10-09-2002, 03:37 AM
Boca Grande, Charlotte Harbor and surrounding areas
Hello everyone.
This week proved to be a pretty good week after all. With the exception of a few windy days and some muddy water, the fish continued to chew through most of the week.
Pilchards were located once again on the edges of Jug Creek and the inside & outside of Bokeelia Bar. 2’ - 4’ of water was littered with 2-3” Pilchards, and the outside edges in 4-6’ of water provided Pilchards up to 6”, as well as Threadfin Herring and Pigfish, all of which are excellent Big Snook Baits.
Our week concentrated in bending rods versus nailing trophy fish, and bending rods is what we did.
Tarpon: The Juvenile Poons, which litter the residential canals systems through the harbor, were still around, but in fewer numbers. A surprise came to Mick Harris of England, when a live Pilchard intended for Snook, resulted in a 30lb Tarpon fishing in The Gasparilla Aquatic Preserve.
Snook: The bite in the preserve was again slow this week. We did however find some good Snook action fishing toward little and Big Gasparilla Islands. The docks that line Little Gasparilla held a few Snook, as did the canal systems in the interior of Big Gasparilla Island itself. We also caught a few fishing the trestles, but most were in the small to medium size range. The big bite again came from the harbor. The feeder creeks are beginning to hold numbers. Work the mouths on the last quarter of the outgoing and follow the creeks as far back as you dare on the incoming.
Redfish: The schools of last week were also a bit tough to find. The dirty and still stained water made sight casting difficult. They are still here; we just did not find them. We did however find smaller concentrations (3-10 fish pods) of fish. Most ran between 18 – 26” We caught Redfish this week fishing the upper end of the east wall; the bars surrounding Bull Bay and Cape Haze; around Panther Key in the sound, and the backside of Cabbage Key.
Trout: While we are still not targeting Trout, we are stilling accidentally catching them; Most are running small, between 14 – 18”.
Other: Hordes of Birds are working glass minnows and small Threadfins in the Harbor. Under these baits pods we have found very large concentrations of Ladyfish, small Jacks and Spanish Macks. Some of these Ladyfish were in the 2-3 lb category, and make a great day for one who just wants steady action and/or one who wants to perfect their fly-fishing skills without being bored.
Anglers of the week: Mick and Sandra Harris from England joined me for a day fishing the sound and the harbor. While the morning bite was very, very slow, we did manage to release 22 Snook, several Redfish, Jacks and Mangrove Snapper in the afternoon. Top rod went to Sandra who caught most of the Big Snook. Her biggest was just under 30”.
Until next time, tight lines.
Captain Allan Beraquit
Florida Light Tackle Charters
http://www.florida-fishing.net
1-866-4-TARPON (482-7766)
Hello everyone.
This week proved to be a pretty good week after all. With the exception of a few windy days and some muddy water, the fish continued to chew through most of the week.
Pilchards were located once again on the edges of Jug Creek and the inside & outside of Bokeelia Bar. 2’ - 4’ of water was littered with 2-3” Pilchards, and the outside edges in 4-6’ of water provided Pilchards up to 6”, as well as Threadfin Herring and Pigfish, all of which are excellent Big Snook Baits.
Our week concentrated in bending rods versus nailing trophy fish, and bending rods is what we did.
Tarpon: The Juvenile Poons, which litter the residential canals systems through the harbor, were still around, but in fewer numbers. A surprise came to Mick Harris of England, when a live Pilchard intended for Snook, resulted in a 30lb Tarpon fishing in The Gasparilla Aquatic Preserve.
Snook: The bite in the preserve was again slow this week. We did however find some good Snook action fishing toward little and Big Gasparilla Islands. The docks that line Little Gasparilla held a few Snook, as did the canal systems in the interior of Big Gasparilla Island itself. We also caught a few fishing the trestles, but most were in the small to medium size range. The big bite again came from the harbor. The feeder creeks are beginning to hold numbers. Work the mouths on the last quarter of the outgoing and follow the creeks as far back as you dare on the incoming.
Redfish: The schools of last week were also a bit tough to find. The dirty and still stained water made sight casting difficult. They are still here; we just did not find them. We did however find smaller concentrations (3-10 fish pods) of fish. Most ran between 18 – 26” We caught Redfish this week fishing the upper end of the east wall; the bars surrounding Bull Bay and Cape Haze; around Panther Key in the sound, and the backside of Cabbage Key.
Trout: While we are still not targeting Trout, we are stilling accidentally catching them; Most are running small, between 14 – 18”.
Other: Hordes of Birds are working glass minnows and small Threadfins in the Harbor. Under these baits pods we have found very large concentrations of Ladyfish, small Jacks and Spanish Macks. Some of these Ladyfish were in the 2-3 lb category, and make a great day for one who just wants steady action and/or one who wants to perfect their fly-fishing skills without being bored.
Anglers of the week: Mick and Sandra Harris from England joined me for a day fishing the sound and the harbor. While the morning bite was very, very slow, we did manage to release 22 Snook, several Redfish, Jacks and Mangrove Snapper in the afternoon. Top rod went to Sandra who caught most of the Big Snook. Her biggest was just under 30”.
Until next time, tight lines.
Captain Allan Beraquit
Florida Light Tackle Charters
http://www.florida-fishing.net
1-866-4-TARPON (482-7766)