OPINION: VAN HUBBARD

Easter. Plus, we do not have a rewind if you want that photo

Easter is our most significant religious holiday. It’s also a time many of our winter visitors head home. Spring’s fishing blossoms with flowers, and hungry fish and less people. We are thankful for Jesus’ sacrifice and blessed to enjoy our special piece of Florida.

I’ve enjoyed living most of my adult life here, since the early ‘80s. I do still love it even though our population has exploded. Our waters have problems, major problems, all because the growth exceeds the infrastructure required to support it. Our waste treatment is inadequate and polluting our waters. If we don’t eliminate waterfront septic tanks and incorporate advanced wastewater treatment, our quality of life is at risk. Even with these problems it is still uniquely astonishing here. As our waters warm up, we enjoy an amazing migration of silver king tarpon. This fishery is a shadow of what it was and could be. It is still the best I’m aware of with thousands of tarpon to fish for.

We have the Boca Grande Pass, the destination for tarpon to match up prior to spawning. How we treat it will determine our future fishery. Tarpon come here for the food. This is also their gathering place for pre-spawn aggregations. They gather, blend and match up, before schooling to travel offshore and spawn. This schooling and feeding as they prepare to swim out into the Gulf Stream provides us with a unique opportunity to enjoy tangling with giant gamefish within sight of Gasparilla Island. 

If it’s your departure time, you might want to consider coming back soon and enjoying this spectacular fishery. This is your best chance to tangle with explosive silver kings, the first big gamefish target for early anglers. This area is the birthplace of big game fishing, while we do have blue water gamefish way offshore. The abundance of huge, sparkling silver kings teased fishermen into inventing the tools necessary to tackle tarpon. Read the Gasparilla Island Magazine for more information about our heritage fishery. Boca Grande Pass offers action and history. 

We have other fisheries, but tarpon are kings of our seas. We also have snook and redfish in our coastal and backcountry waters, and offshore bottom fishing for snapper and grouper. 

Please take your time and educate yourselves as you choose your guide. You can try it on your own if you choose, but local guides can provide your best likelihood to accomplish your goals. Our local guides and captains have generations of knowledge and experience to share, enhancing your odds of success. It’s important to make the effort to ask for recommendations and make time to talk with your captain, and be sure they understand your desires and special needs. Don’t take the chance of encounters like the maniac in recent social media and news. 

It is much better for you to allow your guide to prepare and navigate your adventure. When fishing in our Pass, it’s necessary to always be alert and to maintain a drift that matches the current flows. It’s critical to understand the fish and stay safe in congested boating situations. 

Guides understand how to entice the fish and safely lead it to your boat for photographs. We don’t take fish out of the water in order to protect their health. When your captain says get ready, listen, and take the opportunity to capture your photo and memories. We don’t have a rewind!

Take time to explore our area and enjoy the excellent restaurants and places unique to Boca Grande. We have challenges to deal with but it’s the best place I know of.