Andre's first big snook

Andre, his sister Celeste and her husband Fin joined me for a weekend of Southwest Florida fishing. They flew in from Louisiana to catch a tarpon and maybe some snook. We had wind and even more winds but pulled it off. Andre got several snook Friday and Saturday plus some redfish and big trout. Fin got his redfish, snook and trout for a slam on Saturday plus caught then released a big tarpon Sunday for a super slam weekend! Celeste also caught snook, trout, and jacks while graciously getting her husband hooked on fishing! We jumped several other tarpon Sunday and all we large silver kings. We used live minnows on all our fishing. Fin had his first tarpon almost strip my new 70 Quantum Cabo of three hundred yards of fifty pound braid and then cut him off after it jumped and teased him. There were a lot of crab traps around to add a little extra challenge to the Sunday boat traffic; but he came thru with flying colors! They we excited and promise to be back soon. Controlling the excitement to feel your fish so you can land these monsters gets easier after you burn off a couple of quarts of adrenalin. I guarantee you he will never forget his first tarpon experience or catch!

Monday the Sullivan ladies joined me a for a half day trip around the Englewood area. They are visiting from New Hampshire and seemed to enjoy our fishing and wildlife. We caught jacks and trout today. They also saw eagles, dolphins, and lots of shore birds. It is so much fun to share our beautiful area with visitors. I am lucky to have this job; but I hope the winds back off soon!

Waters are warming up fast with this strong south wind. Fishing picks up ever day. Minnows are tough on this side of Charlotte Harbor. The Gulf has been too rough to check Venice for kingfish. I am anxious to get back into the Gulf to see some tarpon cruising our beaches. I will look for pompano as the passes clear. We still have some mackerel in the clean waters. Trout have been great and it was good to catch a few nice reds and big ones too. Snook are improving every day and things look very promising for their future around Boca Grande! Tarpon will drop into Boca Grande Pass rapidly as winds back down; we should have hot action in a week or so. Let’s Go Fishin’ soon, Captain Van Hubbard