Spring break brought lots of folks to enjoy good Englewood/Venice fishing.

 What a beautiful and busy week we have just enjoyed. Fishing every day and lots of great people catching some fine fish. Many of the trips last week were spring break families. We are keeping the kids busy with the trout, mackerel, and ladyfish.  Rattle corks have been the ticket for success. Live shrimp are our baits until minnows show up here. We have found a few minnows but not at all dependable yet. Stump Pass Marina has had very nice shrimp and so far the pinfish are not stealing them bad. The kids have been such a blessing. Their enthusiasm and smiles make my days. They are happy catching fish and don’t care what kinds. This time shared with families on the water fishing and boating is a blessing I am thankful for. The dolphins have added even more joy many times recently.

 We got our first tarpon of the year on the eleventh of March. It was small but a silver king. The winds were so strong we had to hide in the cannels but got lucky and found some fun fish.  We don’t like to fish in high winds but can pull it off if we need to most trips.  I do not take foolish chances with our lives! It’s nice to be inside where we can find a lee shore to hide and fish.

 We are not seeing the king mackerel I expect yet but did get a nice thirty-five pound cobia while looking one day. We found two bunches of tarpon in Boca Grande Pass one day, but went back today and they were gone. Water temp was sixty-eight and saw tarpon but no kings? So far it is an unusual Spring fishing season. Pompano are passing by; one day is great, the next ok, and then we work to get dinner. Fortunately trout and Spanish Mackerel are helping us satisfy our fresh fish cravings.

 Pompano are around and available but can be challenging. Some days they chew and make it look easy; the next they test our skills and patience.  They are so good we let em drive us crazy and continue to pursue these tasty treats. I was blessed to enjoy fresh pompano three days last week and am thankful! Some of the pompano were about three pounds and others smaller. Doc’s Goofy Jigs tipped with fresh shrimp are our most effective lures. I expect pompano to continue to improve for the next couple of months.

 Spanish and king mackerel are due to show up in numbers any day now! We can find Spanish most of the time now. The baitfish schools have not shown up here yet and everything else follows the food!  We have a few smaller sharks to tear up our gear and excite the anglers with strong, fast runs. Cobia are not abundant but improving. Barracuda are here but slow until waters warm up into the seventies.

 Everything is in place to take off dramatically any day. Fishing is fine and weather beautiful. Life is wonderful down here now and will just get better every week. Don’t wait too long to get your reservations because I had to turn down several folks last week! Don’t miss the boat let’s set up your fishing trip soon. Catch and release snook and tarpon fishing are almost here also.  Captain Van Hubbard        <www.captvan.com>