Boca Grande News

SUN PHOTO BY CHRISTY FEINBERG Visiting the Boca Grande Lighthouse Museum takes you back in time, but also offers one of the most beautiful views in Southwest Florida.

Seaworld Orlando reported on Friday that the stranded dolphin rescued from the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge is in stable condition and beginning to eat .

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission voted 4-3 to move forward with new rules that would change the definition of snagging as it relates to tarpon and would limit a specific type of fishing gear in Boca Grande Pass.

BOCA GRANDE, Fla.- The recent algae bloom known as red tide killed at least 270 manatees, but 15 were rescued and survived.

Boca Grande Pass, which sits at the mouth of Charlotte Harbor, is an approximately 2,200-foot waterway separating Gasparilla and Cayo Costa Islands.

The fight over a specific fishing style used to catch Boca Grande Pass tarpon will reach a critical point today in Lakeland, as state fisheries officials decide whether to approve a draft rule that would outlaw the use of the bottom-weighted Pass jigs.

Tropical storm Andrea did not mess up the fishing as much as expected but it did reshuffle the deck.

Heavy rain poured down on much of Florida Thursday as the first tropical storm of the Atlantic hurricane season headed toward the state's western coast, while a new tropical storm warning was issued for a swath of the U.S. East Coast.

The Gasparilla Island Bridge Authority's recent finalization of an "historic" $30 million Florida Department of Transportation loan for the final portion of a $50 million bridge replacement project comes just weeks after motorists noticed fewer speed bumps in the construction zone.

It has taken more than two years, hundreds of storage boxes, and the diligent efforts of a dedicated team, but soon Boca Grande will have a superb new asset in the community.

Tropical Storm Andrea bearing down on Fla. coast Associated Press Copyright 2013 Associated Press.

A tropical storm warning is currently in effect for the west coast of Florida from Boca Grande to Indian Pass but there are no road or bridge closures in the Franklin County.

The watch was expanded this morning to include all of south central and southwest Georgia, as well as Jackson County, Fla.

The first named storm of Atlantic season, Andrea, has formed over the Gulf of Mexico and was likely to bring wet weather to parts of Florida's west coast by the end of the week.

Tropical Storm Andrea has formed in the Gulf of Mexico, the National Hurricane Center in Miami reported late this afternoon.

CENTRAL GULF OF MEXICO... ...TROPICAL STORM WARNING ISSUED FOR PARTS OF THE FLORIDA WEST COAST... SUMMARY OF 600 PM EDT...2200 UTC...INFORMATION ---------------------------------------------- LOCATION...25.3N 86.5W ABOUT 310 MI...500 KM SW OF TAMPA FLORIDA ABOUT 320 MI...510 KM SSW OF APALACHICOLA FLORIDA MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS...40 MPH...65 KM/H ... (more)

The patch of bad weather in the Gulf of Mexico has become the first named storm of the season, according to the National Hurricane Center.

A man who saw two deadly 300lb bull sharks stealing a prize fish from an angler has told Sky News he and his colleagues were "literally shaking".

Kids' Needs is already gearing up to supply local students with school appropriate clothing, shoes, and toiletries for the next school year.

SUN PHOTO BY LEE ANDERSON Team Anejo hooks up with a tarpon during the 2013 World's Richest Tarpon Tournament in Boca Grande Pass.