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

2012-Jan. 18^th We are still enjoying great weather and good fishing.

Our days have mostly been warm and sunny with temperatures frequently up almost to eighty degrees. The Gulf has been stirred up for a few days sometimes but settles fast; I fish mostly inside now anyway. Boat traffic is up with many folks cruising south to Boca Grande or north to Venice for lunch or dinner excursions, so we lots of different rigs daily. With the colder weather up north we have plenty of migratory birds that add entertainment to our outings.

We have caught a good variety recently including; snook, redfish, trout, pompano, ladyfish, sheepshead, catfish, etc… While the bite is not red hot like summertime action we have managed several double headers of snook, trout, and ladyfish this week.  Our best action has been on warmer afternoons recently but that is because of cooler morning last week. Live shrimp have been the bait for most catches. We did get some pompano on jigs with shrimp treats.  The rattle corks are the ticket right now, just remember to make noise with the corks and keep our feet quiet.  Fish have been in unusual places recently and they keep moving around, it’s challenging everyday but fun.

With the winter staying so mild so far my guess is we should have an early spring. So please don’t wait too long to set up your March thru June fishing dates. Folks are starting to realize dates around Easter, Spring Break, and such go fast. It has been good to see snook while looking around and on our lines recently. We can not eat them anytime soon but we sure enjoy playing with em, they put a big smile on Alex’s face on Monday afternoon.

The dolphin, eagles, and other birds offer some memorable moments on most trips. The manatees are hiding back in the deeper protected waters right now but all the other critters are adding frequent smiles to our excursions. White pelicans are very abundant right now for example. We saw huge column of what I believe was sparrows on Monday down by Cape Haze near Englewood.

Tarpon and snook fishing, plus the big Spring migration of mackerel, sharks etc… will be here before you ready so get prepared now. Thank you for your support. Captain Van Hubbard <www.captvan.com>

Our Venice weather and fishing have been great. 1-8-12

We are currently enjoying some of the best “Winter” weather I can remember. Welcome to Southwest Florida. Yes we did have a couple of cold mornings last week, but this is January! Cold fronts come and go, but it eighty degrees right now. If you are around for a few days we can usually choose some good weather. Also an additional benefit of inshore and inside fishing is that we can find a protected shoreline to enjoy our outing. No rough water fishing! It’s always best to select a day early in your vacation so we can adjust our trip date with the weather conditions if possible. Now back to that fishing part.

Pompano have been cooperating on most trips recently. These can be challenging to get going but are great when they bite. Pompano pull hard, taste great, and are healthy for us. We and use light spinning gear and custom pompano jigs sweetened with a small piece of shrimp. I usually start out around our local Gulf Passes; Stump Pass, by Englewood Beach, is my home port and always first. Some days we go north to Venice Inlet or south as far as Boca Grande Pass.  Fishing has been better south recently.  We also catch a large variety while targeting the golden nuggets; ladyfish, trout, flounder, jacks, whiting, and many more. This variety keeps poles bent and clients smiling.

Trout are open now plus we always have redfish. Sheepshead and flounder are starting to show up and add to our table fare. Some days we can mix it up and catch multiple species while other times it’s best to concentrate our efforts if you want specific fish. We usually fish live shrimp now under rattle corks on spinning gear. We fish some lures if you wish, even fly fishing if that’s your desire. Just watch out for each other when casting, please.

Some snook are around now but cooler waters mean more effort per fish. Snook are a sub-tropical species and thrive in hot water. April thru October is prime times for snook. We enjoy awesome catch and release snook action in the heat of Summer, if want hot action with both numbers and big fish.  We can sometimes mix up our tarpon fishing adventures with some snook action also. Remember, it’s time to make your plans for our awesome Spring and Summer tarpon and snook fishing soon. The Spring mackerel migration could be early if the weather stays mild!

The weather is great and fish hungry so Let’s Go Fishin’ soon. Captain Van Hubbard.  <wwwcaptvan.com>

Weather and fishing are great down here in Venice and Boca Grande, Florida.

 I can not remember this good of weather from the Christmas Holidays and I’ve been guiding along this Gulf Coast for more than thirty-five years now.  Our fishing is good too. On trips just before and since Christmas we caught snook, redfish, trout, pompano, mackerel, sheepshead, flounder and a variety of fun fish. While the winds have backed off several days fishing inside is so good we haven’t even traveled outside into the Gulf recently. I did hear about a few tripletails but some ridding to locate them. It’s time to begin to think about setting up our Summer snook and tarpon trips if you want to get in on the action for May and June? I’m sure we’ll get some cooler weather soon but we things to cool down some because eighties everyday was hot! I am excited about the New Year and all the opportunities it brings. I am thankful for all the blessings and good catching I enjoyed with many of you last year. It’s great to live here and be able to share this amazing area with visitors.

