Boca Grande and Charlotte Harbor

Capt. Van Hubbard
June 5, 2006
Boca Grande - Saltwater Fishing Report

Tarpon are ready, come and get em.

6-5-06

Tarpon are active and co-operating most of the time.

We are enjoying some great tarpon action recently. This should last for at least a month. Then things will slow down but still be good till it cools off this fall. Right now tarpon are as dependable as they get. We usually see schools of fish soon after departing any of the local passes. Many days we get bit on our first cast. Some days we do have to work a little more at it but it would be challenge to stay away from tarpon right now.

On May 31st I went down to Captiva to fish Ward Curtis and his grandsons. Ryan and Curt wanted to catch Grandmother Barbra some fresh speckled trout for their dinner. The boys were great and we caught trout till they got tired. They brought 14 nice trout home to feed the family a fish dinner. We saw manatees, dolphin, spoonbills and plenty of critters to keep them entertained between fish. It’s so much fun to see families enjoy time together on the water.

On 1 June Bob McCabe brought son Chris down from Bradenton for their annual father son trip. If Chris gets good grades, and I think 4.3 out of 4.0 is awesome, he gets to go on special trip with Captain Van. The heavens were with us but it took awhile. We left the pass at day break with a beautiful dawn on the Gulf. A slight east breeze and a calm near shore waters. Perfect to spot schools of happy tarpon. We rode for several miles which is unusual before we spotted a group of happy silver kings. The fish were shy and did not stay up as well as they normally do but no problem. We set up, went thru our drill; keep the rod pointed at the cork, line almost tight and reel when the cork disappears. The fish popped up behind us but close enough so we cast just ahead and beyond the rolling fish. Before I could help Bob get a line in the water Chris was hooked up to a whopper. It jumped like crazy and screamed off line so fast I had to crank up the big motor because even my powerful 108 pound Motor Guide could not keep up with this big tarpon. It took an hour to bring the 150 pounder boat side and try to get her to pose for photos. Chris did a super job of carefully pulling the big one back to the boat and then she would just pull drag and run away again. She made one more big jump and we got the leader up several times before our 6/0 hook actually broke while trying to grab her. The fish just teased us for the next few hours so we took the guys inside to catch and release a few nice snook to top off a great trip. The joy for a captain is to see families enjoy special memories together. Bob and Chris will treasure this day forever.

These are the best examples of what we are up to. We have a variety of fish and those giant tarpon to enjoy if you’re up to it. Let’s Go Fishin’ soon. Captain Van Hubbard.

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