Contributing Writer Capt. Gregg Mckee
Wildfly Fishing Charters
Welcome to October, and even though my wife and daughter have pumpkin spiced everything in the house, it’s still very much summer here in Southwest Florida. Our dangerous heat and humidity may have eased off a bit, but our water temps remain firmly in the 80s and should stay there until Thanksgiving. That’s great for just about every species in our local waters, both inshore and offshore. But best of all, it’s still Tarpon Season.
A lot of anglers think these migratory fish are long gone by now, but that’s far from the case. Our resident population of juvenile tarpon are still out there in good numbers, and we have several spots in both Matlacha Pass and Pine Island Sound where I can put my customers on them for at least an hour or more each morning if the tides are right. This is a nice bonus for the folks who come down in the fall only expecting snook and redfish.
Of course, October is a very quiet time of year for tourists, so I’ve been taking advantage of that to chase a few tarpon myself since I rarely get time on the front of my boat. I’ve also been thrilled to check out some “new” water that holds more tarpon than I ever imagined.
My buddy Denis Burke is a retired NYPD officer and striped bass guide who moved down here just over six years ago and caught the tarpon bug immediately. The Caloosahatchee River is his backyard and it didn’t take long for he and his wife Ann to start hooking into some of the triple-digit fish that prowl the Ft. Myers bridges. They also became active with the Cape Coral Tarpon Hunters Club, one of the oldest fishing clubs in Florida with over 300 members. (www.capecoraltarponhunters.com) The Burkes got so good at catching the famous silver king that Ann was their 2025 grand champion. She’s only the second woman to do that in the club’s 56-year history.
When Denis offered to take me up the Caloosahatchee in his skiff to chase freshwater tarpon last month, I jumped at the chance. My home waters are off Matlacha and Pine Island, and the last time I was up the river was at least a decade ago on a very cold January morning. I remember being stunned by the amount of big tarpon I saw rolling in the deep 65-degree water, but I had no idea how to make them eat. With much warmer temps and Denis as the guide, things would be different this time.
We left his Ft. Myers dock before sunrise and ran several miles above the bridges. The first cove we idled into looked like any mangrove shoreline you’d find off Pine Island, complete with several rolling tarpon. The ten-foot alligator cruising through them reminded me that we were pretty far from the salt. Denis casually called him "Big Frank" and the tarpon were equally unbothered by his presence. It’s common knowledge that these fish thrive in both fresh and saltwater, but so do a lot of other inshore species.
My first catch, after just a few minutes of casting, was a beautifully colored redfish that hit my purple tarpon fly. We heard and saw snook popping on glass minnows all along the tree line and after switching to white patterns, we started hooking them, too. The seatrout eluded us that morning, but they’re not uncommon in the river either. This is the same water where Denis often catches both largemouth and peacock bass.
We put a few small tarpon in the air in that first cove but they got wise to us quickly. With the sun firmly rising, we ran further up the river to hit some deeper holes. Every stop held fish that we could see both rolling on the surface and hugging the bottom on the sonar. More than a few were easily hundred pounders. Tarpon rarely get that big by being stupid, and they weren’t interested in our flies. Live bait would’ve been a different story, but that wasn’t our game-plan this time.
Our last stop before noon was another beautiful cove still surrounded by mangroves but definitely far from the salt. We were now in farm country and cattle were grazing near the waterline on the way there. The school of rolling tarpon in this part of the river was as big as any I’d expect to see out on the Gulf flats. They were also happy to reward a good cast and grab our flies when we gave them the chance.
We brought a couple small tarpon to the boat but the best catch of all was the baby bull shark that Denis landed on a purple streamer. Bull sharks are famous for tolerating fresh water and stories of them in rivers and lakes are absolutely true. We were at least twenty miles up the Caloosahatchee at this point and Denis said sharks were a regular sight in that area. After that, it was time to run home since we were right where the daily inland thunderstorms are born.
While these weren’t my first freshwater tarpon, I’ve caught them on golf courses and in canals, It was the first time I really felt like I experienced that part of the Caloosahatchee and its Old Florida vibe. The river is another incredible ecosystem that’s in much better shape than most people realize. I'll definitely be back.
Thanks again, Denis, and I still owe you and Ann some decent Pine Island fish. Best of luck out there, everyone.
Capt. Gregg Mckee
Wildfly Fishing Charters
Matlacha, Florida
