A tailing redfish - the stuff fishing dreams are made of!
Paul Sharman heads to Florida with his fly rod in his case in the March 2016 issue of Eat-Sleep-Fish magazine.
The Boca Grande Pass from the Gulf of Mexico into the protected waters of Charlotte Harbour beyond at Boca Grande in south west Florida is famous amongst specimen tarpon hunters. Triple digit fish arrive in the high season which peaks around June, feeding on crabs and baitfish being washed out of the bay. During this time the pass can become like a parking lot with dozens and dozens of drifting boats hoping to hook their anglers into a fish. While you could try a fly on quieter days it is really a bait fishery best suited to heavy gear in the strong currents. Save the fly fishing for hunting along the beaches for pods of fish and inside Charlotte Harbour itself. As much as I love tarpon, it is the other species that live in the bays, channels and flats of Charlotte Harbour and Pine Island Sound to the south that really get me excited and none more so than the bull of the flats, the redfish.