Monday, July 6
When Is Tarpon Season in Boca Grande?
Boca Grande Pass is the most famous tarpon fishery on the planet, and the calendar is remarkably predictable year to year.
When tarpon show up
The first tarpon usually trickle into the lower Charlotte Harbor and Boca Grande Pass in March and April, as the Gulf warms into the low 70s. Numbers build quickly through April — by late in the month there are enough fish around to plan a trip with real confidence.
Peak season: May and June
May and June are the peak. Thousands of tarpon stack up in and around the pass, and on a good day you'll see fish rolling almost constantly. The bite tapers through July as fish spread out and move on, though you can still find tarpon around the pass and beaches into the summer.
Why the pass, and what a 'hill tide' is
Boca Grande Pass is deep — well over 70 feet in spots — and it funnels the entire tidal exchange of Charlotte Harbor through a narrow gap. That current concentrates bait, and tarpon stage in the depths to feed on it.
The magic ingredient is the pass crab. On the strongest outgoing tides around the new and full moons of May and June — the famous 'hill tides' — millions of crabs get flushed out of the harbor through the pass at once, and the tarpon gorge. Timing a trip around those big moon tides is the single best thing you can do.
Handle them right
Tarpon in Florida are catch-and-release, and the big fish in the pass are mature, egg-laden females worth protecting. Keep them in the water when you can, revive them fully before release, and be aware that sharks work the pass and will target a tired tarpon. Fish them hard, but send them off strong.