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Sports & Outdoors


Boca Grande backwater still reasonably healthy in the face of many colors of algae on the beach

October 5, 2018
At about 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 2 there were no boats to be found on Whidden’s Creek except one, holding three anglers out looking for clean water and a good bite: And we found it. Capt. Sand…

Ladies to howl in the Pass June 9

June 1, 2018
■ STAFF REPORT The 10th Annual Ladies Howl at the Moon Tarpon Tournament will be held on Saturday, June 9 from 7 to 10 p.m. in Boca Grande Pass. The captain’s meeting wil be held on Friday, June 8 …

29 boats, two days, 113 tarpon: Blaze takes win in WR2018

May 25, 2018
BY MARCY SHORTUSE – It was raining silver in Boca Grande Pass on Thursday and Friday, May 17 and 18, during the two-day 2018 World’s Richest Tarpon Tournament, according to Tournament Director Wesl…

Beautiful and deadly: The sharks that swim in our waters, the people who love them and the people who fish them (A series in three parts)

May 25, 2018
BY MARCY SHORTUSE – This is the first in a three-part series about the sharks that swim in our waters, especially during tarpon season. This first part will be from a science perspective, the secon…

Fishing families take the stage, islanders in front of the camera and behind in ‘Mullet and Mangroves’

May 4, 2018
BY MARCY SHORTUSE – On Thursday, May 3 a new documentary on barrier island life had its debut on local television stations, and it featured several familiar faces and places. But don’t worry – if y…

2018 Pro Tennis Exhibition Series Starts January 31

January 26, 2018
■ BY JEN FIERS The 2018 Pro Tennis Exhibition Series will be held each Wednesday at 3 p.m. at the Boca Grande Club from January 31st through March 14th. The first of the exhibitions will be the fir…

2017 Gulf recreational red snapper state season opens weekends beginning May 6

May 5, 2017
■ STAFF REPORT The 78-day 2017 recreational red snapper season in Gulf of Mexico state waters opens Saturdays and Sundays in May starting May 6. On May 27, the season will open daily through July 9…

There are lots of legends in Boca Grande Pass

May 20, 2016
By the time this week’s newspaper goes to press, we will be halfway into The World’s Richest Tarpon Tournament for 2016. We are very lucky to have the greatest tarpon fishery in the world right in…

World’s Richest Tarpon Tournament to be held on May 19 & May 20

May 13, 2016
 On Thursday, May 19 and Friday, May 20, Boca Grande Pass will see a field of at least 24 boats in the 2016 World’s Richest Tarpon Tournament, which means a little more than $95,000 in prize money …