Boca Grande
The tarpon fishing capital, on Gasparilla Island.
- Island
- Gasparilla
- Boca Grande Pass
- About 80 feet deep
- Gasparilla Inn
- Opened 1913
- Tides
- Two highs, two lows, uneven
Then
- 1885
A 93-pound tarpon is landed on March 12, an early sign of the fishing to come.
- 1907
The Charlotte Harbor and Northern Railroad is completed to a phosphate port on the island.
- 1908
Barron Collier builds a Tarpon Inn, and Boca Grande becomes world famous as the Tarpon Fishing Capital of the World.
- 1913
The Gasparilla Inn opens.
- 1979
The rail line is abandoned, ending phosphate shipping.
Now
Boca Grande Pass, the “big mouth” of Charlotte Harbor, is the deepest natural pass in Florida. Tarpon season still fills it with boats.
There is one fuel pump on the island, at the marina, and most streets double as golf cart paths. Bokeelia and North Captiva lie across the harbor.
On the water
From NOAA's predictions for Port Boca Grande, Charlotte Harbor, FL over the next 353 days. Heights are in feet above mean lower low water (MLLW).
- Pattern
- Two highs and two lows a day, one noticeably bigger than the other
- Typical daily range
- 1.6 ft
- Biggest swing
- 2.9 ft on Dec 24
- Smallest swing
- 0.5 ft on Jun 26
- Highest high
- 2.3 ft, Oct 29 at 1:29 AM
- Lowest low
- −0.8 ft, Jan 21 at 6:17 AM