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

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