• 2013 stripedbass brett
  • 2012 stripedbass Wanding1
  • striper4 61x9
  • striper5 61x9
  • striper3 61x9
  • 2013 stripedbass mchaney
  • 2013 stripedbass rowe
  • 2013 stripedbass jerimia
  • maine2 16x9
  • Striper on the fly
  • Light tackle fishing on the Kennebec
  • Striped Bass Double
  • That's a Biggun!.
  • Fish the beaches for big bass!
  • Fly fishing the flats for stripers
  • Jig fishing the Kennebec rips for stripers
  • Nice 40" early morning Kennebec striper
  • Fort Popham at sunrise

Florida Fishing

Boca Grande, Charlotte Harbor

Florida Fishing Charters

MAR - JUN & SEP - NOV

Fish Florida

Maine Fishing

Kennebec River, Casco Bay

Maine Fishing Charters

JUN - OCT

Fish Maine

Charlotte Harbor, Boca Grande, Pine Island Sound May Fishing Forecast

Charlotte Harbor is Florida’s second largest estuary encompassing 270 square miles. Over 80% of its shoreline is preserved land. There are more than 15 boat ramps and many kayak access point on the Harbor providing easy access to great fishing.

 

May light tackle and fly action: May is all about tarpon. The spawning migration has started and there have a few tarpon being caught in the Sounds, Passes and along beaches the past two weeks. By mid-month the fishing will be in high gear. The back country waters are in the low to mid 80s so the best fishing will be early and late in the day. Mid-day will provide lots of lookers and refusals unless you’re pitching bait. The large snook are moving their way to the beaches and the sounds.

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Conditions: We are settling into our early summer weather patterns with offshore winds early switching to sea breezes in the afternoons. Water temps will be in the low to mid 80s. April was very dry so the salinity in the lower harbor and the sounds are average or slightly above. The upper harbor fishing has slowed somewhat do the warm weather and lack of rain. Greatly reduced Lake Okeechobee discharges into the Caloosahatchee River has improved the water quality in lower Pine Island Sound.

Bait the fish are feeding on: shrimp, crabs, pinfish, ladyfish. Some whitebait in Matlacha Pass, upper Pine Island Sound, Gasparilla sound and on Bokeelia Shoals. There’s lots of threadfins and greeenbacks on the beaches.

May Fishing Tactics: The back country; with the warm and dry conditions fishing becomes an early morning game. Go early fish the moving water near the mangroves until the sun gets up. As soon as it gets bright shift you attention to deeper cuts between islands and keys and the depressions in the mangrove creek mouths. The deeper edges of grass flats will hold sea trout throughout May.

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My April Fly Fishing Tip: Many of my clients want to fly fishing for tarpon in May. I carry two set ups on the boat for them. A floating line with a suspending fly for the fish coming over the shallow bars and a sink tip line with a weighted fly for when the fish are laid up or doing daisy chains in deeper water. prespawn tarpon can be finicky, the fly placement is key. Many times they will only move a few inches to eat.

My April Light Tackle Tip: Don’t get in a rut using a particular tarpon bait. Crabs are wonderful bait but if you are getting refused show them something else. Pinfish, whitebait, cut ladyfish, sail cat tails, even shrimp can turn on the finickiest tarpon.

2016 04 14Piccone trout

 

Species to fish for this month: Tarpon, Snook Redfish, Spotted Seatrout.

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Boca Grande Pass Tarpon Fishing - Why I don’t Partake

Many customers ask me if I guide for tarpon in Boca Grande Pass, I politely answer “no”. Then I go on to explain that I fish the miles and miles of beaches and, in the Sounds on both sides of Boca Pass but I do not participate in the fishery that takes place in the Pass. These two photos sum up the difference between what I do and what goes on in the Pass from mid-April through the end of June. I’ll take light tackle and fly fishing the 20 miles of beaches, Gasparilla Sound and Pine Island Sound over the parking lot that is the Pass thank you very much. Now, if you are interested in catching tarpon in the Pass I can give you some names of captains to contact. 

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save the tarpon photo of Boca Grande Pass

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A day on the Beach - Capt. Dave Pecci photo

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Matt Stelzer - Snook on Flyrod

Matt gets his first snook on fly rod in Pine Island Sound.

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Some of Last Week's Fly Fishing Action on Charlotte Harbor

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2016 04 23 Stelzer lady2

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They're Here - The First of the 2016 Tarpon are Here

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Yes, they are here. More showing up every day. Time to book your tarpon charter. Call me for available dates.

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