If you own a boat and have been waiting for the fishing to get good … no, great … now is the time.

Actually, fishing has been very good for months due to several factors, mainly a warm winter and a river quickly rebounding from discharges from Lake Okeecho-bee. I don’t think anyone expected such a rapid comeback of the Caloosahatchee.

The old saying about giving Mother Nature half a chance and she will heal herself is, in this case, rapidly coming true.

Fishing aboard Flying Fins this week has been excellent. Clients have concentrated on catching the big three — tarpon, snook and reds.

Redfishing continues to just keep getting better, except all of our reds are too big to keep. Life is rough sometimes. Hot redfish lures on my boat this week were the old reliable gold spoon, D.O.A. gold glitter shrimp, and an assortment of fly rod lures, including Clousers, gold spoon flies, and various streamers.

We are catching big reds in super shallow, clear water, so fluorocarbon leaders are making a big difference for us. Recommend at least 30 inches for casting tackle, and I have gone to 10-foot leaders with 12-pound fluorocarbon tippets for my fly fishing clients.

Cast ahead of reds



The reliable gold spoon is super search bait if you are not seeing reds, but feel they should be there. Cover ground with this lure and make a lot of casts in likely areas. A redfish will not often turn down a well presented spoon. Just remember to learn to feather your cast to minimize a heavy splashdown of that hunk of metal.

Cast well ahead of the fish after you see which way it’s moving so at some point your spoon will cross paths. That way you won’t hit him on the head and spook him.

Also, we have been catching tarpon in lower Matlacha Pass, Sanibel, Saint James City and the passes, on fly rods, dead and live bait, and lures.

As with the redfish, this is an early morning bite. Leaving before light and being on the fishing grounds before sunrise (and wind) has been the ticket this past week for my style of lure and fly fishing.

Of course, Boca Grande is full of tarpon and the giant sharks that shadow these migrating fish. If you really feel like a workout, try one of these big brutes for size.

Hang some chum blocks in the current and toss some chunks of ladyfish out behind the boat and wait. Great bait for your “monster rod” is a small jack, a ladyfish, ray, or other live or dead fish. I like to fish two baits, one under a float or balloon and the other on the bottom. You will see the sharks working out behind the boat as they track and close in on the source of the scent.

Boatside shark care



Sharks in our area come in several different sizes from young pups to 1,000-plus-pound beasts and are plentiful this time of year, especially around Boca. Handle these animals carefully at boatside as they are quick, dangerous, unhappy, and will not only attack and bite your boat, but anything that gets in range.

A giant, upset shark at boatside is quite a sight, especially when you know full well he can and will eat you. That’s why when I decide to take a dip, you will find me poolside.

For snook and reds under the bushes and mangroves, try skipping a D.O.A. shrimp or GULP shrimp back under the limbs. Let the Gulp shrimp sit as long as you care to because if Mr. Redfish is close, he will smell it and come running. Let the D.O.A. settle and slowly give it short twitches as it’s retrieved back to the boat.

Try to use circle hooks for any bait fishing so as not to injure the fish.

Be safe and courteous on the water.



Capt. George Tunison is a Cape Coral resident fishing guide. Contact him at captgeorget3@aol.com, or (239) 282-9434.