2014 is here and Boca Grande Tarpon fishing season is just around the corner. I have had a lot of inquires for the 2014 Tarpon season already and I can’t urge you enough to start planning NOW! I still have plenty of openings but if you want to book specific dates you need to begin making your plans.
The following is a list of the “Hill Tide” dates for 2014 based on the Full and New moons for Boca Grande Tarpon Fishing. These dates are ABSOLUTELY NOT the only time to catch Tarpon in Boca Grande! They are simply very consistent times based upon the moon phase and tides. Boca Grande Tarpon fishing is just as good the rest of the season but it involves a bit more searching as the fish are not all in the passes to feed on the afternoon tides.
May 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 and 17
May 26, 27, 28, 29, 30 and 31
June 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 and 16
June 25, 26, 27, 28, 29 and 30
July 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 and 15
All “Hill Tide” trips start in the afternoon from 2pm – 8pm. These times coincide with the strongest part of the out going tide.
For those of you who are unfamiliar with the “Hill Tide” here is a brief description.
“Hill Tide” Boca Grande Tarpon Fishing
Boca Grande has often been called “The Tarpon Capital of the World” and a lot of this is due to what has come to be known as the “Hill Tide”. Every year, around the full and new moons of May, June and July, we see a natural phenomenon where hundreds of thousands of “pass crabs” are washed out from Charlotte Harbor en-route to spawn. During a good “hill tide”, countless Tarpon are whipped into a feeding frenzy as vulnerable crabs are plentiful and make for easy prey. Picture a school of Bass or Bluefish terrorizing a school of baitfish on the surface of the water. Now picture the same thing, except make these fish between 60 and 200+lbs! They rarely turn down a properly presented live crab as bait and double or even triple hookups are not uncommon during these feeding frenzies. Hill tides are fairly easy to predict based on a combination of full/new moons and strong outgoing tides that take place late in the day.
