They're here. I can't tell you exactly how many Tarpon I saw this week but it was well over 200. They were everywhere, we had them rolling within 10 feet of the boat. We saw Tarpon from 20 to over a 100 pounds. It just makes me feel good to see all those big fish back in the SW Florida area.
On Wednesday we tried to get ahold of the Tarpon but it just wouldn't work out for us. My clients were Jason Flatch, his dad Frank, and his brother inlaw Hayden. We started the day off fishing for Ladyfish to use for bait. It took us a little while but we finally got into a school and put 6 or 7 in the boat. We then went to the Tarpon hole and found a hundred or so rollers. They were daisey chaining all over the place. On the first cast I tail hooked a Ladyfish and tossed it towards the rolling fish and handed the rod over to Frank. Frank's fish was inhaled as soon as it hit the water. Frank pulled back and set the hook but for some reason the hook didn't pull from the Ladyfish's tail and the Tarpon soon spit the hook. Not 20 minutes later Jason hooked up and I knew it was a big fish but the same thing happened once again and the fish spit the hook. For the next hour the bite was quite slow and we decided to leave and try the sound. The tide wasn't right all day for the sound so we decided to head to the waterfront to get a bite to eat before we got bait. We caught our bait at the Causeway and headed back into the river. The Tarpon didn't want to play but we found a couple of big snook that did. Unfortunately Frank missed the hookset on the first fish and Jason lost the second one in the Mangroves because it was to big to turn. Hopefully we can get them next time. I had a great time fishing with them, they were all great guys.
Next we did our version of Addictive Fishing's "Battle of the Bridge" episode. My good friend Nelson talked me into taking going out to the bridge for some Tarpon fishing. We started the night off throwing jigs for Ladyfish. Nelson was laying into them but I didn't get any hits. Then I look over and realized Nelson had switched over to a pear Zoom jerk bait with a 1/2 ounce jighead. I did what any good fisherman would do and switched over to what he was using. I started getting some hits but nothing like what Nelson was about to experience. Nelson casted his Pearl Zoom out and while reeling it in he gets a nice hit and hooks up with a nice fish. I tell Nelson to reel that Catfish in. The next thing we know a nice 50 pound plus Tarpon skies into the cool night air. We were all psyched up then.Nelson fish makes a made dash towards the bridge. He couldn't turn the fish because he was only fish with 20 pound braid on an 8 to 17 pound class rod. We hurried and pulled then anchor to go chase the fish. It was flipping everywhere under the bridge. Once we thought we had caught up with it, the fish would jump and about 4 piling down between the pilings. Nelson did and awsome job at keeping the fish hooked up. On several occaisions he had to flip the bail on his reel while hugging a piling trying to grab his rod on the other side of the piling. I bet he did that at least three times. When we finally got his line away from the pilings the Tarpon wrapped himself two pilings down around a crab trap. We headed over to the crab trap and Nelson swung his line around it and untangled it came. Almost instantly it jumped 5 feet high right next to the boat under the bridge. The fish took one more dash through the pilings and Nelson had to wrap his rod around the piling one more time. Finally, the hard fought battle had ended and Nelson was graced with his first Tarpon of the year. Here's to many more!!
The final trip of the week was with Gary and his friend Drew from New York. I decided to change things around a little from what I did on the trip with Jason earlier in the week. Since the miserable mile is slow speed, it makes it nearly impossible to justify catching bait in the sound and returning to the river to fish. However, we were out early and I decided to disobey the manatee zone and run through it on plane. Most of the time the Manatee police are not out on the water before 8a.m. so I decided to take my chances. BTW(the miserable mile zone was dubbed unconstitutional and tickets are being thrown out until the courts decide otherwise.) I ran into another guide at picnic named Gary Clark who told me he caught nice bait right where he was anchored. He was nice enough to let me anchor right next to him. In 15 to 20 minutes I had enough bait to fish the Tarpon. Loaded with bait we ran back into the river for some Tarpon action. Just like the day before they were all over the place. The first hit didn't come as fast but it came and when it did Drew was ready. He did everything just like I instructed him before we started fishing. When he felt the bite, he just held his rod firm and let the Tarpon set the hook himself. Once the fish started pulling drag Drew pulled back a couple of times to make sure the hook was set. The battle was on, Drew fish was flying all over the place. It jumped 8 times if it jumped once. Drew changed the pressure nicely from side to side to wear the fish out and after 25 minutes Drew and his 10 to 20 pound class Cape Fear with new Sliver 4000 Mega Lite spooled with 30 pound Fins braid and Teamfish 40 pound Flurocarbon leader did an excellent job of handling the 70 to 75 pound Tarpon. It was Drews first Tarpon and as you can tell by this picture he was very happy with it.
We spent the next 2 hours just watching Tarpon roll all around us. I mean they were everywhere even as close as 10 feet from the boat. Gary had a couple of hits and I had one miss the rod I was holding but other than that we were shut out. The weather was bad that whole day but we were blessed with rainless skies for most of the areas we fished. We left the Tarpon to head up into the sound but found the weather was very bad north in the sound so we decided to go ahead and get a great bite to eat at the waterfront while the weather passed. Both Gary and Drew thought that the Waterfront idea was one of my best of the day. After the great meal at the Waterfront we decided to get some bait at the Causeway and chum for the Tarpon in the river. Gary had told me in the begining of the trip if I get him a Tarpon he was going to give me a hickey. I beleive that was the main reason I held out on him until the end. Gary sucking on my neck wasn't a good image in my mind. We went back to the same spot where Drew got his fish. I chummed and we only had 40 minutes to fish it before the trip was over because I had to get back and attend a CCA banquet at 5:30. On the last cast last bait of the day, Gary says I got one. He let's it eat it for an extremely long time and then sets the hook. He felt the fish for a couple of seconds but that was it. Then he reeled his line tight again and he feels a fish on his line. The fish pulled a little and shook it's head. I told Gary he had another Catfish. Not 10 seconds later line starts to burn off of his megalite and up jumps a Tarpon near 50 pounds. I thought to myself how am I going to get out of this kiss. Gary did a great job of playing the fish out and after 6 or 7 jumps Gary had his first Tarpon ever to the boat. He was smiling from ear to ear. After everything was done and we released the healthy Tarpon Gary was just trying to figure out what girl he was going to get to give me a hickey. I told him not to worry about it, my wife would take care of it for him.
In conclusion, I hope everyone had as good of time as I did on their trips this passed week. The Tarpon are awesome and I am sure no one saw as many as I did this week, which is great in it's own right. One more thing I just wanted to let Jason know we just missed the bite on Wednesday and hopefully next time we will hit it right. If you are looking for some Tarpon action, then now is the time. Don't delay or you will miss out on your chance to tangle with the silver king.
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