 Don DeCessna and sons Brad and Jack plus grandson John joined me for their annual Christmas fishing trip. The ladies always send tasty cookies so we try to get a mess of fish to treat them. This year it was easy, they had redfish, pompano, and sheepshead to enjoy. Jack caught a nice trout we released but remember that trout opens on New Years and will not be closed in the future! I’m not seeing the larger reds now but several from about eighteen to twenty-two inches.

 Reds and trout have been cooperating most of the time.  These low tides help concentrate fish because the flats are bare most mornings this week. Warmer waters are providing more snook than we usually catch now. We are catching few mackerel and most days several pompano if we target them.

 Spring and Summer fishing will be here before we know it so think about your catch and release snook and tarpon fishing because it’s time to set up your dates and reserve em. Who knows how soon they could come if it stays mild?

 I am looking forward to New Years and keeping speckled trout next week! I hope you can find time to get down here and enjoy some of our weather and fishing soon. Captain Van Hubbard <www.captvan.com>

2011-11-30      Fishing report by Captain Van Hubbard

 We enjoyed some good food, weather and fishing for the Thanksgiving Holidays.

 Mackerel were scattered from Venice Beaches to Boca Grande Pass and into Charlotte Harbor last month. Many were smaller but some were larger two and three pounds. We also found a few tasty pompano they were not thick but we could catch a mess for dinner if we gave em a chance. Lots of ladyfish to keep poles bent between pompano and macks. We used Doc’s Goofy jigs tipped with fresh shrimp for best results. Eddies near the passes are usually hot spots. Changing weather and Christmas shopping will slow trips down, but if you can get out waters are not crowded plus fishing is fine.

If you’re shopping on those windy days consider some fishy toys for your big boys and girls. We all love new toys. Take some time to consider our specific likes in fishing so you can match your gifts to our angling needs.  Most of us have more time than money these days; so spend more time thinking and less rushing to get it over with. Make your dollars count and gain deeper appreciation. Of course I think charters are a great gift if you can swing it, I’m a guide. This is a great way to see how it can be as well as supposed to be done, gain experience and expand knowledge. While we are not cheap, we are a good value and much less than ownership. Our significant fishing experience can shorten your learning curve dramatically.

Other ideas are fishing poles, lures, or even gift certificates. If you have the time, do your research learn more about each other and make the extra effort; the joy you revive is worth every minute or even hour. If you can make the time, enjoy it with others; now is the time to share with family and friends.  The smiles you can inspire are more rewarding than anything else you can share or buy. If you want to be happy just show some kids a good time around our waters and you’ll experience the joy of the holidays. Their smiles are pure joy!

Make Christmas to New Years fishing reservations now because dates are booking up.  We can expect some good action with redfish, sheepshead, trout and pompano.  Next year trout will be open year round. We could even have some mackerel if it stays as warm as it was around Thanksgiving. Enjoy this time with the special folks in your life. Let’s go fishin’ soon. Merry Christmas      Captain Van Hubbard <www.captvan.com>

2011-11-17 fishing report by Captain Van Hubbard.

Venice to Boca Grande fishing is productive now.

Time flies by and its Thanksgiving already with Christmas right around the corner. Don’t procrastinate colder weather is coming soon. Fishing has picked up outside with better weather, some kings and plenty of Spanish mackerel. Flounder are around the near shore artificial reefs. We finally found a few pompano yesterday around the pass. Inside red fish keep me guessing; we do great for several trips and then fish move around. Snook and trout are here but fun only for now. Ladyfish have reappeared for fun action. We have fish and maybe some good weather for the Holiday?

If the weather doesn’t stir up near shore waters with today’s front, we have mackerel to play with from Venice Beaches south to Boca Grande. Spanish are thick right off Stump Pass and Venice Beach. We are using Gator spoons since minnows are hard to find right now; live shrimp are also working. The larger kings are scattered but cruising thru with some nice cobia. Tripletail have blessed some trips recently too. Our near shore fishing will turn on if we get a migration of baitfish to help us locate the action. Sharks will follow the food too.

The flounder have been abundant so far we even had almost a dozen on Monday’s trip. Some were smaller but we had six from 2-3+ pounds. That’s a nice mess of fresh fish for dinner! The trick for us is to use cut bait and jig heads bounced around the reefs structures. Nice to have tasty flatfish with grouper closed.

We found a few pompano at Stump Pass yesterday. The ladyfish kept us busy; we had fun with Spanish and pompano for lunch, that’s a good morning. We usually bounce Doc’s Goofy Jigs along the bottom for pompano. Add a tip it of fresh shrimp to enhance the bite.

Redfish are here and abundant but some days we catch them other trips they elude us. That’s the thing about fishing even with thirty-five years of guiding experience the fish keep educating me! Maybe the bright Full Moon last weekend just had them eating at night? The trout and some snook help keep poles bent but we have to release them for now.

Bottom line is we have fish and a lot to be thankful for so enjoy Thanksgiving with your family and then Let’s Go fishin’. Captain Van Hubbard  <www.captvan.com>