Tournament Involves the Entire Community

By Jonie Maschek

The world's richest Tarpon tournament takes place in Boca Grande the weekend of June 11 and 12. Hosted by the Boca Grande Chamber of Commerce who gives a purse to the winner, of a quarter of a million dollars. The tournament is limited to 60 teams who pay $5,200 dollars each. This involves the entire community. They have a courtesy spectator tent and boat. Emcees keep all spectators informed of the standings and weigh-ins. All fish are weighed and released or landed at the boat an released. This is the biggest event of the year and boosts the economy of the community and contributes to the Chamber's Scholarship Fund.

I know several in Ruskin that own homes on Gasparilla Island at Boca Grande.

For those who do not know where this island is I will try to give you directions. It lies south of Placida, north of Pine Island. East coast is Charlotte Harbor and the west coast of the island is the Gulf of Mexico, halfway between Sarasota and Fort Myers.

Boca Grande is an unincorporated village. The nucleus of the island is about two blocks square, located midpoint on the island.

Fishing is an important part of their industry and culture of the island. With thousands of tarpon rolling through Boca Grande Pass each year, it is known as the "Tarpon Fishing Capital of the World."

Shopping in this island town is an adventure and all food is a memorable adventure in local restaurants.

The island has its own school through the fifth grade and has only 34 children enrolled. There is a waiting list and they hope to enlarge and include the sixth grade.

It has a historical society to educated people of the history of the island. Boca Trolley will give you a narrated historical trolley tour of Boca Grande and Gasparilla Island. It is a 30 passenger trolly.

At the corner of 10th Street and Gasparilla Road is a great pink stucco building which houses the library, donated by its winter visitors Mr. and Mrs. Roger Amory. It has a lovely garden and fountains and makes an ideal ground for art exhibits.

The islands boasts a sales and rental management, located in the heart of Boca Grande. You might keep this in mind for your next trip south. A final hearing this month is on silver mullet as a restricted species and close commercial harvest of the species on weekends July 1 - Jan. 31 statewide. It would also prohibit sale of the silver mullet harvested during the weekend closure and would close Atlantic coast commercial harvest to the species during February. It also may require a bag limit for stripped and limit a limit of 50 mullet would apply.

There has been some heavy rain this past week, but on those good sunny days anglers have been out catching snook.

Snook have joined the other species this week and have been seen in various parts of the waterways, north, south, east and west.

Redfish are still swirling in the waterways.

I haven't heard much about fishing activity at Broken Bridge but heard anglers talking about redfish catches out there this week.

Flounder have been showing up with snook catches.

Whiting have been caught on piers as well as sheepshead.

Freshwater cats are being boated in upper Little Manatee River, as well as some good-size big mouth bass.

Don't catch more than you can eat or give to your neighbor, practice catch and release using a circle hook.