BY MARCY SHORTUSE - The bite may have been slow, but Capt. Chris Frohlich’s team got the first qualified release in the 2013 Ladies Day Tarpon Tournament at 5:40 p.m. on Saturday. Anglers included Alysha Aratari, Olivia Britto, Joellen Morris and Mia Benton.

BY MARCY SHORTUSE - In the summer of 2004 Dr. Justin Grubich picked up the phone to take a call from a woman who said she was with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. The woman, Kathy Guindon, talked with Justin for about 30 minutes foul-hooking tarpon, and he was asked to provide expert witness testimony on how tarpon feed.

He didn’t give the conversation much thought.

This week will bring one of the most action-packed and entertaining times that Boca Grande has seen in quite awhile. It is the World’s Richest Tarpon Tournament on May 23 and 24, the Gasparilla Island Kids Classic on May 25, and Tarpon Festival Weekend downtown.

BY LIZA STROUT - With a unanimous vote, the Gasparilla Island Bridge Authority board of directors approved the terms of a long-sought State Infrastructure Bank loan. The loan, to fund the construction of the new swing bridge, will keep tolls at their current levels for the foreseeable future.