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 Easter In The Eveglades: 120 lb. Tarpon On The Fly
Posted by jeremy on April 12, 2004
(2667 reads)
5 am Easter Sunday. Most of the Western Florida residents are still sleeping. Joe and I grab our rods, pour some coffee and we are at the dock in no time. We meet our guide just as the sun is rising. He starts the engine to his flats boat and we are off. We rip through the glass-like water and carve our way through the narrow mangrove channels. It feels so good to be away from Maine. Away from the grey New Enland skies and luke warm temperatures. Everything here is green, its hot and the fish are everywhere. I can see them rising all around the boat. Snook, Jacks, Lady Fish, etc.. But today, we ain't going for those little
buggers. We are strictly sight fishing for Tarpon. Ken kills the engine and brings the boat to a slow drift and he is up on the back perch with in no time, peering over the glassy water. Massive Tarpon are rolling all around us in large numbers. Joe hops on the bow into the casting position. Ken spots a few fish right off the bat and Joe spooks them with sloppy casts. Give the guy a break, he was using the guides rod and a sinking line, so he did not even have a chance to get acclimated himself to the gear and the fishing scenario. So after spooking a few, he dials right into the zone. Ken says, 10 O'clock - big tarpon - facing left. Joe lays out great cast, within inches of perfection. He starts to strip his line and WHAM! On and off within a split second. This happened a few time, but the third time was really a thrill. Ken says, "Tarpon - 1 O'Clock - facing right at us - Only 20 ft away. We can all see this 120 pounder laying still. Joe casts, the fly lands in the sweet spot and the fish grabs the fly. All of the line on the deck is gone, the Tarpon is up on his tail and tearing through the water away from the boat. He smashes back down in the water and Joe's line goes slack. We did not land him, but the hook set was the most exciting thing I have ever seen on a fly rod. It was simply incredible to participate in such a chase. We never blind casted. We found our fish, casted to a specific fish and tricked him. No if's and's or but's about it. It takes skill, nerves of steel and alot of patience, but the payoff is literally huge.
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Re: Easter In The Eveglades: 120 lb. Tarpon On The Fly
by greg on March 27, 2005 http://www.fliesandfins.com | | Nice Joe, good video. that must have felt good. |
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