Fish report for January 1st 2026 and December 2025

Happy Holidays to all !

The New Year started with some good action for Trout, Snook, and Reds, and the usual others, ladyfish, puffers, lizards, and jacks. Brothers Kile and Zack took “Dad” fishing on New Year's Day and had a blast catching Snook, Redfish, and Seatrout.

They managed a Backcountry slam…Redfish, Snook, and Seatrout. Even though the day started extremely cold, it was far better weather around Boca Grande than the seven degrees in Michigan. Great start for the New Year….

December report.

It was a very windy month, but I had the opportunity to fish for Triple Tail in the Gulf. Caught a few small fish off the crab buoys. Also, False Albacore showed up, but they were skittish. Finally, just dumped a Cuban Anchovy pattern behind the skiff and hooked one, but after a 100-yard run, it came unbuttoned

Caught a lot of trout and a few small snook in the Backcountry Mangroves.

Tony and Celine from Washington had a lot of fun catching Seatrout and Ladyfish on Fly. Celine got her first Saltwater fish on Fly.

To Tarpon anglers.. Open super Dates

May 17, 18, and 19th are Hill Tides. The outgoing tide is so strong that it sucks backwater crabs out of the backcountry and out of Little Gasparilla Pass and Boca Grande Pass. The Tarpon get fired up, and much like the famous “Worm Hatch” in the Keys, they line up to feed on the abundant flow of crabs. These fish can be caught on Fly on Crab Patterns as they feed with total abandon. It is very much like the Worm Hatch and happens only a couple of days a year. The fishing can be fast and furious…We generally will fish on the “Hill” where the tarpon congregate.. and then follow them slurping crabs almost to Punta Gorda…

All the best for you and yours in the New Year!!!

Stay well,

Capt. Al

1st redfish for Dad

Celine with a “Tight loop”

Kile and 1st snook on fly…

November 2025 Fish report

Everglades Pan fishing

Early November trip to fish Everglades for panfishing was excellent with catches of quite a few species. Mayan Cyclids, Oscars, largemouth bass and peacock bass all ate flies. Glass minnow patterns ,small olive Wooly Buggers and1/80 of an ounce jigs in black and purple were very effective. Rods were 3and 4 weights with floating lines. We fished a 6ft length of 6 lb Maxima chamelion leader, casts were from 15 to 40 feet depending on depth and structure. Probably caught 30-40 fish, which was a slow day for the Everglades…but only fished 4 hours.. But still a beautiful day with light westerly winds…

Peace River November 12

Day started off with temperatures around 50 and North wind blowing 20mph and an outgoing tide and water temperature at 63* …Morning fishing was slow but as the temps warmed, found a couple of Redfish in shallow but clean water. Vinny caught a couple of decent Reds. Day turned out to be warm and breeze died to almost nothing…Peace River is famous for fossils from the Paleolithic period which lasted 2.5 million years. This was the age of” Big Predators” T Rex, Raptors and huge Sloths… many remains of these are found Above Arcadia north..and stone implements such as Arrowheads and stone knives are found.

Near shore

We are seeing Tarpon rolling close to shore which is common during the secondary migration about this time of year. Water in the gulf is 72 and is conducive to their travel. Generally, the fish are travelling south and have an agenda…Hooking one on fly is a major accomplishment. These fish are accessible by skiff and generally stay around the 20 foot depth. The fish I hooked during these migrations were near shore, feeding on Herring, and took a fly readily. Patterns are about 8 to 10 inches in length…Herring or Ladyfish patterns on 2/0 Gamagatsu sl12s will work.

Redfishing are schooling in the backcountry at present….

Will have more reports this month…

Thanks, and Stay Well

Capt.AL

September Fishing in Charlotte Harbor

After enduring oppressive heat in August with some water temps in the high 80’s in Charlotte Harbor, and,even though we had some good days casting to Tarpon, the cooler month of September is a welcome relief. September has been one of the best months to fish the Gulfcoast, Charlotte Harbor, and the Mangrove Islands in the Backcountry.

With cooler surface temperatures, more baitfish will start to reside in the Harbor on shallower grass flats which will have Seatrout prowling in the early mornings at lower tides, chasing Cuban Anchovies, pinfish, goby’s and even sardines.This is prime topwater time, and generally, the fish will be of larger size with Seatrout exceeding 22”s.

Poling the Mangrove Islands of the Backcountry, in gin-clear water ,gives an advantage to fly casters throwing floating lines and baitfish patterns. Snook will be cruising Mangrove roots and become very visible targets with some Snook close to 40”s. Snook will go find deeper pocket water to rest and ambush baitfish as current brings servings of Sardines and Anchovies.

Redfish will start to school in the Backcountry and are highly visible pushing big wakes and seemingly roaming to nowhere in particular…but constantly on the look-out for an easy meal. Topwater baits work well…Gurglers, and Crease Flies for fly casters and Zara spooks for spinfishers.

The Gulf gets into the party with mackerel and False Albacore showing close to shore. An intermediate or sink-tip fly line will get the job done. Flies are varied but Clousers are a good bet.

Tidal considerations are paramount in the Charlotte Harbor and Boca Grande area…Moving water equals moving and aggressive fish…Bait moves=fish movement.. it is that simple…Our winter tides are low during the day and high in the evenings…affording excellent poling water and sightfishing for all species.

September is the beginning of the “Magic Season”” with low daily tides, light breezes, clear water and excellent fishing. The bonus to all of this…Tarpon are still here and ready to migrate to their winter homes in the Myakka and Peace Rivers.

They will eat flies, albeit larger patterns of Herring and Ladyfish….and there are still smaller Tarpon in Bull and Turtle Bay…

Looking forward to seeing you in September! Don’t miss it…

All the Best to you and yours,

Capt. Al White

Boca on the Fly

July fish Report

July was a Firecracker Month with temps in the high 90s and frequent thunderstorms, and fishing starting in the early morning and finishing by 11 am.

Fishing the Mangroves in the backcountry produced some nice catches of snook and Seatrout on flies. Backcountry patterns of baitfish, featuring tan to brown backs, produced well, along with the ubiquitous Clouser in chartreuse. With higher tides in the morning, Reds and Snook swam deeper into the Mangrove roots foraging for crabs, worms, and other forms of Mangrove Root residents. Fishing in the deeper holes produced some nice seatrout and a few redfish.

Bigger Blacktip and Bull sharks also cruised the mangroves in the deeper water, looking for a snack or two. A common occurrence when the tidal flow is high in the backcountry. We also had a few tarpon showing in Turtle Bay, but had no good shots at them. Post-spawn tarpon will eat!

Looking forward to fishing for juvenile tarpon in August in the bays and flats of Charlotte Harbor.

Hopefully, it will cool down!

Good Luck and tight lines,

Capt. Al White

Boca on the Fly

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