June fish Report

Ryan Siddons and Brandon had a good day casting to cruising Tarpon We had great shots at many fish but tarpon were more interested daisy Chaining than eating. We decided to head to the backcountry where both Ryan and Brandon got Backcountry slams…. trout, snook and redfish plus some bonus Jack crevalle that showed up…. Pretty good for two guys that are Experts on Tennesse rivers and only see trout.

Tony and Elaine traveled from Scotland to fly cast to the Silver Kings of Boca Grande. We started early and had shots at a few Tarpon but no eats. Tony had a nice 130lb tarpon on last year which was attacked by a 14ft Hammerhead right at the end of the fight after 45 minutes, and was eaten… The memory was fresh in our minds as we continued the hunt… We had several fish turn on flies but no takes…We were fishing on a super full moon the night before which had a lot to do with their behavior …

Terry Byce decided to fish the backcountry instead of chasing silver and had an exceptional two days. Being an excellent caster he was able to put the fly consistently where the snook and reds feed and the result was about 20 nice snook to 30 inches, nice redfish to 32inches and many seatrout, all in all he completed 3 backwater slams… Two great days of fly fishing… Nice job Terry!

June was a good month with very big daytime tides and plenty fish to toss feathers at. Jim Labelle jumped three fish in an afternoon and all three broke off…as we decided to get the bite by using 12lb bite tippet…. It was the most fun he said he had ever had fly fishing. I agreed, what a blast!

There are still some Tarpon around as we head into July….they will be more receptive to flies and we will have plenty of hookups eventhough there may be fewer fish. The Tarpon have spawned and are returning with an appetite…. Bon Appetite!

Stay safe and well,

Capt. Al

April fish report

April fishing has been excellent with higher daytime tides and dying winds[finally[

There have been many good catches including John Hoder catching many snook and a 20” seatrout…

Randy Starr caught day and night snook and his first Redfish on fly..congratulations and great casting. Conner Starr, a new flyfisher, connected on his 1st night snook and several others. Good Job Conner

Stewart Allan caught speckled trout, ladyfish and a rare Bluefish…Grandpa Allan caught trout and ladyfish on a very windy day.

Tosh Vance and Shep both caught trout, ladyfish and Shep go his 1st snook on fly…A great day of joking and frivality!!

California Dave and wife Sherri had great day on the water catching trout, ladyfish, snook. Dave got a big night snook..also…

Alex and Molly had a good da catching Snook, seatrout and Molly got a Flounder…

The month continues as we are tossing flies at rolling tarpon almost every morning….Looking for the first eat!

Exciting time of year and tarpon fishing will just get better and better….

Till next report,

Stay safe,

Capt. Al

January 2022 fish report

Pictured is Sam Parker who enjoyed a good day of fly fishing catching a 26” seatrout and an unexpected Gag Grouper…The day was overcast with North winds at about 20mph, but good casting overcame adversity. Steve Melinowski also had a decent day catching snook and another big seatrout. Jason Cribbs of Colorado and friend Ross from Tampa also connected on numerous seatrout and Big ladyfish throughout the day. With low tides and clear water we cast to many snook over 40”s and redfish which cruised the outside flats, but they simply did not move to the fly as water temp was close to 60 degrees. So they just huddled together in their ski parkas and didn’t move! Still great to see fish that big while poling along.

Fishing the beach was difficult as North winds blew constantly everyday. We did have shots at Tripletail but fly casting was almost impossible.

Looking forward to February and hopefully warmer weather, better tides with moving water and lighter winds out of the South and East.

Great to see White Pelicans, Brown Pelicans, Plovers, Kingfishers, Osprey and some big Blacktips cruising in two feet of water..the wildlife that we see on a daily basis is astounding.

Stay well and get to the water..

Capt Al White

January 2022 fish report

November 2021 Fish Report

Fly fishing in November was an adventure with variable weather conditions everyday, cold fronts, north winds made up most days. Although weather conditions weren’t the best we did get out of the wind and into the backcountry when tides permitted and found outstanding sightfishing at the lower tides. Redfish and snook cruised the shallows lazily foraging for food. A well presented fly was almost certainly taken every time. Water temps were 62 to 69 and the bars were warm and comfortable for them. We watched 30 inch reds and 35inch snook languish in small depressions on the flats. There were many good days, out of the wind which aided in fly presentation.

Flies that were accepted readily were Al’s shrimp and small baitfish patterns in beige/white and white/olive. top water crease flies also caught fish if stripped slowly.

Spinfishing was also good using DOA shrimp in Gold color. Topwater contributed to some nice Redfish if the cast was made close to the Mangroves.

Weedless rigs and 5 inch jerk baits skipped under the mangroves also produced some nice reds. With the shorter days I recommend half-day trips and concentrate on quality time on the water as to tides and wind conditions.

Beach fishing is good for Mackerel and Kings…both of which eat flies with a vengeance. Hopefully False Albacore will show up in December. They are a blast on an 8wt fly rod…!!!

Looking forward to December….. Never get tired of watching the Dolphin, Pelicans and Manatees, Sharks and other wildlife…. Nature is amazing!

Tight lines,

Capt. Al White

Chris with nice snook

Barry with nice redfish….Beige and white baitfish puglisi size 4

September fish Report

September brought high daytime and water temperatures which made fishing early morning paramount for success. Water temp was 87-89 degrees and as a result fish sought colder hangouts and their metabolism slowed down significantly. Leaving the dock about 6:30 and returning between 10 and 11 am was the answer to having success.

We started to see moving schools of redfish on the high incoming tides in the backcountry and moving slowly poling along to get in position we were able to land quite a few nice reds between 23-27 inches. EArly morning Snook bite was good as they pounced on small Cuban Anchovy patterns in size 4. Most of the 40 snook caught were 14- 17 inches although we did manage about 5 over 22 inches and topped out with a beautiful 26” lineside.

Mangrove snapper were also pretty easy to catch on the small baitfish patterns.

We probably landed close to 100 of them for the month. They have to be 10 inches in length to keep and we caught probably 4 or 5 legal fish, which were released.

TARPON were cruising around in Charlotte Harbor staying mostly in the 20 foot holes. We did manage to hook two silver kings using 550 grain shooting heads and a Black feathered tail Seychelles special…overall length of fly is 7 inches.

Overall fishing was good with no signs of Red Tide in the Harbor.

Beach fishing was iffy at best. October should bring some False Albacore into shore if water temps get down in the mid 70’s along with Spanish mackerel, for some serious rodbending experiences. Trout fishing was on fire for the lattter half of the month . Doa paddle tails {Brown with chartreuse tail} worked well.

Early October has been good for snook in the early-mornings so far. Water temps are approaching high 70’ at present….

Fishing will improve this month with different species to target…One of the best months of the year…

Go out and bend a rod!

Capt. Al

June was one of the best Tarpon months in years. Every morning glistening silver could be seen, sometimes for hundreds of yards from the boat, and sometimes as close as 10 feet. During the month we jumped quite a few fish on fly, but not nearly as many as normal.. The fish were nervous and acutely aware of their surroundings and anything in the water that wasn’t normal… There was an influx of sharks this year which had something to do with their demeanor. These sharks were not the common everyday bulls, hammerheads and sandsharks, these were bigger and more predacious than usual. There were instances in the pass of Bull sharks actually attacking Hammerheads! Many instances of sharks at the boat were common. We encountered the largest bull I have ever seen in these waters while we fought a triple digit Tarpon…The massive beast was at least 400lbs and 10 feet in length. He charged our tarpon which was about 30 yards from us. We backed off the drag on the fly reel and our fish eluded him somehow. We brought the fish to boat which was about 110lbs and released her and she swam away in good shape….Lots of fish on the beach usually means that fish have evacuated the pass generally caused by turbid or dirty water caused by high winds… if the Tarpon can’t see the sharks, they will leave for cleaner water for survival….Tarpon are at the top of the animal kingdom vision- wise.

We didn’t fish a lot of backwater but when we did had great days catching snook, redfish and seatrout along with some nice Jacks. It is difficult for some people to get interested in fishing for smaller fish when there are 100lb plus fish 5 minutes away!

Larry Rector and his sons Fisher and Raymond all did well in backcountry with Larry and Fisher getting their first snook on fly Raymond caught at least 50 different fish including seatrout and snook. Fisher got a backwater slam with his first snook, redfish and seatrout on fly. The Rectors also caught 5 tarpon while night fishing…..They tore it up!

Sam Adams from Maine had really good shots at Tarpon on the beach and had a couple of follows but no eats. He is an excellent caster and was able to put the fly where it needed to be even in heavy winds….We also saw many sharks that day.

June was an exciting month just wish the fish were as excited! After 18 years of guiding here in the Boca Grande arena, I have never encountered this Tarpon behavior and having talked with 30 other guides and comparing notes, we all agreed that these fish were on-guard most of the time…. We will figure it out in advance of next year…!!!!

Thanks for checking out the fish report and hope to see you soon,

Capt. Al White

Boca on the Fly

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May Fish Report

May was a month full of promise and yet somewhat disappointing. Tarpon didn’t hit the beach until well into the month. Fly fishing was hampered by horrible winds which naturally blew the wrong way and made fly casting difficult, yet we had some great shots at the Silver Missiles but fish simply were not interested in eating….Most captains I know were simply shaking their heads in disbelief…

There were many bright spots during the month with great shots at Tarpon.

