beach. After a quick photo, he released it.

The next "baitfish" I caught was a small jack. To keep my partner occupied, I hooked it on his rod and cast it, thinking it would buy me some time to catch another whitebait. The next thing I heard was his drag and Mikey yelling "I got one!" He fought the mysterious jack eater to the beach where it turned out to be a 10-pound snook. He posed for a picture, got into the water to revive the fish and let it go with no complaints.

He got his first and biggest snook, and I got a good reminder of what fishing is really all about.

- Ed Walker charters out of Palm Harbor. Call (727) 944-3474.

© St. Petersburg Times. All rights reserved.

Headlines

Americans Lose in 1st Round of Davis Cup

---