Offering full and half day Venice FL fishing charters and Englewood FL fishing charters with Capt Van Hubbard. Venice FL and Englewood FL have superb year-round light tackle inshore fishing for Tarpon, Snook, and Redfish.

Reserve your fishing charters with one of the most respected local fishing guides, Capt Van Hubbard, 941-740-4665.

Are you looking for a fishing charter with lots of excitement, screaming reels, giant jumping fish? Call Capt. Van Hubbard and Let’s Go Fishin’. Capt. Van Hubbard is one of the most experienced and knowledgeable inshore fishing guides on Florida’s Gulf Coast. He has been a professional, USCG licensed year round guide since 1976, and has been fishing Venice FL and Englewood FL, including Charlotte Harbor and Boca Grande since 1981.

Capt. Van is an International Game Fish Association (IGFA) certified captain offering Venice FL fishing charters for Tarpon, Snook, Redfish and other seasonal species. Capt Van’s extensive local knowledge makes him a great choice for other “non-fishing” eco-boat tours offered, like: shelling, bird watching, photography, remote island trips and lunch or dinner cruises.

Here is what Frank Sargeant – outdoor editor Tampa Tribune, editor Florida Sportsman magazine, and award winning outdoor writer – had to say about Capt. Van:

Captain Van Hubbard is one of the best-known and most successful fishing charter guides in Florida. I’ve had the pleasure of fishing with Van both inshore and off, and he has never failed to put me in the fish. And, he may hold the unofficial record for most Snook caught and released in a day—his grand total of 158 marks him as one of the best in the business.

I’m also impressed by the fact that Van pays his dues as a conservationist — he has been a leading voice for habitat preservation and fish conservation for more than a decade.

I’m proud to number him among my friends and fishing partners.

Frank Sargeant

2010 August 4      fishing report by Captain Van Hubbard

 Here are some ideas to help your catching and current Englewood/Venice fishing info.

 I was watching Mark Sosin on TV this morning and was yet again impressed with the wealth of knowledge he shares in his fishing shows.  His five decades of experience is obvious and it was an educational blessing to watch.  He understands because he has done it all, and offers more information in his shows than ninety percent of the other “expert hosts” combined.  They were catching so many big snook that he had to pace himself or get worn out.  You need to pay close attention to what he’s doing and listen to his tips also.  He takes the time to help you learn what he is doing and why he does it.  Fishing is not that hard if you approach it properly rigged and technique ready. He’s so patient sharing his knowledge and even teaches us to comprehend the need for feeling on the anglers part. 

 I only have four decades of experience to draw from but have realized that one of the biggest challenges for most anglers is they lack the experience to be able to “feel” everything that is going on.  Play with the feel of your rod pulling line in and line off the reel with the kids at home.  Leave the clicker on and hear the line move. Don’t laugh too hard but try closing your eyes and notice how keen you’re since of feel becomes.  I wonder why we close our eyes when kissing; to be wholeheartedly aware of the experience.  Everything about catching involves feeling what you are doing. You want to feel the rod’s power to pull in big fish. Feel it load up to cast. You gain control of the load and direction with your arm and wrist; not body English after it is launched.  Action and reflex action is everything controlling your rods performance.     

Most conservation minded anglers are using circle hooks; you want to hold your rod still and reel to hook up.  It difficult to teach “old dogs new tricks”, but it will catch and save many more fish. My most consistent angler “Rod Holder” just sits there and hooks most bites.  It’s fine to pull back after you feel the fish pull.  But your point must make contact before you pull! Many of us are using braided lines with no stretch; just pull back and bend your rod; please do not jerk like the bass boys, it does not work here.  Also many of us are trained to react to mono’s twenty percent stretch factor with rapid rod drop and actually give fish slack attempting to gain line.  Control your rod movements; don’t just wave it around erratically. When battling big fish remember it’s like a tug of war game and only pull when your opponent is resting.  Start back slowly and increase pressure as the fish comes towards you. Jerking line off your reel does not catch your fish.  Big fish set the pace when you set the hook but you can quickly gain control with sensitive awareness and shorten the battle. Don’t waste your energy.

 Maintaining contact with your lure or live bait is the biggest secret to catching success.  You don’t feel the bite on slack line! I find that with fly lines baits I want a slight bow in my high vis lines so I can actually see the line jump as a fish pops my baitfish. Too tight, it drags your bait, compensate for current and wind influences. Don’t over work your presentation.  Shrimp for example do not naturally jump three feet forward; especially repeatedly.  Fish need to be tricked into eating your offering so duplicate the action as naturally as you can.  Last but not least learn one thing or area at a time; don’t make this mind boggling work. Maybe one of these tips can help your catching and enjoyment.

