Fishing charters in Tarpon Springs

Ed Walker grew up on Indian Rocks Beach on the West Central Florida Coast. He spent much of his childhood at the beach and fishing from the famous Indian Rocks Pier, learning how to fish from the older veteran anglers who showed him how to catch Spanish Mackerel, Kingfish, Snook, Redfish, Speckled Trout, Flounder, and Tarpon which would eventually become his passion. When the pier was destroyed by Hurricane Elena in 1985 he bought his first boat, a Florida Keys style flats skiff which was one of very few in the area at the time. As he attended Saint Petersburg Junior College then the University of South Florida he fished the flats and worked as a mate on several of the top offshore charter boats in the area, learning from some of the most experienced captains in the fishing business. Soon he was fishing in tarpon tournaments and doing well, particularly in the light tackle divisions. One day a patron at a local tackle store asked the owner if there were any tarpon charters available in the area and the shop owner said no, but you should see if that kid over there will take you out, he is one of the best tarpon fisherman on the beach. The kid and the visitor struck a deal and the next day the man from Canada landed a 125 pound tarpon just off Indian Rocks Beach. The angler was thrilled and so was the aspiring young fishing guide. Soon Captain Ed Walker was one of very few full time inshore guides in the Tampa Bay area.

Always seeking the best Florida tarpon fishing he began guiding fly fishing clients on the famed flats of Homosassa, landing tarpon up to 175 pounds of fly tackle and fishing with such legends as Stu Apte, Billy Pate, and Andy Mill. Next he competed in fly fishing tarpon tournaments on the flats of the Florida Keys. Later he sampled the famous tarpon fishing of the Boca Grande area and due to the sheer numbers of fish in that area, decided this was where he would spend his summers from now on. He was one of the first light tackle tarpon guides from the Tampa Bay area to move his operation to Boca Grande for the summer season, a move which is now emulated by nearly all other inshore fishing guides from the Tampa Bay area.

In 1994 Capt Ed won the prestigious Millers Marina Tarpon Tide Tournament for the first time, beating out the more experienced local guides and earning his clients $29,000. After winning several more times he then broke the all time record for the largest tarpon ever weighed in a tournament in the long history of Boca Grande tarpon fishing with a 208 pound beast. Next he shattered the record for the largest purse in the history of tarpon fishing with an unprecedented win in the Boca Grande Chamber of Commerce World Richest Tarpon Tournament where he caught the two largest tarpon and tied for the most released tarpon securing first, second, and a share of third place in the two day tournament and earning his team nearly a quarter of a million dollars. In 2008 Capt Ed was the number one tarpon fin clip (DNA sample) collecting guide in the state of Florida and to date has sampled more than 500 tarpon for state researchers. This data is used by scientists from Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission to better understand and manage this great Florida gamefish. 

He now lives on the water in Tarpon Springs where some of the best flats fishing in Florida is in his backyard. He guides both inshore and offshore out of the Tarpon Springs-Clearwater area year-round for snook, grouper, tarpon, redfish, amberjack, trout, permit, pompano, cobia, kingfish, tripletail, big jacks, bluefish, and many others.

As his reputation has grown over the years Capt Ed has had been featured in a wide variety of print and television media. For many years he and his faithful golden retriever Jake hosted a weekly fishing show on NBC news channel 8 which featured celebrity guests and pro athletes fishing with Capt Ed and experiencing all the light tackle fishing action the Tampa Bay and Tarpon Springs area has to offer. He has also contributed fishing tips, info, and reports to all of the other television channels in the area. He has been featured in, or written articles for, nearly every major fishing magazine, including Sport Fishing, Florida Sportsman, Saltwater Sportsman, Saltwater Angler, Big Game Fishing Journal, Global Angler, The DuPont Registry, National Geographic and Sports Illustrated.

Since 1996 he has been a fishing writer and photographer for Floridas largest newspaper, the Saint Petersburg Times, and is also a freelance magazine writer, professional photographer, and a member of the Florida Outdoor Writers Association.

Capt Ed guides because he truly loves to fish. This is shown by his long list of regular clients many of whom fish every month and a few who fish every week, often booking dates as far as a year in advance. He is the guide local Tampa Bay area fishermen and visitors call when they want to have an exceptional day on the water with one of the best guides on the West side of Florida. Capt. Ed considers all clients as friends and fishing partners and treats everyone with a friendly respectful demeanor. Having a young son of his own Capt Ed welcomes kids and families on his fishing charters at any time. 

We encourage you to give us a call or send us an email to talk about setting up your fishing adventure. We would love to take you fishing and show you just how good the fishing Tampa Bay and Tarpon Springs area really is.  You wont be disappointed. In fact we are so sure of that that we guarantee that you'll catch fish or the entire trip is free.