February Fish Report

February was a decent month, high winds hampered backcountry travel opportunities, but there was good fishing on the outside bars, especially for sightfishing enthusiasts. We caught a variety of species including seatrout, redfish, mackerel, jack crevalle, ladyfish and one tarpon that released himself while in the air… The tidal action is normal for this time of year with lower tides and less moving water, so bait doesn’t move and sometimes neither do the fish.

They hunker down under the mangroves and really don’t expend a lot of energy searching for food.

But sometimes you cast and get surprised as Jake Churcher and his dad John did. Jake was fly fishing and hooked a Jack Crevalle and at the same time Johns reel almost exploded as the line peeled off the spool at high speed. We landed Jakes jack and finally landed Johns 20 minutes later pictured above…..

Jake also got several larger trout on flies and a snook…just couldn’t connect on the Redfish to complete a slam. Great day of fishing with smiles all around.

Ed Borman , Justin and Barrette, had an unbelievable day catching trout on spin outfits, nearly every cast produced a nice trout… They probably caught 40-50 and then we headed to Cabbage Key for lunch. Cabbage Key is on Cayo costa, which is the next barrier island to the south of Boca Grande.. We also slammed the trout and ladyfish behind Cabbage Key on the way home…..Another great day on the water.

There are Tripletail on the crab buoys out front on the beach, but the wind has to be right to fish them…which is usually a mild Easterly blow….Sometimes you travel miles before seeing one, but when you hook one it is worth the travel time. They are also excellent table fare.

I am looking for Tarpon everyday and seeing a few. Water temp is 66-74 degrees, tarpon like 75 and up. The poons have no need to surface in high winds as the surface rolling over produces extra oxygen . I believe this will be a banner year for tarpon….

As we approach summer the daytime tides are much higher during prime hours for fishing..Backcountry is very accessible and prime for redfish and especially snook.

I am also investigating outer reefs for Permit…spin fishers will use crabs and fly fishermen will be throwing shooting heads with Flexo-Crabs or other imitations to them. The winds have to be right to do this…I will let you know how it goes…

Thanks to all of y ou who came in February and looking forward to those that have booked future dates…

Let’s have some Fun!!!!!

Be well,

Capt. Al

December Fish Report

December was a good month as cooler water temps , and a falling barometer turned the fish into the biting mode. LOts of decent snook and reds were caught as well as some Jacks…, and Mackerel . We also located a few pompano and one really nice permit. North winds blew water out of the harbor so much of the fishing was relegated to the outer bars, which produced some beautiful big Seatrout and well as Mackerel. Triple tails were on the outside crab buoys but were very easily spooked… Bonita on the outside did show up for a few days and we got on them using Cuban anchovy patterns,{beige and white pattern}

Eventhough the wind blew more than normal the fish didn’t seem to mind. There was excellent sightfishing in super clear water which added a lot of excitement watching snook chase the fly….Looking forward to the new year and some excellent opportunities watching flies being inhaled with abandon!

Long term forecasts predict mild weather and stable conditions which will make Boca Grande and Charlotte Harbor a “ Must Do”.

Stay safe and well,

Capt. Al

October fish report

October was a great month fishing with fly and light tackle. We caught 15 different species of fish which made everyday very interesting. Trout, redfish, snook, grouper, mackerel, jack crevalle, catfish, ladyfish, lizardfish, pinfish, silver trout, cobia and a few other species.

Vinny, Gabe and Judy from New York all got backwater slames catching seatrou, snook, and redfish..with Vinny’s 28” red the biggest. John from Minnesota all scored a backwater slam catching many snook on fly. Ryan Riddell caught snook, seatrout and numerous trout on fly while using Gurglers{ Topwater}. fishing in 25mph winds…Good job guys and gals!!

November has started well with lower tides being the norm and water temps around 75 degrees. Daily breezes around 10mph are helping with daily temps running in the 70’s.

Should be getting into some tailing redfish on fly. Sightfishing has been producing a lot of action but does require accurate casting, and patience…

Winter will start producing larger fish as they prowl the outer flats and sandholes in the backcountry…Super time to fish …throwing a fly or a plug.

