Boca Grande Pass
or Boca, or the pass, or Boca pass
click here to see on  

This show how different places in the pass can be way different in depth. Making this pass hard to fish
with out snagging the bottom.

The problem with fishin Boca pass is the water can go through the pass so fast it may even drag your boat under water if you
are anchored there. So we drift the pass not anchored now you see the problem with getting snagged. As the depth goes from
70 to 50 to 60 to 30 feet you need to keep adjusting the amount of line you have out.

Years ago the Tarpon fisherman would weave colored thread into the Dacron fishing line, at different places to mark how much line was out, You would here green to the tip, or red to the reel as the depth changed. keeping the customers on the charter from snagging up on the un-even jagged bottom features.

Speaking of the bottom, the bottom in Boca Pass is one of the most exciting fish in the world. What do I mean?
Think of it this way, you are drifting along and all of a sudden your line starts screaming off in a hard steady pull, almost pulling you with it. and you yell to your friend I got a big one, and he reels in his line. By now the "fish" has taken out 100 plus yards of line. He starts the boat and you begin to chase after the fish, you get the boat right on top of the fish, he goes to neutral with the motor and the fish starts screaming off line again, you go and fire the motor and chase the fish getting right back on top of your line again and back off on the throttle and the fish takes off again, you are chasing this fish all over it is really making a run for it. Or are you just moving back and forth in a line as every time you back off the motor, the currant takes you away again and you keep running the boat back to where you are snagged again and again and again. I will give you a hint when you get a fish on the line the Rod will not pull steady you will feel bumps, jerks as the fish is pulling away from you. not quite as even and steady as the currant will pull you away from a snag. the other thing to do, is look at a land mark. Like the light house have you moved away or towards some thing? Don't worry even after reading this you will fight the bottom of the pass for at least 20 minutes before you remember what you read here. And that my friends is one of the greatest fishing fights in the world.
The bottom in Boca pass. 

This is a screen shot from a navionics chart

 

 

Here a the boundaries for Boca as they pertain to Tarpon season


      
 During Tarpon season as shown below there are special rules and gear restrictions,
                                                                         this is a school of Tarpon breaking the surface

                 

 

 I am going to post this page hoping,
 I can get time to finish it soon,
 But for now I will get this up. There is a lot more I need
to post about this place,