The tens of thousands of tarpon that visited Boca Grande Pass during those times still come today. For those sportsman who have never witnessed this phenomenon, it is something you must experience yourself to believe. Back in the days of Roach and Collier, the pioneer fishing guides employed a spoon drifting in the tide behind their primitive wooden row boats. The technique proved effective until the evolvement of large keeled pass boats and the paragon live bait. For decades live bait was considered the only productive way to fish the pass.
Today there is a forest fire ablaze of yesteryear.
The synthetic baits are in vogue again, the jig is taking the pass by storm. Jigs, and the pros who employ them, have been so deadly, they've actually been banded in many high dollar tarpon tournament events. Actually, jigs are nothing new to the pass. Their use in Boca Grande has been documented periodically in pass fishing history. The drawback to jigs and tarpon was that the tarpon have an uncanny ability to throw them out of their mouths during awesome aerial displays.