Reel, Reel, Reel, ! Bow ! I think my subconscious must be taking over for even in my sleep the tarpon is on my mind.
Weather is everything in fishing, as well as in Tarpon fishing. The weather turned for the better this past couple of weeks, putting the tarpon in a good mood. After several live bait charters that produced from one to three fish a day, I had one of my favorite people, Bill Hickman.
Bill is a businessman from Pennsylvania. He has a great sense of humor and any easygoing personality. Every year he brings the “GANG” with him, and this year was no exception. Bill Jenkins, Duwayne Jenkins, Denny Hickman and Tom Gothie completed the group.
I had secured a second boat for each day we fished; Capt. Ozzie Lessinger was with me one day and my buddy Capt. Chris Rush for the second day.
Bill and Bill, fished with me along with Duwayne, father of Bill Jenkins. Bill Jenkins is an avid fisherman in West Virginia. After a slow early morning, we settled down on a flat where we could see plenty of fish. They were rolling and showing up very well, but no bites. We anchored in an area where I saw a good amount of rolling fish, we put our baits out and within ten minutes we had our first fish on. Maybe, 70 to 80 lbs, the tarpon was really “LIVELY” jumping and thrashing as he was going away in a hurry. We left the anchor behind and pursued the fish. After about 15 minutes the fish jumped and spit the hook.
Duwayne was amazed at the sight of what his eyes had just witnessed. He was like a kid seeing something completely new for the first time. You see tarpon will do that to you no matter what age you are. It’s an instant feeling of excitement of seeing something wild and special that the majority of the people might not have an opportunity to witness.
Bill Jenkins jumped two fish that day, but could not land either of them. Don’t worry; Bill had another day to make it happen !
One the second morning of the trip, we had Capt. Chris. He took Denny, Tom and Duwayne out on his boat, while I had Bill Hickman and Bill Jenkins. We decided to go to a different area. The morning was perfect, humid and calm as it could be. After running in the dark, we arrived to the spot just in time to see the first crack of light.
We immediately saw tarpon rolling and fining. We trolled with the trolling motor towards the tarpon , and Denny was the first one to connect. He was on Chris’s boat and we had a front seat view of the battle. After a nice fight, and some jumps, Denny landed his “POON”.
Bill Jenkins’s luck was about to change as we saw a large “POD” of fish working an area. Both he and Bill Hickman made a cast toward the fish. After a few minutes, one of the baits came to the surface, and a nice tarpon came after it. The tarpon made a big boil under the bait and missed the struggling threadfin. A few minutes later Bill Jenkins’s line became tight. The sound of the reel singing was music to our ears, the circle hook was home and we were on.
After the initial jumping and thrashing, the big fish tried to spool us, 190 yards of the line was leaving the reel in a hurry. We pursued the fish and gained the line back.
You want to be pretty close to the tarpon so the pressure you put on him is actually being transferred to the fish. This fish was about 90 lbs, so constant pressure was needed to break his “WILL”.
After an average lengthy fight, Bill was having the upper hand, but we did not want to hurry ! Bill patiently won the tarpon over by applying angles and keeping the fish off balance. We caught the fish, Bill’s first “POON”; he appreciated it like a true sportsman. We released the poon after some wonderful photos for a lasting memory of a great battle.
Capt. Chris and the guys also did well releasing three tarpon that day. We had a great time and an unforgettable experience.
Tight lines,
Capt. Rey
Capt. Rey's Fishing Report
