Do not miss this great action!
Capt. Van Hubbard
April 13, 2008
Boca Grande - Saltwater Fishing Report
I am thankful for a week of great fishing.
The catching was awesome too. The weather co-operated and the waters were clear outside all week. Unfortunately our inside fishing is not as productive yet. It's been Spring Break for many kids and everyone has been boating; which stirs up inside shorelines. Near shore Gulf waters were crystal clear but that is changing as the winds are blowing from the Northwest now and tomorrow. It'll take a few days for thing to settle down and clear up. I need some time to catch up anyway so I'll make the most of the time off the water.
Monday Ward Curtis of Sable Trust Company in St. Pete brought clients Doug and Tom down to entertain them. Winds were not calm but ok so we slipped out to the closest artificial reef to try our luck. I had a well full of quality live baits and were picked at the fish patiently. We ended up with a nice cobia for dinner and some close but fun fish to play with. They landed several keeper grouper including a ten pounder. Nice desert for our outing. I think we had a king or two but I know we had fun and fish for dinner. We looked around inside and called it a day after lunch.
Tuesday Bob Curtis brought his daughter and grandkids. They caught several kings and Spanish Mackerel which we enjoyed at the Stump Pass Grille for lunch together. It was a special half day trip to share fishing with his grandkids.
Wednesday Craig Bexley and the brothers Charlie and Jack ventured out to slay em; after all the fish chewed yesterday. Life is full of surprises and this was a classic. Baitfish had been everywhere but disappeared this day. We finally robed my bait cage and started over at lunch time. As soon as we cleared the Pass again we saw a school of greenbacks and filled the well properly with fresh minnows. We trolled for an hour and caught a nice twenty pound kings; lonesome but a fine fish. Winds were calming so we ventured out again and promptly added 5 smaller kings to our fish fry. It was a long day but we did get fishy and had stories to share on the way home.
Thursday, Jerry brought his host at the Boca Vista condos out to share a day of fishing. They picked thru numerous grouper but no keepers. They did land a thirty-five inch cobia and a shorter one. We topped the trip off with a speedy cuda and some mackerel. They had a great ½ day trip and exciting stories to carry home along with memories share with friends at the condo that evening.
Friday we found some kings right outside Stump Pass and then anchored up and caught mackerel until we had all we wanted. Ted William's bring clients down every Friday in April to thank em for their business. We out did our selves this time and everyone had plenty of fish and excitement. We did find a few short snook but our bite was interrupted by a Fish & Wildlife Law Enforcement Officer that felt his "job" was more important then my client's catching fish. He motored thru our fish several times while I showed him our fish and life jackets and fishing license. I get he has a job to protect our fish but my job would have appreciated the same respect. Fortunately we had a great morning because he ruined the afternoon. We caught and released a short snook on our first cast then he watched us hook two more as he decided to interrupt the bite to do his check. Also we had idled around eating lunch for two hours to find a few hungry snook to play with.
Saturday was so pretty I called a friend that was down from St. Pete. for the weekend and we took a fun trip. Bait was easy but fish were teasing us so we headed out to deeper waters. I anchored up on a piece of hard bottom and started chumming with live minnows. We got to see a big king sky rocket, jump, and both cast to it. I got lucky and the smoker ate a minnow on my 6500 Ambassador spooled with 12 pound test. We were pre-paired and tossed the buoy on the anchor to keep up; after a long challenging tug of war, Gib, gaffed the almost 40 pounder. We landed several other smaller fish and headed in for lunch. Life is fishy and the captain is happy. Let's Go Fishin' soon. I do have some opening between the 28 of April and 3rd of May. Try your luck and bring the camera
Boca Grande Fishing Forecast:
kings should remain and bite after the waters clear back up later this week. tarpon and permit will also be here any day. some were already available before this front.
Target Species:
kingfish, tarpon, permit, and more.
More Fishing Reports:
