May fishing report

May has been awesome for fly fishing tarpon.

Tony Manktelow fished hard for 3 days, had many fish look at fly and refuse, but eventually had a solid bite and got a solid 110lb tarpon…Great fight!! Rob and Heather Shroeder had two good days of tossing flies at tarpon, got a couple of leans but no hook-ups…water was gin clear which makes it difficult to pick out a single fish in a pod and cast only to that fish…but still a great two days, especially for first time tarpon fishermen..Shawn Wurzelbach and son had super shots at fish but no eats.. James Dossett on May 27th had two leans and two hookups, and I lipped about a 70lb tarpon at the boat. During the fight, my addage of “How to turn a 4-piece rod into a 7-piece, was to bring it tarpon fishing, and voila, it, unveiled itself…and the resulting auditory snap of the rod was explosive. Still, the fight continued with a 4-foot section of the remaining rod. After another 20 minutes, we finally had tarpon at the boatside and lipped her… Thanks to TFO for their lifetime warranty! ordered sections 2 and 3 and will once again have a 4-piece Tarpon rod!

June will be a spectacular month for tarpon but be prepared for their annual trek to spawning grounds around second full moon. They will be gone 5-7 days but many of them will return and could be the best tarpon fishing of the year…

Look forward to fishing with you,

Capt. Al.

April Fishing Report

The month started with John Hoder and I looking at 300 tarpon…and not getting a look at a fly…They were dark-backed river fish that decided to take a swim south, not the migratory fish we were expecting. Paul Harding and son caught seatrout and ladyfish, and Mark got his first fish on fly…Congratulations..Paul spent next day hammering seatrout. The Yunker family had a good day catching many seatrout and ladyfish on fly and spin, We often had double hookups…good job!

Joe Petrow, a great caster of the fly had a good day catching snook and seatrout in the backcountry. On the beach he caught a really nice pompano…

The Rockfords, Mike and daughter Taylor, and wife had a good day of catching many seatrout,ladyfish, and snook on fly and spin…Lots of fun! Dave and Sheri Mulholland caught seatrout, it was a very tough day to fish with water clarity clean and very clear…Tough when you see 4 4-foot snook and they show no interest. Dave holds the Pyramid Lake for trout at 25.4 lbs in Nevada.

Tony and Elaine from Scotland had three days of Tarpon fishing with Tony getting several “Leans” and then hooking and landing a 100 lb poon on last day. The fish was strong and jumped 4 times.. Tony kept the pressure on and eventually brought him to the boat..Congratulations to the Scots!

Tarpon fishing will probably take top billing in May and June…The backcountry will be wide-open fishing, as most anglers will be in Boca Grande Pass, looking for tarpon.

March Tarpon

Tarpon are here !! and will start fishing them tomorrow ,very exciting.

Complete report to follow..with all catches in one of the windiest months ever..

Those who braved wind to 40mph and their stories to follow…Stay tuned!

Capt. Al White

February Fish Report

Fishing has been good overall with some nice catches of Snook, Redfish and Seatrout. Lower tides have revealed clear water flats that make sight fishing a challenge: but rewarding. Mark Makuchz had a great day catching seatrout, ladyfish and snook on his first visit to saltwater fly fishing. He caight a 25” seatrout and a 26” snook on fly. Dick Gigaget had a day to remember as he caught Ladyfish and too many seatrout to count and finally landed a snook…North wind to 25mph, left normal areas in the Mangroves that usually have 1 to 2 feet of water barren….Negative tides coupled with heavy North winds will test even the best fly-casters…The weather is projected to start a warming trend for the next few days, and will be well received after this cold front vanishes… Two weeks earlier there was SNOW in upper Florida! Some areas got 6-8 inches and water temp plummeted to 60 degrees, which slowed the action.

Looking forward to typical March days of light winds and higher daytime highs and seeing some early Tarpon arrive…

Stay well,

Capt. Al

December Fish Report

Backwater sight fishing with flies has been off the charts. With negative tides and extremely clear water many good shots everyday was common. Casting distances ranged from as close as 1o feet to sixty feet with good results. Fly patterns varied from Cuban Anchovy variations to weighted black and purple leggy type creations that had serious movement producing. Somedays we had limited access to total lack of water when low tides were negative .o8 and .09…but the outside bars produced some nice Redfish and snook. Seatrout were available most days with some that got to 20 inches. Fishing shallow grass flats in the morning seemed to provide the best action. Also showing up at random timees during the day were Jack Crevalle, a fish that never disappoints showing big runs and aptly named Bulldog of the Sea…Water temps ranged from a low of 61degrees to 72 degrees.

There were days that were blustery to say the least with winds to 25mph+. but fishing was challenging casting-wise but good casts still produced…

Tight lines and good fishing,

Capt. Al

November 2024 Fish report

After a few hurricanes and tropical storms and a little red tide, fishing has basically returned to normal. The water temperature has dropped to 75-77 degrees and fish have responded accordingly.

Backcountry fly fishing is rated good at present with some superb catches of Snook, Redfish and Seatrout with some Jacks, Ladyfish and Mackerel also making an appearance. Weather has stabilized with light morning winds from the East making sight fishing excellent. Fly patterns are size one mullet streamers, crease flies and Rubber legged redfish patterns in brown and black.

Spin fishing has produced well using artificials. Topwater has been exciting, never knowing what is waking behind a “Walk the dog” Presentation. Jigging with paddle tails and twitch baits have also tendered good results.

The prospects for future trips is rated excellent as fish seem to have returned from the turbulence of wind and high water temps, and have settled into their old patterns.

Let’s go fishing!

Stay well,

Capt. Al

August 2024

Fishing is on the upswing with some nice snook and reds being caught. The day begins early at 6:30 am and ends at about 11am, which is plenty of time to get to the backcountry and return…fishing spots in the mangroves and islands…

The weather plays a big part of how far to travel with many thunderstorms almost everyday, so caution and safety are paramount.

Fly fishing the islands we often get good shots at Tarpon in the early am and hook-ups are frequent but landings are minimal as they generally end up in the mangroves. We are fishing 8wts for snook and reds so when a unexpected Silver King slurps your fly, the fight is on and mostly favorable for the tarpon. These early morning fish have been between 30 and 80lbs….Naturally the first jump will make your day!!

Baitfish proliferate the back country at present with
Cuban anchovies and silver sides being predominate…so Beige and white patterns and all white baitfish patterns are producing the best.

Fish are holding in deeper shadows in the mangroves and well placed casts will catch fish. Don’t be worried about hanging a fly in the Mangroves…it is going to happen if you are throwing to small targets of points and back bays….

There have been nice catches of big snook on the Beach from Englewood to Manisota Key… Start fishing about 10am and stay back a good 10 yards from the water as the snook are in the trough which is about 2 feet deep and only 5 feet from the edge of the sand… If you see any baitfish pods throw into them, there is generally a snook or two beneath them waiting to attack the bait…

Offshore fishing has been excellent with catches of Mangrove snapper, Lane snapper,scamp,and mixes of other bottom fish…Water depth has been 40 to 165 feet for best results…Slow pitch jigging has produced the best.

Looking forward to September and cooler weather!!!

Stay safe and well,

Capt. Al

May-June Fish report

May and June fishing has been about Tarpon for the most part. We have hunted them from the Gulf of Mexico all the way down to Sanibel. Everyday having numerous shots at the Silver King. Wind has played a big part in where we travel at certain tides. The big migration was late in arriving so backcountry spots that were accessible were tried with mixed results.

Blake Osteen and Russell jumped a couple of absolute giants which broke off after the first jump…but still a marvel to witness a fish that big coming completely out of the water….

We are fishing them everyday on the beach of Boca Grande if winds allow us to access the Gulf of Mexico.

Backcountry fishing is rated good to excellent on the faster moving and higher tides…We have caught seatrout, redfish, snook and even Bluefish in the back.

Just a word about casting in the wind….Practice, practice, practice!!! The wind is not your friend as some people say…..The further away the fly is presented to these fish, the better chance you have of hooking one. A casting distance of 70 feet is a good normal distance for presentation. A tarpon swims at about 12mph doing nothing..so, every backcast you make means the fish is ten feet closer to the boat.. the tarpon will bounce off the boat at 40-50 feet…Learn to make fewer backcasts,, preferably 2-3 false casts to present the fly….

June has just started and more pictures will be added.

About photos…. To get photos you need a cameraman…. Standing on a poling platform I really don’t get to take pictures especially when we have a hook-up.

There will be more reports this month….

Tight lines,

Capt Al

Fishing Charlotte Harbor, Backcountry, Boca Grande

We have been experiencing heavy winds during the day with wind gusts up to 30 mph but finding refuge around some of the abundant mangrove keys. Fishing 2-3 feet of water with baitfish patterns , kwans and Crease flies has been the answer .

We are getting some nice catches of Redfish, Snook and Seatrout with Jack Crevalle randomly showing up. as well as Ladyfish, Puffers and small Barracudas.

There are Tarpon here and have thrown flies at them which yielded a couple of spectacular jumps before breaking off… We found some tarpon yesterday on the beach staking out and playing the waiting game but only a few fish showed, and no shots. There are Tarpon in the passes at present but main migration hasn’t arrived yet, although there are tarpon showing around Sanibel Island as they make the journey north towards Boca Grande and beyond.

Good fishing in the backcountry with some really nice catches of reds and snook have made fighting the wind worth the effort to get there. Daytime temperatures are 75-80 degrees and water temp is 72 degrees at present.

Daily winds are normal and from any direction everyday….

Water clarity is good in the gulf and clear in the backcountry. Where we fish at present is dictated by where the wind will let us go, high winds blow water out of the backcountry, so discretion and knowledge are your best friends.

All in all, very pleasant conditions daily and good fishing…

Hope to see you soon,

Capt. Al

November Fish Report

The month was filled with good action on seatrout, snook, redfish and assorted species.Jeremy Spencer and son Cody had a “Bent rod Day” as they were hooked up for 4Hours straight catching Seatrout, Ladyfish, Puffers, Lizard fish and Jack Crevalle. Cody learned the Topwater walking the dog technique with artificial surface lures and caught his first seatrout on topwater….Jeremy was busy fishing DOA soft plastics and caught 30 seatrout plus puffers and ladyfish.Jeremy also landed his first Redfish…Cody’s seatrout were over 20”.

Natalie and Lindsay from Utah had a great day catching Seatrout and Ladyfish on fly. Both are accomplished casters and get the fly to the correct area We had shots at a good number of snook, but they were extremely spooky and even with terrific casting we didn’t hook up. Natalie is the woman standing on my poling platform…These two women have drift boats and fish the Green River lower section and are used to casting in less than desirable conditions. Mike and Jack Sheffar fishing in a 20mph wind ,with fly rods caught seatrout, ladyfish and snook ..Mike will hook his firstTarpon in May which is his quest……

Just about every dock in the area is loaded with Sheepshead and the Placida trestle is fishing well. There are a few Tarpon in Boca Grande pass and smaller tarpon out in Charlotte Harbor. I will be running flyfishing this year in my 1720 Action Craft for backcountry Tarpon and light offshore. I also will be running Boca Grande Pass tarpon trips for up to 4 people. and some offshore Reef and wreck fishing….in my 21ft cuddy walkaround boat….

HOpe to see you soon,

Capt. Al White

Boca on the Fly

Hamptons 1st snook

October fishing report

October fishing has been very good so far this month. With air temperatures falling to normal and water temps at 78 degrees, fish have become much more active and aggressive ….John Hoder had a good day catching snook and many seatrout. He also landed a big Spanish mackerel. Later in the day we jumped a Tarpon in the backcountry. HIgher daytime tides offer snook and redfish more opportunities to feed further back in the mangroves…and so target areas were in 2 to 3 foot of water. Poling the mangroves proves to offer the best means for success.

Tripletail and False Albacore are now showing offshore with Tripletail tipping into double digits. Winds and visibility dictate offshore fishing…Good days can be phenomenal!

Good Luck!

Capt Al

July Fish Report

July has started off well locating some backwater fish as most migratory fish have headed north. Rob Allen and son Jack had a great day casting to rolling tarpon and hooking and landing a 60lb poon fishing his 10 wt. He did a great job of strip striking and fishting the fish which we landed in 20 minutes. The tarpon jumped 5 times. The fish was released unharmed even after being chased by a 6 foot blacktip !

There are still a few tarpon here in the Boca Grande area with lots of fish hanging out in Charlotte Harbor in the deeper holes. Early morning being the best time of day to located them. High daily temperatures in the 90,s and water temp at 88 make them susceptible to exhaustion and possible death if not handled and fought correctly. Never lift them from the water to take a picture!!! Idle forward with the boat in gear and wait until fins move, they kick and pull themselves from your hands… Take time to release them properly and unharmed…they deserve it for giving you the fight of a lifetime….Respect the Fish!

Backcountry snook is heating up with early morning action being best. Leave dock at 6:30 and back in at 11am is best. Staying out longer is possible and more comfortable under my bimini top sipping a cool drink while your partner fishes off the front deck….Your comfort and safety are a priority…getting heat stroke is not!

Looking forward to rest of July

Stay well,

Capt. Al