Boca Grande and Charlotte Harbor

Capt. Van Hubbard
April 14, 2006
Boca Grande - Saltwater Fishing Report

We enjoyed beautiful weather and fair fishing.

Sporadic had fishing this week.

Hard northeasterly winds brought cooler waters onto our local beaches. At first the king and Spanish mackerel came ashore and ate us up. Tuesday our first large whitebait minnow was gobbled up by a twenty-pound kingfish is seconds. We saw striking fish everywhere we looked from ten to twenty-five feet of water. It was too rough to go much deeper. Ladyfish, macks and little tunny were frothing the water as screaming terns flocked over them. We had several kings skyrocket on our minnows. We ended up with our limits and had several others on.

Wednesday I foolishly expected to go right back at it but was rudely awakened by reality. We worked at it to get a king and mess of fine Spanish. My guest was surprised at just how delicious mackerel are under a broiler with seasoning and mayo. You place the filet skin side down on foil season to taste, we like old bay, then broil for about five minutes. Remove and coat liberally with mayo return to the broiler and watch closely until golden brown. Turn off the oven and let it finish off while you get the table ready. A very tasty dinner, simple to prepare and clean up. We tried to catch some snook but with all the other boats and cold waters it was tough going. We managed a few small ones and called it a day.

Thursday we stuck our bow outside and tried the mackerel but no go. Lots of baitfish of all kinds but no big fish after them. We tried the islands south of the Boca Grande causeway and found a few fish but too many other boats. We searched around the intercoastal waterway and made a day of it but catching was off. The eagles and osprey were entertaining.

Friday I was sure the kings would go again as I had reports from friend fishing the Sarasota tournament of hot action off of Venice. The strong winds finally backed off after blowing all week so I added a few gallons of fuel at Stump Pass marina and off we went. Conditions we great. Watercolor was beautiful. We saw some baitfish and birds but no big fish until Venice. Several other boats also searching but few catching. We trolled a while and headed in side for snook. We got away from the passes and the cold water to locate a few fish. This time the fish were co-operative and we had a hot thou short rally. They popped baits for about and hour before shutting down. We got a nice slot fish and several smaller ones. We decided to catch high water at one of our favorite big fish spots. The water was spectacular, clear and green. We located a few big fish and started chumming. One big one chased a minnow right back to the boat and my crew light up. We finally got a big momma to chomp one of Ron’s baits. The monster exploded and the game was on. She ran so fast for the bushes I had to crank up the trusty Yamaha. It helped us back away and get the better angle on her to hold her out of the bushes. After some awesome headshakes and runs Ron brought the trophy boat side. We already had the cameras ready and went to work photographing her. She weighted just over twenty-two pounds on the Boga Grip. Check out the web site, www.captvan.com I’m trying to post some of the photos. Anyway we ended the week with a bang up, Good Friday. Let’s Go Fishin’ soon. Captain Van Hubbard ph. 941-740-4665

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