Captain's Report - May/June, 2008

by Capt. Dave Mistretta

Tarpon can be found along most any of our local beaches. The giant herring are bunched into schools of 50 to 100 fish preparing for their annual spawn. Some of the pods (small schools) are easing down the beach about a half mile from shore, but most can be found along the edge of the first sandbars from the beach.

During this early part of their migration, tarpon will work their way south towards Boca Grande. Rarely will anglers spot the fish traveling in a northerly direction this early in the season. Experts assume that their migratory cycle works like this: Thousands of tarpon migrate to our waters from the Keys and Caribbean. They travel deep and offshore rarely being spotted. Once arriving, they make a hard turn eastward; break up into smaller pods, then race towards the coastline. Along the beaches the pods will slow down to an idle, work their way south, eventually pouring into Boca Grande Pass. Tens of thousands of tarpon will bundle in this unique pass taking a break from the long journey down the beach. After a few days the fish will regroup into huge schools of 500 or more, leaving the pass, heading due west just before sunset. These are the same poons’ that will arrive along our beaches the next day. A good comparison to their track would be the Indy 500. Fish traveling hundreds of miles in a circular pattern, using the pass as a short pit stop before going back up the coast.

Each school holds a small percentage of large female fish, about ten percent; the rest will be mature male fish. Millions of eggs will be dispersed by the big females, starting during the next full moon cycle.

Gag grouper fishing has been better this summer compared to the last two. All depths are holding keepers, but the seventy foot plus range has been dragging bigger fish up. This time of year anglers should move around a bit to locate the fish. Gnarly bottom (rocks, sponges and coral)can sometimes produce better than traditional ledges, since they hold bait. Gag grouper metabolism is high during these warmer conditions requiring food at least three times a day. These areas can hold a variety of bait fish, primarily flannel mouth grunts, which happens to be one of the groupers favorite meals. The warmer the water the bigger the appetites for these bottom dwellers so don't be swayed from using huge baits. A ten pound grouper is quite willing to swallow a 1 pound fish.

Rain water run off hasn't hampered the snook fishing along the passes. Anglers have been rewarded with some great catch and release action during the outgoing tides. The bigger fish have been eating live shad and grunts during the daylight hours, lady fish at night time. Some of the linesiders have tipped the scales at twenty pounds around the passes. Along the beaches, snook can be found in the swash channels. Their size is much smaller but action can be non stop once located. Any structure will hold good numbers. A small rock, tree limb, broken piling, even an abandoned crab trap works just great. White bait (scaled sardines)are your best bet for these beach snook.

Captain's Report - May/June, 2008

by Capt. Dave Mistretta

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