 I fished a couple of days so far this week.  We have appearing and disappearing snook. Most are larger fish but they are challenging me with their unconventional movements. We did get a couple of trophy snook releases this week. We seem to have more snook around Englewood and Venice than most places from what I hear. Florida Fish and Wildlife have still not decided if snook season will open next month! Maybe it will just happen while they study it? I am still seeing a few tarpon locally but have not targeted them. I do believe enough are around if you want look for em. Trout and redfish are still the main stay inside but the waters are hot so the fish are not as active now.  Stump Pass water temperature was ninety-two yesterday. Some snapper have started to drop in but not thick yet.  I have reports of some big Spanish and kings a few miles off shore if we need to feed a larger group and the winds are down.  Baitfish are abundant but many are still smaller. Big threadfins are in the near by Gulf waters.  Plenty of pinfish for the off shore crowds and this is my bait of choice for tarpon now too.   We have fish but get out early and beat the heat. Afternoons can be good if the storms don’t catch you. Let’s Go Fishin’ soon. Captain Van Hubbard <www.captvan.com>

2010/7/21

Catching some fish around Englewood and catching up on projects.

 Charters have slowed down but fishing is still been good.  I enjoy the time to catch up on boat and tackle maintenance also I look forward to the days on the water fishing.  I even got a few projects done at home.  I am thinking about sneaking off to the Nature Coast for some fresh scallops or maybe the Keys for crawfish season; if I get enough days off in a row. It is so nice to have all these choices.

 Tarpon are still available we got a few last week.  The tides were strong and I went down to Boca Grande Pass since the crowds have mostly moved out; it’s fun to fish the Pass, again.  We fished crabs successfully but one of the traditional boats did much better with squirrelfish on this day.  With crabs floating everywhere it was unusual but I saw a big difference in bites with fish on that trip.  Some tarpon are still cruising the beaches but not dependable.  We have fish up inside the Harbor and it gets as hot as the weather some days.  Fish here range from smaller to giants and everything in between. The strong east winds have kept us out of the open waters for over a week.  Take advantage of the fair days and enjoy the action.

 Snook are looking good. We are not hammering them just catching a few to stay on top of their movements. I expect the season to open as scheduled on the First of September;

 Redfish are scattered up and down the waterways so far but available if you have some patience.  Most are slot sized but a few larger ones too.  Pinfish make good baits because the minnows are too small or large.  Cut baits work if you don’t mind the catfish.

 Trout are still putting the filets in the pan.  We have some smaller ones right now but a few nice ones too. The minnows are fine for trout and small pinfish get the bigger ones.  Soft plastics are great if you like lures.  Top water lures will pull up some fine fish if it’s not too rough.  Floating grass can be challenging on afternoons because of boat traffic.

 Snapper are due but not right yet, at least for anyone I’ve talked to. Spanish are here and have been hot frequently. Fish clean water and flowing currents.  Use lots of those smaller minnows; carry extra hooks and a lot of ice. 

 It sure has been nice having a new four stroke behind me this season.  My refinish job has help up and looks fine.  No oil and they have it stopped right now; so life is great.  We are due some rain but we need it. I’m looking forward to fishing the next three days weather permitting. Let’s Go Fishin’ soon. Captain Van Hubbard.   <  www.captvan.com >

2010-July 5th.

Venice/Englewood tarpon and snook fishing still good.

I hope everyone enjoyed their Forth of July as much as I did. We are so lucky to enjoy our freedoms and live in America. Please remember to thank our soldiers and law enforcement folks for their sacrifices to protect us! The rain ended just in time Sunday evening, so I took friends out in the boat to enjoy the Englewood fireworks. They were great this year. Thank you to all that put this together! It was cool, comfortable and just perfect.

We have enjoyed good tarpon action most trips but had to work for fish on a few trips too. I even had to go back to the old traditional method a couple of trips; Dacron lines in Boca Grande Pass and green on the reel. It was productive and worked because so many out of town boats invaded our usually quiet beaches. It was exciting to share the pass with the traditional guide boats many of them are long time friends. The big secret to fishing is simply, to fish happy fish. Because of the deeper waters and an awesome crab run during the Hill Tides of the Full Moon the “Pan” was hot for a few days. Fish will not tolerate boats running them over time and again. But since food was so abundant the fish dropped down deep and chewed while the crabs ran.

The beaches are not as consistent but do still have fish. One morning we’ll find “sitting ducks”, laid up schools of happy tarpon, just waiting for breakfast; the next we ride more to locate fish. Sometimes it works best to sit and wait for bites while the fish are scattered. Especially if you consistently observe rolling fish. I prefer the sight fishing with a clear target to cast at, but I want you to catch fish. Sitting requires more patience than seeing giant tarpon swim at your bait presentations, but some days it get the job done!

