I first met “Captain” Hunter Brown at Eldred’s Marina, at the foot of the Boca Grande Causeway after a day of tarpon fishing.
I had been poling a Charlotte Harbor flat with my good friend Mike Adno. Hunter was with his friend and mentor, “Captain” Mark Becton, who had been fishing the same area. Becton approached us with a beer and some advice on fishing that piece of water.
Over that beer, while leaning on our now-trailered boat, we discussed an idea Brown and Becton had for an organization: the Gulf Conservation Alliance.
That idea has developed into a young but vibrant movement with a defined mission that “centers on protecting and restoring vital marine and coastal ecosystems in the Charlotte Harbor and Pine Island Estuaries through advocacy, research and community engagement.”
That brief encounter ended with a conversation about Suncoast Waterkeeper’s conservation efforts and how the two organizations might collaborate.
It wasn’t until this past March that I contacted Brown about doing some early season tarpon fishing in Charlotte Harbor and Pine Island Sound. After a brief conversation, I booked a couple of days in April and invited a couple of friends to share the bow.
Early season always holds the possibility that a weather front might interfere with plans; and this was the case as a mild, dry front pushed through the area a couple of days before, dropping the water temperature below the ideal middle 70s-plus.
While the first day was definitely fishable, if not ideal, Brown graciously gave me the option to cancel. Since I had already made plans with friends, we decided to forge ahead. As predicted, the water temperature had dropped and we spent the morning fishing for redfish, hoping the afternoon sun might warm the waters enough to bring the tarpon out. We did manage to get a few shots late in the day, but the tarpon we did find were not interested in feeding.
The next day dawned warm and clear. Although the tarpon weren’t in a feeding mode – which is typical after a front, according to Brown – we did get numerous shots, poled some gorgeous flats and had a few “hard follows.” I was particularly impressed with Brown’s attention to detail, including top-of-the-line equipment and meticulously tied leaders and flies.
Besides being a successful Boca Grande guide and a committed conservationist, Brown is also the founder of Marquesa Marine, a company born of Brown’s experience push-poling clients over the harbor’s storied flats. A desire to create a better push pole (and casting platform) led to the products now used by some of Florida’s top guides.
Brown and Marquesa Marine were also the inspiration for the movie “Saving Silver: Boca Grande,” which they also financed. Besides having the vision for the production, he also hosted and fed the film crew, as well as serving as the camera boat.
It was refreshing to see a young angler, 28, so in tune with the challenges facing anglers and habitat today; and one willing to organize and fight to preserve this resource for future generations.
For more information on fishing with Brown, which I highly recommend, check out his website at HunterBrownCharters.com.
