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While many local and visiting anglers are putting in time hunting our spring tarpon swimming in the passes and along the beaches, others are taking advantage of the calm weather to venture offshore to public reefs and much further out secret GPS locations in the Gulf in pursuit of a great fight and a good dinner.
One of my favorite eating reef fish, the grey triggerfish, had its harvest season close this past June 1 but will re-open Aug. 1 until Dec. 31 for a delicious Christmas holiday dinner. If you enjoy aquariums, a triggerfish makes an interesting and amusing guest. Just be careful when choosing from the many varieties available as some are peaceful while others are very territorial and will quickly chew through all their tank mates.
Local grouper fans will be looking for some of the 13 grouper species regulated by the state, with most open to harvest year-round like reds or blacks. Always check your FWC website for updates and changes.
Speaking of grouper — really big grouper, Vancouver, B.C., chiropractor Steve Grey told me he wanted to fight one of the biggest, baddest fish in Southwest Florida. No problem. Dr. Grey is now back in beautiful Vancouver healing torn muscles in his right chest and shoulder from an intense fight with a local bully I introduced him to named Goliath. Speedy recovery Doc!
Get it on the trophy-sized permit fishing still taking place on many nearshore reefs and near the passes. Thirty pound-plus, chrome, hard pulling trophies are requesting that you bring out a bunch of small crabs if you want to play.
Boca Grande tarpon anglers do best by being on site and fishing in the early morning hours as the afternoons haven't been as productive. If you haven't done Boca tarpon, then by all means after arriving just sit back and watch the fleet work to get an understanding of the program and to not become a nuisance to others that have waited all year for their tarpon battle. Give way to those already hooked up and don't anchor in the pass.
Some locals and visitors don't give a hoot about highly corrosive saltwater and the many wonderful gamefish that swim in it, preferring instead to spend their time and money fishing sweet water in high-priced, high-horsepower, sleek, metalflake lake rockets, chasing short green fish that often weigh just a few pounds. Florida "The Bass Capitol of the World" is always a top destination.
The goal of most new bass anglers is that first 5-pounder, after that it's all about bagging the big one, a trophy 10-pound largemouth. Although Florida is a great place to make that 10-pound bucket list bucket mouth dream a reality, other states, specifically California with its super fat stocked trout-fed reservoir bass, might be a better place to start if you're truly trophy or record hunting. There, anglers throwing soft plastic, life-sized trout replica swimbaits, don't get too excited over 10 or even 15 pounders, as world record breaking sized bass over 25 pounds are a real possibility.
Florida and our FWC understand the importance of the state's famous bass fishing reputation and the anglers desire to catch bigger largemouth. In response the FWC has created the Florida Trophy Bass Project in an effort to increase the number of trophy-sized fish through genetics research, supplemental stocking, culling of undersized fish in certain areas and other programs, all designed to promote more trophy largemouth potential throughout the state.
Inshore, look for clean water areas and try finding fish both on the inside and outside of Burnt Store Bar, and to the west, Turtle and Bull Bays, for redfish, trout, snook, pompano and sharks. Jumbo snook turn up on nearshore reefs as "by-catch" while juvenile canal tarpon are active locally and especially in the PGI canal system.
Capt. George Tunison is a Cape Coral resident fishing guide. You can contact him at 239-282-9434 or via email at captgeorget3@aol.com.