Captain Carl Snodgrass started taking people fishing when he was 10 years old.
His father was in the army and wanted to get some work done, so he had Snodgrass take his boss out on a fishing trip.
“He looked at his boss and said, ‘Captain, my son can’t drive a truck legally, but he sure can drive the boat,’” Snodgrass recalled.
It was the first of several free fishing charters Snodgrass led before turning the hobby into a business.
While many people in the Tampa Bay area are experienced fishermen, Snodgrass said there are still advantages to going on a chartered trip.
“My charter fishing guide has spots that he’s going to take you to. I call it like fishing interstates, and we know where the rest stops are at. So, I’m going to take you to the rest stops,” Snodgrass said.
The charter guides will also catch and hook bait, clean the boat and take care of putting ice in the cooler.
“The only thing you need to do is roll in, get on the boat, bring whatever you want to eat or drink and just have a good time,” he said.
He said fishing in Tampa Bay is good year-round — it just depends on what people want to catch.
Snodgrass grew up bass fishing but said snook are one of his favorites to catch because they are unpredictable, like bass.
Snodgrass named his business Lucky Lauren Charters after his daughter when he started the fishing charter company.
When Lauren was a teenager, the rule was if she didn’t help fish, she wouldn’t get fish for dinner. But Lauren happened to be a bit of a bad luck charm, so they jokingly called her ‘Lucky Lauren.’
“It was just funny. It was hot, and we just weren’t on the fish there for a couple of weekends in a row. I wasn’t a professional then, but we would get her out and that was our way of teasing her and giving her belonging,” he said.
As a charter captain, Snodgrass said his favorite thing to do is catch smiles, and he said he gets plenty of them.
Compared to the typical Florida attractions, he said there’s no waiting line on a boat and the ceiling is always changing, giving people a different view each trip.
To find out more about Lucky Lauren Charters or to book a chartered fishing trip, visit www.luckylaurencharters.com.
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