It's time to get your big snook or tarpon. Web for July 21, 2006 Fishing has slowed down but still fine. So far so good on red tide; none on the north side of Charlotte Harbor. It been big in the press so I wanted to let folks know that red tide has not effected us; except in the press. Snook are catch and release but abundant. We did have to work at the catching this past week but New Moon tides should help the bite. We saw plenty of big fish and caught several. We did not catch as many reds this week but did get a fine slot fish Tuesday. Trout are hit and miss also. We had a nice mess of six trout averaging almost two pounds Saturday but could not get one on the same stop Thursday. Maybe that is why we call it fishing? Captain Mel Berman came down to join us on Monday the 17th. We found plenty of big snook but they were challenging. We hooked up two big one at the first stop and landed one eighteen pounder. The tide was slow and conditions calm; not easy catching. Bait minnows are still available. It’s a mix of pinfish, whitebait and greenbacks. I prefer to anchor up and chum to get a better mix but cowboying sometimes works. The minnows on the beaches have been smaller recently. We enjoyed a fun day and caught several smaller snook with our friend Captain Mel. Richard Wells was vacationing from mid-state. It’s great to have a choice of east or west coast fishing. We fished his daughter Kathy on Tuesday; she took us to school and showed us how to catch fish. Lady luck and her skill mad the captain look good. Richard finally came into the groove and landed his share before the heat ran us in. A good mix of snook sizes but not as much variety. Grandpa brought his grandchildren on Friday. Samantha and Rick were wonderful, fun and well behaved. They patiently worked to catch a dozen medium snook on their short trip. Ken Trotter from Sarasota took his nephews fishing on Thursday. Mark and Nick showed us how to catch em. Their enthusiasm is so much fun to share. They had a ball and caught a big snook each; 36 and 38 inches. The fish were as big as they were. Again we saw a lot more fish than we caught but had a memorable outing. We took a look towards Boca Grande yesterday afternoon checking on the silver kings. There was a few old dead fish south of the Big Pass. The best news is plenty of tarpon. We hooked up on the first bunch and then they played hade to get a bait to. Many smaller fish but the one we hooked was way over the hundred pound mark. Let’s Go Fishin’ soon. Captain Van Hubbard