To the Editor:

The board of directors of Boca Grande Charities Inc. would like to thank everyone for making the Gasparilla Island Kids Classic Tarpon Tournament a great success.

To the Editor:

Just when things start to quiet down a bit in Boca Grande, the circus known as the Professional Tarpon Tournament Series (PTTS) rolls into town. When I pick up a paper or turn on the television and see this tournament being glorified and promoted, I get very angry. When I see some of the local media touting the ongoing struggle in Boca Grande to rid ourselves of this scourge as nothing more than locals not wanting to share, I become livid.

To the Editor:

On June 12, in the morning of their meeting in Lakeland, the members of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission will take their final vote on the proposed regulations to make tarpon and bonefish catch and release in the state of Florida. Although that seems like a no-brainer to many, a positive outcome on this vote is far from certain. Even if you voiced your support for these regulations during the draft phase, we are asking you to once again make your support of the proposed regulations known.

BY MARCY SHORTUSE - Capt. Steve Ahlers and his team aboard Spooked Again took home the first place winnings in the Boca Grande Area Chamber of Commerce 2013 World’s Richest Tarpon Tournament, after catching four fish on the first day and four fish on the second day. The team won $20,600 for the eight fish they caught during the two-day tournament.

BY MARCY SHORTUSE - Jacob Newcomb is just a little guy, but when he got a hold of the first tarpon in the Gasparilla Island Kids Classic last Saturday, he turned into a manly megalops hunter. Believe it or not, the 9-year-old got his fish to the boat in just one minute, making him the first angler to catch a fish in the tournament.

BY LIZA STROUT - Whether it was tarpon or just the holiday weekend, the Gasparilla Island Bridge Authority saw a surge in traffic Thursday through Monday, beating last year’s numbers for the same weekend by more than 1,100 vehicles.