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 Key West, Florida Fly Fishing: My First Tarpon On The Last Flat!
Posted by flymouth (2433 reads)
I found out a couple of weeks ago that I was going to be heading to Key
West for a week long work trip so I decided to take full advantage of
the situation to try and get at least one day on the water while I was
there.
I posted a comment looking for guides in Key West and before I knew it
Jeremy and Headrush got back to me in little to no time and pointed me in
the right direction. I called Headrush and he gave me some phone numbers
of a couple of guides that might have some possible openings, however it
was the beginning of tarpon season and most guides were booked solid for
the remaining 2 months. After 3 or 4 phone calls I got a call back from a
guide Scott Irvine who runs Time Flies fishing guide service and things
were set to go.
As the sun began to rise we began to see some rolling tarpon and
schools daisy chaining around. I had never seen such a thing and of
course blew about 4 or 5 attempts throughout the day by over casting and
spooking the fish. I began to understand why catching these fish was so
difficult and accepted the fact that I might be going home skunked. I
was frustrated but Scott made one last run to a white sand flat late in
the day for one last go of it.
As we pulled up on the flat he stopped the boat immediately and starting
screaming at me to get on the bow and get ready because there were two
large schools of
tarpon on the flat. On my third cast I finally strip
set the fly and I was hooked up with my first tarpon. Twenty minutes later
I was able to get the fish to the boat. Scott estimated the fish was
about 45 lbs which was by far the biggest fish I've caught on the fly
rod. It was amazing day and one I will never forget. This was the only
picture I was able to get while landing the fish however the guide has
the entire fight on video so I'll post it as soon as I get it.
I want to thank everyone on this website for all of the information that
they share. I started fly fishing two years ago on my own and this
website has been my holy grail for learning how to fish and how to keep
with it when things get tough. So thanks Jeremy, for putting this great
site together and thanks to all the members who share their fish tales so that I can learn and appreciate more about this amazing sport.
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Re: Key West, Florida: My First Tarpon On The Last Flat!
by jeremy http://www.fliesandfins.com | | Awesome man! Pretty killer stuff seeing, fishing to and hooking up to Tarpon in that kind of water, huh? When there is life and good energy on the flats down there its pretty spectacular ... sharks, turtles, bonefish, tarpon .. big predatory fish smashing stuff in the channels ... Looks like you caught some nice weather too! I definately know what you mean about "blowing your first 4 or 5 attempts" .. easy to do when the perfect shot is right there in front of you and "all you gotta do" is make 1 cast count .. easier said than done .... and so easy to "blow it" and get frustrated with yourself ... but then, when it all comes together .. that's what makes it feel so rewarding. Congrats man! |
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Re: Key West, Florida: My First Tarpon On The Last Flat!
by greg http://www.fliesandfins.com | | Now the addictive process begins!! To stop fishing for Tarpon you'll need a good rehab program. A new species to fish for is always a great find, congrats. |
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Re: Key West, Florida: My First Tarpon On The Last Flat!
by fishingMOZ http://www.fishingmoz.com | | Awesome! I need to go on one of the types of business trips. I can only imagine how that reel screaming sounded. :) |
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Re: Key West, Florida: My First Tarpon On The Last Flat!
by hedrush999 http://www.worldangling.com | | Willy and I had a talk the other day about Capt. Scott, and I can't wait to spend some time on the water with him. It looks like you made out well, and I'm glad to see that you were able to "man-up" and hook something substantial. |
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Re: Key West, Florida: My First Tarpon On The Last Flat!
by alex http://www.patagoniaflies.com | | Great story and beautiful fish congrats on a great accomplishment and staying in the game till the you got it done. Alex |
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