Got out with Stephen and Daria today down from NC for a full day of tarpon fishing. Very light winds, more easterly today as opposed to the south wind we had early yesterday which I never like… We headed out early and caught some bait. Had to dodge a few showers but didn’t get too wet luckily. A little lightning off in the distance but didn’t ever get too close. We tried one of the channels early on where I had caught some fish a week or two ago, but not much going on there this morning. We fished the last bit of the incoming tide. When it slowed down we headed out into the main basin, and a buddy of mine hooked a fish right then nearby. We set up, and had slack tide for a bit but caught a shark. When the tide started going, we started getting some tarpon bites and seeing a handful roll occasionally. Stephen landed a nice 65 lb fish that we chased and got to the boat. Then it was Darias turn with a large 90 lb fish! Pretty big for this time of year and put on a good fight with some great jumps! After that we jumped one more fish for Stephen. Things slowed down and we ran further west to try near the mainland areas. We had a good day there the day before yesterday, but yesterday we didn’t see much but I think the wind had something to do with that. Saw some little tarpon rolling near shore as soon as we pulled up, and we put our lighter setups out there and had several shots at fish. Daria landed two more tarpon and jumped off a couple more, little guys in the 15-20 lb range, but lots of fun. Stephen was the shark man and he hooked several big sharks, we got a couple to the boat but most were cutting us off. Though he did jump one more tarpon before our day was done. It was still fun pulling on all of them. After that we headed home, a banner day for this couple! I have the next 3 days open if anyone is looking to go, then booked up mid week and going out of town next Saturday for a few days. It can get a little hit and miss this time of year with tarpon, but for the most part it’s been a hit. Let me know if you are looking to get out there. 4 for 7
P.S. We normally do not lift tarpon out of the water, though if they are under 40 inches like the one pictured it is allowed as long as you are careful with them, support the belly, and release and revive them unharmed.
Capt. Rick Stanczyk
@richardstanczyk