On June 23rd Scott Clark and family went after a mess of fish for dinner. We caught a few snook and a mess of fine speckled trout for their family feast. We had three trout at twenty two inches each. Live minnows under rattle corks, were the hot rigs.

On the 24th I broke out the old Dacron Pass conventional rigs for Mike Clark’s afternoon trip. Englewood Beach was slow so we ran all the way south to Boca Grande Pass. The area outside of the Big Hole known as the “Pan” to locals was cooking. We looked around and decided to jump in since we were properly equipped. It was awesome Mike had six or seven fish hooked up, on ten drifts! He was on fire. We landed a few and lost a few but they had a ball! We saw ten to twenty fish on at a time. I guess I am going to have to consider more Pass fishing next year, if the crowds continue to migrate out to beach fishing. Again the fact is only happy fish bite! Most of the folks fishing around here understand the need to slowly stalk schools of fish but the few that can not grasp this are impossible to fish around!

On the 25th Brian Winchester and family went after tarpon of off Venice and then some snook in Englewood.

Brian enjoys Venice tarpon fishing!

Merry Beth got Brian some great tarpon photos and then caught them some snook. They drove down from Tallahassee for a weekend of Englewood fishing.

On the 26th Maryann Baldwin brought Scott down from St. Pete. to catch him a birthday tarpon. The morning bite was slow so we went down to Boca Grande Pass for the evening tide and he pulled a big one out of the fleet for his birthday treat. It was great to see all the action, lots of jumps, he got his fish, but we ended with a big bang because the bull sharks moved in took over.

The weekend was a mess with rain and crowds so I took a couple of days off. I am looking forward to some bay fishing this week and then tarpon on Friday. I did slip out and catch my silver king on Friday morning. It is still exciting to catch a tarpon, even after over thirty years of tarpon guiding here around Boca Grande. We are blessed to be able to live and play here. We will have tarpon for the next month or so. Snook, redfish, trout, and more are available if you have the desire. Let’s Go Fishin’ soon. Captain Van Hubbard. <www.captvan.com>

2010 June 19 Venice/Englewood fishing report

 Monday started out with Skip Powers catching a big tarpon and then a red hot snook bite. I was worried when he showed up late for our predawn departure but we got lucky and found some hungry fish after daybreak. We stumbled into a bunch of big snook and spent awhile catch and releasing them.  It was great to see bunches of healthy snook after all the press about them being wiped out by the freezes here last Winter!  We even landed a redfish but it was too big for lunch.  We found more happy tarpon schools but could not get them to eat the flies we tried. It is exciting to watch silver king giants chase a fly.  Many anglers want to try tarpon on fly but you must be able to accurately cast about sixty feet to have good odds at a bite and hook up. It is amazing to silently sneak around the schools and present the tiny 3/0 fly.  You can pick out individual fish.

 Tuesday Bob and Revel Proferes of Venice managed to immediately out do Skip with an instant bite and then double header of big tarpon.  It was Bob’s birthday and he was blessed.  We found a very happy school of big fish right away.  I baited with a live crab and the school was so thick the crab stayed at the surface; so the take was like a big bass “POW” a huge surface explosion.  Bob quickly realized he concern about seeing his small cork in the magic hour was nothing to be concerned with. After his fish slowed down we were still surrounded by three happy schools of silver kings.  Revel was excited and I handed her a baited pole but the fish took off before she was ready. No problem I re-baited and she was ready this time and hooked her own.  We played back and forth for almost and hour before releasing both fish boatside.  Then we added a few nice snook. It was exciting to see the big fish eat our greenbacks right by the boat, in crystal clear waters.  We also caught a few drum for fresh fish lunch at the marina grille.

 Wednesday was more challenging; tarpon were everywhere, but scattered so George decided we should travel to chase permit.  We left lots of fish to look for fish, usually a mistake.  But as we pulled up to our reef destination things looked great. We could see mangrove snapper, spadefish, barracuda, and a dozen permit at the surface. Unfortunately they teased us and then disappeared. We went back after tarpon and finally got one to eat. It was a classic shine as she rolled while sucking in our bait but then she ran right towards us and spit our crab back at us.  We saw lots of fish and caught few today. The early bite is hot when it works and fish have been slowing down as the sun gets bright. Then turning on again mid day during the sea breeze or evenings.

