Merry Christmas from Boca Grande everyone and I hope you all have a very blessed 2019.
We have had a few cold fronts come through the Boca Grande area lately. Water temperatures have dropped into the low to mid 60’s which is pretty cool by Southwest Florida standards. These fronts have brought some nice breezy days and the fishing has been outstanding! I love a little wind for flats fishing. You can cast farther and the fish are much less spooky. Even on the post front days, which are usually very tough. I have been able to put together some really nice trips. Lots of redfish, snook, sheepshead, trout, pompano and permit have all been coming aboard.
The Redfish fishing has been pretty good lately. Winter time in Boca Grande means super low tides and concentrated fish! These low tides force the fish into the deeper potholes and off of the surrounding flats making for much easier targets. There are a ton of what we call “rat reds” which are small fish averaging 12″ to 20″. These juvenile redfish have been every where this year! It is literally the best redfish hatch that I have seen in 10 years. Don’t get me wrong there are big fish out there as well they just are not in nearly the abundance.
The trout fishing has really picked up the last few weeks as well. I was really beginning to worry that none of them made it through the dreaded “red tide” we had earlier this year but once again mother nature proved me wrong. Most of the fish are in the 14″ to 20″ range but I have had a few over 20″ on recent trips.
Snook fishing is generally pretty slow this time of year but that doesn’t mean we don’t catch any. It just isn’t that crazy 50 fish a day stuff we get during the spring and fall. I have been catching 5-10 fish a trip of all different sizes which just adds to the action!
Sheepshead have been super abundant this year. It seems like every dock, oyster bar and deep mangrove shoreline has sheepshead all over them. These fish are super challenging and can frustrate even the best anglers. They are great fighters and make great table fare.
Pompano and permit have both been hitting fairly well. The problem with these fish is that they rarely hang out in the same area for very long but when I find them the action has been great!
The 2019 Tarpon season is only 4 months away and if you are planing on catching a “Silver King” you are going to want to start planning now! I am already over half way booked and I would hate for any of you to miss a great tarpon fishing season!
Catch fish, No excuses!
Capt. Danny Latham
