Fort Myers to Boca Grande August-September fishing report

Capt. Scott Hughes
September 12, 2011
Fort Myers - Saltwater Fishing Report

On July 12th I tore my ACL and the medial meniscus in my left knee. I was pulling in my cast net and when i twisted to dump it in the livewell it popped. I went to the deck and when i was able to get up, the knee was locked at a 30 degree angle. July is one of the prime tarpon fishing months and I had a full load of charters until the end of August. I struggled though the trips the best that i could and on August 25th I had total ACL reconstruction and had the torn part of my meniscus removed. The recovery time for this kind of surgury is around 10 months for full recovery but i expect to be fishing with a deck hand for help by the end of September.

The summer has been tough fishing for tarpon. I was able to hook at least one tarpon on each of my trips from the middle of July until the end of August but for the most part the fishing was slow. I did have a few days the first week of August where we hooked over 10 tarpon per trip while drifting in Boca Grande Pass but most of the tarpon fishing has been using cut mullet and catfish in Charlotte Harbor and Pine Island Sound. I was averaging around 2 tarpon per day while dead baiting.

Fort Myers Fishing Forecast:

I should be back on the water with the help of a deck hand by the end of this month. I'm not sure that the fishing will be like since i have not been on the water for almost a month. One of the guys that will be helping me out has been out targeting tarpon several days this week and he averaging around 2 tarpon per morning. He is trolling deep diving plugs over known tarpon bottom. He is not seeing any rolling tarpon but there must be enough around because he's done this three days in a row.

Refish usually start sow up this time of year. I'll probably start targeting more redfish this fall since they are in very shallow water. It will be a lot easier on my body than running a gunning in open water.

Target Species:

Tarpon and Redfish

More Fishing Reports:

I specialize in light tackle saltwater, and fly fishing from the backcountry of the 10,000 Islands to flats of Pine Island Sound and the bay system of Charlotte Harbor. I have pick-up locations out of Ft Myers, Marco Island, Pine Island, Punta Gorda and Boca Grande. I like to target big fish. During warm months, tarpon, sharks, snook, redfish, cobia, king mackerel and big jacks are the main species sought after. Most of the winter months are devoted to redfish, trout, snook and grouper. Whether

Contact Info:

Blackwater Charters
12571 Burnt Store Rd
Punta Gorda, FL 33955
Phone: 941-575-2389
Alt. Phone: 941-628-4247
Email the Captain
Visit his Web Site
Display Find-a-Guide Listing