 Friday Dr. Theriault of Venice, and his friend Randy came to get in on the hot action. Randy wanted a tarpon and got it right away; again on live crab.  The fish disappeared as usual with the bright sun so we headed off shore.  Fish were everywhere but it was calm and they were too smart for us; even with live and frozen chum.  Slick calm conditions are challenging to fool smart fish.  We came back inside and caught some fat trout for lunch and enough for their dinner too.   We had a twenty, twenty one, and twenty five inch speck; plus some smaller ones.  We used live whitebait minnows for bait with rattle corks to attract hungry fish.

 Friday afternoon Darren and his friend Eric joined me to catch tarpon.  We found plenty of fish but they just teased us mostly.  The few bites we got early crushed crabs but missed the hooks. 

this is better than Iraq for Army R&R

Darren finally hooked a big tarpon and they got some great video, I hope they share it soon?  Eric got his silver king just before dark and we headed home with a tired captain. 

 Saturday morning came early but was perfect.  Justin Lee and his father-in-law Keith we early and we started out before the weekend crowds.  I locked in on a happy bunch and we got set up for perfect presentations.  The fish looked but swam on by. After two shots without takers I switched to a smaller bunch near by and we got bit first cast.  We missed a few bites but did get Justin hooked up and he released a nice fish early.  Then it got interesting with plenty of company.  The interesting fact is that most folks are easy to fish around but many of the “professionals” with fancy sponsor wraps show no consideration for the fish or others. Sponsors are spending money with these “PROS” to turn off potential customers! If they only knew; please tell these sponsors! We finally got alone with a school and hooked Keith up to make our Father’s Day trip complete.    

 Sunday and Monday I was recuperating! Englewood and Venice tarpon, snook, and inshore fishing is great and will continue! Let’s Go Fishin’ now.  Captain Van Hubbard www.captvan.com Ph 941-740-4665

Englewood and Venice tarpon have arrived.

My week started off with a long time client and friend Pastor Jim Hennesy of Texas. His dad joined us for some long anticipated tarpon fishing.  Pastor Jim does not sleep well before his tarpon trips because he is still that excited about the giant silver king.  We had to hunt all the way down to almost Boca Grande to find him a hungry tarpon but we accomplished our quest.  Jim gets so excited he shakes and is totally lost in the experience.  It is so much fun to still share this intense excitement with friends even after all these years.  I still get juiced every time a silver king launches it’s self airborne even after over thirty years of working at it every summer (since 1981) here at Boca Grande.  Jim and I fish all kinds of fish but he and I share his passion for the giant silver kings.  We did get out again on Wednesday afternoon and he ended up 2 out of four for his tarpon adventures of 2010.  Life and guiding do have many blessing!

 Thursday started perfect; bait minnows were easy and we had to hunt some up but found a mess of snook. The action was not up to par but going in the right direction until the client said this was boring he wanted big fish!   So we adapted our game plan and managed to bag a big tarpon for his son Luke.  Things looked great for Saturday morning I had asked them to be ready at the dock by 5:45 because of the weekend traffic.  The weather was perfect, calm and clear.  Anticipation was high and a friend had left several schools in my back yard the evening before. Then they could not make it  on time; things got messed up meeting me and we finally started off at seven AM. I called Coach and he said they were releaseing their second fish.  We finally got out at sunrise and the fish went down for about three hours. We did manage to find fish but they just teased us until noon. Then Ed got one on but it just teased him.  A big lazy tarpon that probably did not even know it was hooked.  It managed a jump boatside and shook off.  As we got back on the school a beautiful interesting green tower rig idled up to help us.  I had to ask the skipper to shut his three-hundred fifty HP motor off so we could fish and thankfully he did. Ed cast out and promptly hooked a fish that went crazy.  I could not keep up with the powerful electric on high so I had to crank my one-fifty HP up to pursue before it took all three hundred plus yards of string.  This fish was on steroids and lived up to the silver king billing. Ed was finally impressed!  We enjoyed the tug of war between the angler and fish for about thirty minutes then managed a few good photos before the release.  Some body up stairs smiled on me and sure helped bail out this week. 

 Friday we had six boats set up for a group from the Sable Trust Company in Sarasota.  I got lucky and put Rick on a nice fish at six ten AM. He won first fish prize for it.  Captain Kevin smoked us and landed a fish for each of his three clients.  Everyone had fun then we came in to the Stump Pass Grille at noon for a super lunch and some fish stories.  It is great when things go like they are supposed to! 

 We have plenty of fish and hot action should hold for about a month. Then many out of town boats will return home and leave us plenty of happy tarpon and snook to play with until the weather runs em off.  We also have permit to pursue outside and trout/reds inside.  Life is great and we have beautiful water and beaches with NO OIL! Let’s Go Fishin’, now!

Captain Van Hubbard <www.captvan.com>