Capt. George Tunison

For many anglers tarpon season is winding down but the fish haven’t been notified. You’ll sometimes see them in your kayak just off the beach or miles offshore, but there’s still a large group working Boca Grande and crabs are still good bait if you can get them.

Speaking of crabs, I’d hate to be one in the river right now, I’ve never seen so many floats. Am I against crabbing? Heck no, I grew up in the heart of blue crab country the Chesapeake and Delaware bays and have dangled chicken necks on a string, scooped up and cracked open many a bushel of blue claws. My only problem is that I wait all year to throw lures at night to river giants but I’m losing tarpon to the maze of floats.

If you’ve battled the silver king, you know a hooked tarpon is totally unpredictable when it comes to its fight and flight plan. It might take off down river and burn off a ton of line or stay close, jump and slug it out, or even jump in the boat to get a little angry boat and angler payback for his sudden circle hook tooth ache. Believe me, it does happen.

If you hook up and your fish heads for the float maze, your only option is to put as much heat on the fish as you can and staying as close as possible to the fish while your partner works the electric or engine and keeps a strong light on the line. Night fishing hookups around the bridges are typically a mad scramble anyway, but the sea of floats obviously adds to the challenge and often to frustration.

For those new to the area, know that our inshore and offshore summer fish do bite day and night and that the night angler not only beats the summer’s heat but also can enjoy some great multi-species angling.

If you want to try local night fishing, first order of business is taking a day trip to your target area to help get a feel for the route even though it sure looks differently at night. Today’s electronics help if you have them but going slowly is always the smart ticket. Use a high powered spotlight to watch for poles and trap floats but always be courteous with your blinding light when another craft approaches.

Even going slowly at night won’t always save you. Picture a first time night trip with friends or family. Up ahead is a dark, algae covered, crab trap float, with your name on it. At slow speed you run over it, the prop grabs the rope instantly winding up the float, rope and trap VERY tightly around it, shutting down your motor. I once had a whole cage completely twisted and wrapped up around the prop that had to be cut away with wire cutters. When your boat gets “crab trapped,” you can anchor up and call Sea Tow for rescue. You DO have tow insurance, right? Or, like my last crabby night adventure, put the knife in your teeth and jump in the black water and try to cut away the rope underwater without losing fingers or dangling shark snack legs.

Large schools of Spanish macs with mixed in bonito are showing up around the area. Inshore find small snook and some reds along mangrove shorelines. Trout school up closer to the ICW.

Capt. George Tunison is a Cape Coral resident fishing guide. You can contact him at 239-282-9434 or via email at captgeorget3@aol.com.