Boca...In Due Time

By Nick Angerosa

Nick Angerosa is a very talented fisherman, and with his help I boated my first tarpon last year. I caught his fever and never turned back. A big thanks goes out to Nick for this write up and great photographs.

Tarpon season is almost upon us, and that means "Tarpon Fever" is already in full swing for most of us.  One engagement with the mighty silver king is all it takes for one to catch the fever.  You’ll never get rid of it, nor would you want to.  If you’ve got the itch like me, right now your anxiously checking tides, planning trips and making sure your gear is in tip top shape, ready to be put in action. 

 
For many, they start their year in world famous Boca Grande Pass, as it is generally the first area tarpon congregate in mass, on their annual migration up the west coast of Florida, in preparation for their summertime spawn.  Boca is famous for the numbers of fish that occupy the Pass itself and surrounding waters, taking advantage of a seemingly endless supply of pass crabs that funnel through this famous pass on the strong outgoing tides of the full and new moon phases in May, June and July. 

It’s genius by design, as the crabs provide the Tarpon with a high protein food source that fuels their run offshore to spawn. This natural phenomenon is truly something to see. Crabs thick enough to walk across, 150 pound Tarpon rolling in packs just yards from your boat and hooked-up fish are somersaulting through the air.  If that doesn’t get your blood pumping, then I don’t know what will.

Now if I could only find a boat to hop on this summer to experience the action for myself, before having to put an ad up on craigslist-Brad