Boca Grande tarpon fishing report. June 17th, 2013

I had a cancellation today so I figured I would do a wright up on the last 6 weeks of tarpon fishing in Boca Grande. Overall the season has been very good for me. I had a few trips where we struggled but overall I would say the fishing has been good. I was and continue to be very busy. I had every day in May booked except 3 and everyday in June booked except 2. I appreciate each and every single new and returning client.

As of today or should I say yesterday the tarpon fishing along the beaches from Boca Grande North to Venice has been very productive. The current pattern has the fish biting very well then as the sun gets higher then the bite tapers off a bit. I have managed to find some smaller schools of fish to the north to myself and have been having good luck fishing them after the large schools get hit by other boats and the sharks start to show up. For whatever reason the tarpon have not stayed inside Boca Grande Pass at all during the day for the last 10 days. Some blame the sharks, others blame the jig fisherman. I tend to blame the jig fleet for the lack of tarpon in the pass over the last 5 years but not seeing ANY tarpon in the pass during the day for 10 days straight in June is a cause for concern, in my opinion.

The next 3 weeks will be a turning point in our tarpon fishery. Most of the tarpon will have spawned by the next big moon. After that we will see some tarpon migrate north and some migrate into Charlotte Harbor. The BEST tarpon fishing of the year is still 4 weeks away and will last through September and into October. The nomad jig fleet from the north will be all but gone. Their 6 week party will be over. Speaking of parties, the PTTS, a fishing tournament trail that holds Jig fishing (snagging) tournaments in Boca Grande Pass is over, I think the effects of jig fishing (snagging) has finally caught up to them. They had to postpone 4 tournaments over a 2 week period, karma finally caught up to them. Also, the state of Florida voted to move forward with a law that will ban the Boca Grande jig as we know it. kuddos to them (FWC). No longer will “anglers” be able to drop a hook with the weight attatched to the bend to try to snag tarpon. This is very unsporting and unethical. It also looks like potential clients have heard the message that this type of fishing is no longer acceptable (to most it never was). There will always be cheaters in life, and I have heard that they (jiggers) are working to find a way to skirt the law. For now at least assuming the final vote in September go as planned the tarpon might actually get a break from 100 outboards running on top of their heads. We can only hope.

If you are looking to book a trip with me in July, August, or September for some tarpon fishing inside of Charlotte Harbor then please feel free to contact me at:

239-825-8791

chuckjenks82@gmail.com

I hope to have a much more detailed report by early July, I still have a full schedual for the remainder of June. Tight lines.