While there were plenty of other fish biting over the week tarpon stole the show. We have been awaiting their arrival and it happened, large schools of poons were found in Charlotte Harbor, Pine island Sound and of course in Boca Grande Pass.
We concentrated our tarpon efforts mainly to Charlotte Harbor. By mid week the wind finally laid down and schools of tarpon were working around bait pods in mid Harbor. While we seen some larger fish hooked on other boats and rolling around us the largest we managed to keep a hook in long enough to get boat side was estimated at ninety pounds.
The difficult part was keeping baits intact long enough to entice the tarpon. Spanish mackerel are thick right know, if you can keep a big thread herring in the water more than a minute or two without getting chopped in half you're lucky. Sharks including blacktip and bulls running up to six feet were also hanging around the tarpon and mackerel.
Fishing for sea trout was real spotty this week, to catch a limit of decent fish we had to work pretty hard and move a lot, plus as with the tarpon fishing the mackerel were relentless. (we kept the hook manufacturer in business this week). We had one afternoon where we had some fast snook action on the beach at Cayo Costa. Not huge fish with the largest at twenty-seven inches but they were hungry and we also boated a couple good size tasty mangrove snapper.
Good mid day high tides at the end of the week allowed us to go for redfish under the mangroves o Thursday. We fished two Islands and managed one redfish from each, not great by no means, but with the redfish luck I have had lately I will take it. One measured twenty inches while the other a fat twenty-six inches.
You will not find a better time to catch a tarpon than now in Southwest Florida. May and June are our prime months. If you get the opportunity you should get out there and tango with a Tarpon!
For charter information please contact us at (239)283-7960
Or visit us at www.fishpineisland.com.
"Catch The Action" with Captain Bill Russell