The Boca Grande, FL marine forecast covers live wind speed and gusts, tide predictions, wave conditions, and major and minor solunar feeding times, updated continuously from NOAA and Open-Meteo. The strongest fishing windows usually line up with the moving tide and the solunar periods shown below — check current conditions before you head out.
By Steve Wilson, lifelong angler & founder of My Marine Forecast
Last updated: Sep 15, 2026, 8:00 AM
Winds 1–13 mph from the SE gusting to 13 mph. Air temperatures 78–87°F. The strongest fishing windows line up with the moving water around each tide change, roughly an hour on either side.
Today's Tides · Station 8725684
| Loading tide data… |
Wind
1–13 mph SE
Gusts
13 mph
Air Temp
78–87°F
Tides from NOAA Station 8725684 · wind & temperature from Open-Meteo. Open the live forecast for hourly charts and the 7-day outlook.
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Tide data sourced from NOAA Station 8725684
Boca Grande is the tarpon capital of Florida. Every Spring, Charlotte Harbor fills with giant tarpon — fish from 80 to well over 150 pounds — that pile up in the deep water near Boca Grande Pass. It's the most famous tarpon fishery in the state, and it earns that reputation every year.
The Pass is the focal point. Dozens of boats fish the ledge during peak season, and it takes patience and local knowledge to pick apart the crowd and find fish. Away from the Pass, the shallow flats inside the Harbor hold tarpon too, particularly in May and June when big schools push up into the back bays after spawning.
Outside of tarpon season, Charlotte Harbor's redfish population is exceptional. The grass flats north of the Pass hold reds year-round. Fall is particularly good when large schools become visible on the shallows. Snook stack up in the Pass during Summer before the spawn and make for exciting light-tackle fishing.
Wind out of the northwest can make the Pass uncomfortable quickly. The harbor side is better protected. Check the wind forecast alongside the tide chart above — a falling tide out of Boca Grande Pass on a calm morning is one of the best combinations in Florida fishing.
Spring: The tarpon buildup begins in April as strings of fish arrive along the beaches and stage in Boca Grande Pass, gathering ahead of the May and June peak. Snook feed heavily before their summer spawn, staging toward the passes. Charlotte Harbor's flats hold redfish and big spring seatrout, and cobia cruise the harbor's bars and markers.
Summer: May through early July is the height of the pass fishery, with thousands of tarpon rolling through Boca Grande Pass on hill tides and crab flushes. Snook spawn in the passes and along the beach, sight-fishable in the surf. Redfish work the mangrove shorelines of Gasparilla Sound, and mangrove snapper fill the harbor's structure.
Fall: Redfish school big in Charlotte Harbor and Gasparilla Sound from September into November, pushing across the flats in groups of dozens. Snook slide back into the backcountry as water cools. Seatrout spread over the grass, Spanish mackerel and bluefish chase glass minnows out front, and the last tarpon trickle south early in the season.
Winter: Low winter tides expose the harbor's flats and concentrate redfish, trout and snook into potholes and channel edges. Sheepshead crowd the phosphate dock pilings, jetties and reefs, the most dependable cold-month bite. Big seatrout show on shallow grass on warm afternoons, and pompano skip along the sandy edges of the ICW.
Boca Grande Pass is the deepest natural inlet on Florida's gulf coast and its tarpon fishery each May and June is the area's calling card. Charlotte Harbor spreads north and east with miles of grass flats, bars and mangrove shoreline for redfish, trout and snook. Gasparilla Sound behind the island holds protected flats fishable in most winds. Gasparilla Island State Park at the south end gives beach and pass access for surf snook and pompano, and the old phosphate dock area near Port Boca Grande is a known sheepshead and snapper hangout.