Summer in Boca Grande

[captpete]

Fishing Boca Grande in Summer

Fish love the summer! Salty species from Florida's west coast like the warm humid weather, the strong tides and the abundance of bait fish. Tarpon move up into the harbors and river mouths, snook look for spawning grounds in the passes and off the beaches and redfish start to bunch up for the fall migration run. That's only a little bit of what goes on in Boca Grande in summer.

The warm weather of August and early September in Florida is nothing compared to the heat of Texas and the cold rain of New England. We never reach 100 degrees, the rain lasts only an hour or so and the days are comfortable. The fish are active and few tourists crowd our beaches and restaurants. This is my favorite time to fish. This is what I would do for a days fishing in Boca Grande:

6:00 am : Hit the upper harbor looking for tarpon. Keep an eye out for cobia or triple tail around the artificial reefs. I like to keep one rod ready for those cobia encounters.

10:00 am: Look for redfish and big Jacks on the flats. Sure, there will be some trout around too, but schools of fish pushing water across a shallow flat is pretty exciting.

Noon: Head for the dock for a light lunch, a swim and a short siesta.

5:00 pm: Snook will be waiting to eat as the sun comes off the water. The lower the sun the more active they will be. An outgoing tide will help. I look around the passes and nearby mangrove edges where falling water creates a feeding zone. This can be very exciting stuff!

8:00 pm: Pull up to the dock at Cabbage Key for some Stone Crabs and Margaritas. Can't say enough about that!

That's what a day at Boca in the summer should be.

September fishing will be very good this year because of the increased rain over the summer and the increase in fish populations. A result of the net ban. Look for good catches of snook moving into the back country at the first sign of cool nights. The redfish will be in their best numbers on our flats and Seatrout of record size will be showing up all over the harbor.

Book an early flight or take an extra vacation but don't miss Boca Grande in the Summer!

Tight Lines,
Capt. Pete