Chuck Stone and Jason and Jimmie had many shots at passing fish but no hookups…Jason and Jimmie did manage snook and redfish in the backcountry with Jimmie landing a mullet who actually ate a crab pattern. They also stretched their legs walking on the beach and caught ladyfish and snook in the back lakes and surf.

Corbin Blackford also scored in the backcountry catching seatrout and also had the rare accomplishment of getting a Mullet on a fly….

Tosh Vance also while tarpon fishing caught and released 30 plus seatrout while waiting for a shot at a Poon.

Aaron Googins and Eric Rome had shots at tarpon with one eat but didn’t get the hook set. Both are good casters and simply deserved better… Tarpon were in multiple Daisy Chains and simply weren’t interested in eating anything….

Heavy winds kept the fish down and they simply didn’t show….

Stuart Mushlin and Don had a good day catching seatrout and fishing for snook and reds, and got shots at some Tarpon and had a ball discussing English Literature….

Looking forward to June….and some eating fish!

Capt. Al *

April fish report

April was an action month….One if by sea, two if by night. Ed and Billy Easely had a productive day catching seatrout but the snook action was slow, so we decided to go searching for them at night, after a great Italian dinner at Mama’s.

We found good numbers of snook under the lights and it was “Fish On” for about two hours. Chuck Parenti was minding his own business casting flies to the poons, and then it hit…like a freighttrain leaving D.C. Chuck held The rod tight as the big tarpon pulled him sliding across the deck and pinned him against the poling platform, and then watched the Silver King snap 50lb braid. WE lost another poon earlier with a once in a lifetime “Trout Set”…it will only happen once in your lifetime as you watch the silver beauty swim away. Learn to ‘strip strike’ to hook up to the fish of your dreams.

Gary and Mike had a good day catching a 120lb Black tip and also landing a small Cobia. They also landed Jack Crevalle and 31 seatrout on flies…Good Job!

Warren Starr caught night snook until his arm hurt and then next day landed a nice daytime snook. He also caught many seatrout and other species.

Brad Harrison and I travelled to Sanibel and found lots of Tarpon rolling and cast to them for 4hours not hooking one.

The fish would roll and then disappear into the turbid and stained water so we couldn’t see if the Poon saw the fly, or if he did, couldn’t see how he reacted to it. It was exasperating to witness triple digit fish rolling and not getting to see the reaction to the cast or fly.

We are casting to tarpon everyday, but fish are still not on the beach or traveling the sandbars…should be any day.

There are fish at Pine Island also which are easy to spot if the wind isn’t blowing 30….

Looking forward to the rest of May….

See you soon and tight loops,

Capt. Al

March Fish Report

The “Ides of March” were upon us but perserverance paid off with good catches of seatrout, jacks, ladyfish and snook. Eventhough the winds blew up to 30mph, we still managed to find spots out of the wind which held nice fish. We did have some nice days to throw at Tarpon. There are Poon in Boca Grande Pass at present, but the big push is still on their way. We did see rolling fish and had some decent shots at them getting two eats in the backcountry…but no hook ups.

There was the Gang from Wyoming most of whom were fishing guides, all of whom could cast very well…it seems that our 30mph didn’t deter them at all as they considered them mild in comparison to what they have in Wyoming.

Chris Williams landed nice seatrout and snook on fly and his brother Scott got a nice permit on fly.. all while their father and their kids caught Mangrove Snapper, grouper, yellowtail snapper and seatrout fishing with a guide friend of mine who can take up to five people in his boat.

Scott Allan had three decent days catching lots of seatrout, ladyfish and had several good snook on that just unbuttoned. Denny Saunders and Jason from Jackson Wyoming had a good time catching seatrout, ladyfish and big snook.

Both Jason and Denny are guides in Jackson Hole Wyoming if you need guides that can really fish and know how to cast.

Vinny from New York had a good time with seatrout, ladyfish and hooking and releasing snook in the backcountry also.

Looking forward to April as Tarpon numbers increase….If you are thinking of coming to fish for the Poons..put away the 4,5 and 6 weights and practice throwing 11 and 12s with Accuracy and casts up to 70 feet…sounds like a lot of fly line through the guides but remember the leader is 10-12 feet long.

+-We also had good spinning action with redfish caught by Bill Cook and friend.

They also managed jacks, seatrout, pompano and had shots at snook. Topwater action will heat up as the waters warm and we start getting higher daytime tides.Gold D.O.A shrimp fished under a splasher or Cajun Thunder produced everyday…Gulp shrimp also was taken readily by redfish, seatrout, jacks, mackerel and pompano.

March, even with the wind not being our friend, produced .

Looking forward to April…as more Tarpon arrive!

Tightlines and Bend a Rod,

Capt. Al
Whitlock

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