Florida Tarpon Fishing Guide, Captain Ed Walkers

Florida Tarpon Fishing Charters

Of all the fish species that inhabit the inshore waters of West Central Florida, the tarpon is the by far the most spectacular. Tarpon, often refered to as the silverking, have been the most sought after inshore gamefish in the Clearwater, Tampa and St. Petersburg area since people have been coming here.

No other Florida fish puts up a battle that matched that of an angry tarpon and few are as exciting to hunt. Hunting is more an appropriate term for the pursuit of tarpon. These giant tarpon have a primitive air bladder that allows them to supplement the oxygen they derive from the water with some from the air. When tarpon rise to the surface to gulp air, known as rolling, they can be seen from some distance. This along with the fact that tarpon often swim in clear shallow water, makes stalking and sight casting to them possible.

The thrill of casting a bait to a 150 pound tarpon in 4 feet of water, then watching its huge mouth open and inhale your offering is amazing. At the first hint of a hook most tarpon go straight to the air, leaping and rattling their gills across the surface.

Knowing where to look and in all conditions is what makes a great guide and few tarpon guides know where and when to look better than Captain Ed.

Over the years Captain Ed Walker has become recognized as one of the top tarpon fishing guides in the state of Florida. To a fishing kid growing up near Indian Rocks Beach, catching a tarpon was the pinnacle of fishing success and Ed has put in many years as a student of all things tarpon.From fly casting to ten pound tarpon in secret creeks in the woods, to 1.5 mile long bike rides out onto the old Skyway Bridge to battle the giant monster tarpon, years before it became public fishing pier, there isnt much Captain Ed Walker has not seen when it comes to tarpon. As a young guide in the early eighties Captain Ed guided fly fishermen to the world record class tarpon on the legendary flats off Homosassa where he fished with some of the biggest names in flyfishing such as Stu Apte, Andy Mill, and Billy Pate. His personal best was a tarpon on fly that measured 180 pounds, just shy of the world record at the time.

Tarpon Fishing Charters in Boca Grande Florida

As the tarpon fishing on the flats of Homosassa began to decline in the late eighties, Captain Ed began exploring new tarpon hotspots around the state of Florida. A friend, Captain Chris Klingel, told him to come check out the Boca Grande tarpon scene and shared with him one amazing secret that would later cause a huge explosion in the fishery there. In 1990 the two skiff guides were venturing into the legendary Boca Grande Pass, which at the time was fished primarily by large inboard charterboats. It was no place for skiffs they were told. Using Walt Klingels secret invention, the two began putting on a show in the pass. As the new techniques were perfected, twenty tarpon days were the norm. Double and triple headers and nearly constant tarpon hook-ups were commonplace on the decks of the "little boats" everyday. Soon the big boats captains were grumbling. For the next few years Klingel and Walker won many of the pass tournaments and lots of people tried very hard to figure out how they were doing it. To this day Captain Ed has the second largest tarpon ever weighed in a tournament in Boca Grande, a 208 pounder. He also holds the record for the largest purse in tarpon fishing history with his a sweep of the 1998 Worlds Richest Tarpon Tournament which immediately changed its rules to exclude small boating light tackle anglers. These rule changes and casued a great deal of controversy and within a few years this once prestigous tournament collapsed and ceased to exist. 

Unfortunately, over the next few years, the secret tarpon lure and the new tarpon technique, known as the break-away jig, was figured out and revealed to the masses and made tarpon catching too easy. Scores of overnight tarpon guides poured into Boca Grande from all over the state, many claiming to have invented this great new lure that changed tarpon fishing in the pass forever. Nowadays, it is not uncommon to find 100 boats, TV crews, police, fights, and other unsportsmanlike activity crowded into one or two tarpon holes in the pass during the summer season. Disappointed with what the pass has become and the overwhelming flood of new jig fishermen, Walker has now abandoned tarpon fishing in the famous inlet all together. Nowadays Captain Ed fishes in remote areas, catches lots of tarpon far away from the fleet and goes out of his way to be alone. We have found that our clients greatly prefer sight fishing for tarpon in secluded, quiet, and little known spots instead of  fighting the crowds and the tangled tarpon lines of the pass. We keep our information and tarpon catch reports to ourselves. Only the people onboard will ever know just what happens in a day on our boat and thats just the way we like it.

If you would like to join us on our Florida tarpon fishing charter please drop us an email or give us a Call at (727) 944-FISH (3474) today to book your Florida tarpon fishing guide. We do suggest booking thse trips as far in advance as possible since the tarpon season schedule (May-Mid July) usually books out by the middle of January each year.