Tight loops,

Capt. Al

July fish Report

Fishing in July has been very good with higher tides during the day. Water temps have been in the mid 80’s to 90 degrees. Trout fishing in the deeper wholes has been excellent fly fishing with Clouser minnow patterns in white/chartreuse and pink/chartreuse {Electric chicken}. We are also catching some decent snook to 25” s but most snook have gone offshore to the wrecks to spawn, although we have hooked a few monsters that have broken off or wrapped themselves so tightly into the Mangroves…

Redfishing is really rated excellent at present with catches of Redfish every trip on fly and also light tackle. HIgh water in the backcountry is finally here and makes access a lot easier to get to the key habitat that hold the Reds….

We are running into Jack Crevalle just about every trip and have good success on fly with lots of singing flyreels being normal.

Tarpon are still here in the backcountry and also on the beach but not in great numbers. We have had several eats and have jumped quite a few, but hook sets have been a little on the weak side…

Best fishing times are early morning…..6:30am is good starting time and fishing till about noon. Plenty of water onboard and a Bimini top really help cool things down….

Fishing is meant to be fun and easygoing…. Just let it happen naturally!!!

Tight lines,

Capt. Al

May Fish Report

May started well with thousands of tarpon in Boca Grande pass. They are still there and will continue to be there thru July.
Fishing on the beach has been spotty with high winds and chop with winds from the north all of which keep tarpon cruising beneath the surface and not visible due to cloudy water.

The winds at present are calming and beach fishing will turn on with breezes from the south.

Night fishing on hill tides has been off the charts with many boats hooking 20 plus fish on live crabs as fish move following the crabs being sucked out of the backwater.

Fly fishing at night during this time is available if the winds are right. We have hooked a few fish on Crab patterns 1/0 and 2/0 patterns. Flex crabs have produced the best.

Tarpon fly fishing will get better and better as more fish leave the pass and venture onto the beach.

Best patterns are Puglisis PBs, and yellow and white baitfish patterns. Deep patterns include all black streamers 6 inches long, also chartreuse and gold mixed patterns in 2/0 and 3/0.

Backcountry fishing is rated excellent now as nobody is back there as they chase silver on the beach and in Charlotte Harbor. Trout rated excellent as well as snook and redfish.

Great time to be in the Englewood, Boca Grande area.

January Fish Report

January was a mixed bag of fishing adventures, with cold fronts, low water temps and high winds to make things interesting. Fishing was fair inshore with spotty catches of Redfish and seatrout and some snook. Best fishing was sightfishing with good shots a both reds and snook…We also had some good Tarpon action fly fishing when the winds layed down and air temps rose…unfortunately, it didn’t last but 2 hours and it was over….with no hookups . Laid up fish are extremely finicky and presentation has to be on the money… even at that, they were close jawed………….

Low tides and North winds hampered getting into the backcountry but we still had some good days with nice catches of redfish and seatrout.

The beach, or the Gulf, was windy with wrong wind direction and was difficult at b est…February has already started off with good shots at reds, and big, big, big snook to 50 inches.

The air temps are rising and we are coming off a full moon and fishing is on the rise. Had good catches of reds and snook in the backcountry….

Time to come to Florida and live the dream!!

Tight lines and loops,

Capt. Al

December Fish Report

December has been good fishing for fly fishermen, sightfishing in the backcountry for reds, snook and trout. Lots of great shots at redfish and snook to 48”. ON specially warm days the Tarpon come out to play and we are getting good shots at them.

Seatrout are on the grass flats in the early morning and are chomping Gurgler topwater with abandon…

We also have some nice oceanic jacks joining the party.

Spin fishermen are doing well on topwater Zara spooks and Rapalas, targeting trout in the morning and snook and reds later as the tide increases. Water is clear and 68 degrees…wind varies from NE to SE to Westardly in the afternoon.

