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Columns


November 20, 2025
Breaking bread with the ones we love. Giving thanks to the heaven above. Sharing our bounty with those in need. The sanctity of giving is a noble creed. Returning to traditions creates ties that bin…

November 20, 2025
BY CAPT. WILL WATERHOUSE The 30th annual Gasparilla Island Fly Fishing Tournament is only a few days away! This year’s event will have prizes for all three of our back country slam species, redfi…

November 13, 2025
It is good to be able to share memories of service to our country with others that understand I was blessed to be able to participate in our Veterans Day celebrations. When I wrapped up my tour o…

November 13, 2025
“Until we have the courage to recognize cruelty for what it is – whether its victim is human or animal – we cannot expect things to be much better in this world. We cannot have peace among men whose…

November 13, 2025
BY CAPT. JOE LECLAIR It’s one of my favorite times of year to fish snook and reds in Charlotte Harbor. Halloween time is always great! This year it would seem a bunch of fish have parked themselv…

November 6, 2025
BY ARLENE HALL BGSTA SECRETARY After 182 days, BGSTA’s 2025 Turtle Patrol season came to an end on October 30. That’s when the last remaining green sea turtle nest (at right) reached 70 days old…

November 6, 2025
Help our sea cows The first part of a manatee that I saw was a big white scar,” Patrick Rose says. “As I got closer, I could see how that was affecting the manatee itself. That is still imprinted…

November 6, 2025
BY CAPT. WILL WATERHOUSE The 30th annual Gasparilla Island Fly Fishing Tournament (G.I.F.T.) presented by Gasparilla Outfitters is only a few weeks away and coming fast! This year all proceeds wi…

October 30, 2025
BY ARLENE HALL BGSTA SECRETARY I was trying to hold off as long as I could before writing this week’s turtle column and weekly stats, hoping that MAYBE our single remaining incubating green sea t…

October 30, 2025
BY KAREN GRACE, BOCA GRANDE HISTORY CENTER Whether hauntings are real or not, Gasparilla Island and its surroundings have a history of ghost stories. The earliest involve Cayo Pelau, an island to…