If you want to know what’s going on with the tarpon, please keep reading. For all others,you do not know what you are missing.
May and June are tarpon time for me; therefore all my charters are for the “Silver King”. Unfortunately the first week of May was a bad one, with winds out of the north and northeast, just like winter weather, this caused me to cancel several charters.
But, things had to change sooner or later and they did. The tarpon started showing up a bit more and they were biting in the early mornings.
Angler, John Jamison came to Fort Myers from Indianapolis to try for his first “Poon”. We tried the fly rod first, but John had never cast a 12-wt rod before, so, we decided to get the spinning rods out.
We anchored along a sandy drop off where the tarpon were rolling and free jumping. I had filled the livewell earlier with threadfins, “Tarpon Candy”. After a couple of cast, John’s line started to move from left to right getting tight pretty quickly. Then “Boom” a nice 80 pound came out of the water about 70 feet from us, and spitting the hook in the process. John looked at me and said, “ Man, they are big!”
After our initial disappointment, we baited again and waited for a while for the next bite. This time the fish took the bait on the run hooking itself in the process. We lifted the anchor and went after him as the fish was peeling line off in a hurry. With my trolling motors at full power, we started to gain some line back. The tarpon was feeling the pressure and started jumping for us, and I guessed its weight was at 60 to 70 pounds. About 30 minutes later the tarpon was next to the boat and was released unharmed.
Later in the day when the tide started going out, we saw more fish rolling around a pass. John hooked up another 70 pound and fought it until the fish took us about three quarters of a mile offshore. With the leader on the tip of the rod, and the fish officially caught, we let it go to fight another day. After this one, John said, he had no more energy left in him, so, we cranked up and headed home with John having accomplished his goal of landing his first tarpon.
Next on line was Bill Meyer. Bill was seeking his first tarpon on fly and was very excited about the coming experience. The forecast was a windy day, so, I asked Bill if he wanted to try it or wait for next year since my next opening was three weeks away. Bill replied with enthusiasm, “let’s do it!” and so we met at 5:45am and were off in search of some “Poons”.
With my outboard shut off and trolling motors down, we searched for “rolling” fish. Soon they appeared rolling and splashing all around us. We made cast at this fish for over an hour without a take. Finally, we started seeing some “happy” fish along the beach. A school of about 200 fish were rolling along just below the surface. A couple of other guides were working the same school, also equipped with fly rods.
The big school sort of split off and after a few cast to the main group, we found a smaller group with about 30 fish. Using my trolling motor, I moved into position in front of the fish as Bill made some casts in front of the school.
In his third cast, Bill connected, “Oh, my God ! I saw it eat the fly!” was Bill’s reaction. The tarpon reacted by taking the fly on a long run while trying to stay with the “now spooked” school. After a few minutes he was airborne, and Bill’s eyes could not believe what they were seeing ! A nice 70-pound tarpon at the end of the line.
I guess we were hooked up to the fish for about 25 minutes when the leader made it to the tip of the rod. Bill had caught his first tarpon on fly !
I had Erick Zardhuis next. We found some rolling fish earlier in the day, but to no avail. We decided to look along the beach for any “pods” of tarpon, but it was kind of windy and the “poons” were not showing well.
While looking for the tarpon, I saw a big commotion just about one mile offshore, so we went to investigate. A huge school of Bonitos was feeding on small baitfish on the surface. It looked like a blender on high power. We rigged an 8-pound outfit with a sardine and offered it to the fast moving tunas.
As the school was moving at us, we quickly made a cast and had a hook up. With 140 yards of line on the reel, I felt pretty safe, but I was wrong. The fish took us all the way into the knot that held the end of the line to the spool. Without panic, I told Erick to sit down. I figured we had lost this one, so, I cranked the engine and took off. Needless to say, incredibly the line never parted and Erick started gaining line again, and after 20 minutes or so, he landed the Bonito. We guessed it to be between 12 pounds to 15 pounds. It was fast as a bonefish too!
The week ended with a couple of days with angler, Ed Magg and his friend, Jimmy. Ed had fished with me last year and we managed to catch a couple of poons, so, he was back for more. For Jimmy, it was the first time he ever saw a tarpon.
The first day was tough. The weather was not too bad, but the fishing was. We spent a long time looking and going from the gulf to the harbor without any luck. We then decided to go home and relax and hope for a better day on Saturday.
After my usual 4:45am to 5:45am bait catching ritual (no fun!!), I was at the boat ramp picking up the guys for our second day of fishing. We drove a pretty long ways to my favorite tarpon spot. We looked and looked and saw no tarpon, but I still had a feeling that they were there, so, we anchored and put some lines out.
No luck was coming our way, so I cut a couple of threadfins in half and put them on a circle hook and made a long cast. After that, I put some chum (consisting of threadfins and sardines) in the water. After about 30 minutes, Ed’s line started to go, I instructed him to point the rod at it, and not to set the hook . By now the line was peeling out in a hurry and a nice 90-pound was in the air. I left my anchor behind attached to a buoy and we went after the tarpon. He took lots of line, so, I had to crank the big engine to get closer. Ed fought the fish hard, but carefully. The fish was next to the boat in about 20 minutes, but after seeing the boat and us, it decided to take off ! Ed lost every inch of the line he had worked so hard to bring back. It took us about one hour and ten minutes before we had the fish next to the boat again for good. He gave us some beautiful jumps and stamina, a power not found in any other shallow water species.
The day ended on the beach. I was floating in a favorite spot of mine where “pods” and “cruisers” usually show up during their migration. Jimmy was on the bow with a live threadfin on a spinning outfit ready to cast. “ Jimmy, tarpon at three o’clock, he just rolled!” I yelled. Jimmy saw the end of the roll and made a quick cast. For a moment it seemed like the tarpon did not see the bait, but suddenly, that beautiful flash appeared below the bait, “WE WERE ON.” We were only 50 feet from the surf as the tarpon started to jump frantically. “Bow,” I told Jimmy, as the tarpon spit the hook and then it was over.
That is why tarpon is my favorite. They have power, beauty and are very unpredictable!
See ya!
Capt. Rey
Seats are limited, so give me a call, or drop me an email, and let's GO FISHING !
Capt. Rey's Fishing Report