Great time of year to throw flies or spin baits and soft plastics…

See you soon and tight lines,

Capt. Al

September Fish Report

Falll is approaching which means Redfish, Snook and Trout will be on the prowl on the flats and around Mangrove Islands in the backcountry in their search for food. We have had good success fishing in the early morning when daytime temps are cooler. Flyfishing is rated very good for the area at present with schools or Jack Crevalle, Seatrout, Ladyfish and Sailcat on the outer bar and Redfish and snook in the backcountry. Fly fishing the Mangroves has been very productive using an assortment of baitfish patterns , Gurglers and Tailing flies. We are also throwing to Tarpon in certain areas. Spinfishing is very good using topwater baits and jigs with D.O.A plastics….

Winds are 5-10 mph

Water Temp….78 to 82 degrees.

Fishing will only get better from here on into the winter months.

Good fishing and tight lines,

Capt. Al

July fish report

July fishing is challenging but rewarding eventhough weather is helter skelter with thunderstorms, high heat and humidity. We are leaving the docks before daylight and returning between 10 and 11am.

First light has proven good for fishing Gurglers and Zara spooks for topwater action for the first couple of hours and then switching over to baitfish patterns and soft plastics.

The snook bite continues to be good on the incoming tide as well as redfish willing to hit any number of flies and artificial baits. Trout are in the deeper holes that contain clean water. Snook have been from 18 to 26 inches with most redfish in the 20 to 27” range.

There are still Tarpon out on the beach but at this time of year the numbers are a lot less than during normal migration. If we can get on them they will eat, as they have already been offshore and spawned.

Great time to fish watching the sun come up over the mangroves and seeing that topwater explosion with a 24” snook attached to your fly or plug.

Lots of different species at this time also, including, Jacks Crevalle, Bluefish, Tripletail and flounder.

Great time to spend a Half day on the water…..

See you soon,

Capt. Al

May-June Tarpon

May and June have been super Tarpon months, especially for fly fishermen. We are seeing more tarpon than in past couple of years. They are still the same stubborn fish, but fished at the right tide an area hookups are plentiful. Casting accuracy is paramount using 12-14 foot leaders, tough to handle but essential to hook up. Best fly patterns have been Puglisi baitfish in yellow and white, toads in purple and chartreuse and all black patterns.

Tony from Scotland hooked a 120lb beast which took us one mile offshore and was still pulling drag when the truly unexpected happened. A 15ft hammerhead suddenly appeared and instantly attacked the tarpon…it was over in a matter of seconds. We are trying to see if we got it on video and if so, it will go on You Tube. I estimated the dorsal of the shark to be close to 40 inches in height….It was sad to watch the total destruction of such a beautiful creature, especially one that was probably 60 years old. The hammerheads usually will stay in Boca Grande pass with the thousands of tarpon there..we were south quite a few miles from the pass when the attack occurred …Predation takes place everyday and mother nature has a way of feeding the top predators all they can consume….

Backcountry fishing is on fire! Lots of fly opportunities for Redfish, Snook and some Seatrout. Poling the mangroves on incoming tides is super productive with plenty of hungry fish.

Best patterns are tan and white puglisi baitfish mixd with Steve FArrar flash blend in rainbow.

It is an exciting time to fish the Boca Grande area, charlotte Harbor, Pine Island, Gasparilla Sound and backcountry mangrove islands…..

Fly fishing at its BEST!

Capt. Al

April fish report

April fishing is on the upswing after cold fronts have moved through with high winds and fluctuating water temps. We are now getting higher daytime tides and are able to explore more of the backcountry and having good results on fly. Favorite patterns are Cuban anchovy baitfish, ice dub baitfish, clousers, and spawning shrimp The water is clear and average water temperature is 75 degrees. we have seen many free jumping tarpon in the back and with the wind dying down, expect to get plenty of good shots at them

There are “ Super Predators” in teh backcountry at present…8-10 foot Bull sharks, blactips and sand sharks.

These sharks are there because there food is present……Tarpon! Congratulations to Scott and Ryan Reidel who braved the wind and have good success on snook and redfish. Also to all of those that got their first snook on fly…Chris Mohr, Scott Reidel, Juan Jimenez, Scott Allan, Haden, Brook, Congratulations!

Lots of Tarpon in Charlotte Harbor at present and backcountry….time to break out the 12 weights!

Bend a Rod,

Capt. Al