Gave the tarpon a shot again today. We had some leftover bait from the last few days. Mullet were not very easy where I looked today, so didn’t give it very long trying to catch them. We caught some trout and ladyfish in the bay then tried some of the backcountry channels for big stuff. Tide was coming in, fairly weak tide still but better than it was a few days ago. We had plenty of shark activity and caught a nice cobia just under size. After that we ran further into the backcountry to check some other areas for tarpon. We found the mother load, tarpon busting as far as I could see! We set up and within 10 minutes we had a nice 100 lb fish on. We fought him for about 40 minutes and landed him. After we set back up though the tide started to quit and the fish slowly dispersed. We caught plenty of more blacktip sharks, but alas no more tarpon bites. The water was still chilly, but with the calm weather it started to get on a warming trend, getting back up around 71 degrees at least. Hopefully tomorrow will still be good, then Friday it’s suppose to blow like crazy so the tarpon may not like that. 1 for 1
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3/21/17 March Tarpon Islamorada
Well I’ve been back on the water for a few days after celebrating the birth of my son, Felix! Today we finally gave tarpon a try again. Fishing had been a little tough since I’ve been back – the late cold front we got while I was away really cooled off the water, and it’s stayed in the low 60s at night so it hasn’t had a chance to warm up. The water today finally got up to around 72 degrees or so ‘around town.’ Still on the chilly side for tarpon, they really became a solid option in my eyes when the water is a steady 75 degrees. Anyways we didn’t make tarpon the priority and spent the morning catching plenty of nice sea trout, ladyfish, snappers, and jacks. We gave the last hour or so a shot for tarpon around the local channels. We did find some fish, not many rolling but was able to mark them on my bottom machine. Unfortunately we were in a very weak tide cycle, and we had hardly any moving water for the first 45 minutes or so that we sat there. Eventually the tide started coming in and did move a bit for the last 20 minutes or so, though I was not seeing the tarpon like I had when we arrived. We had a couple shark bites and that was it. Anyways hopefully things will warm up a bit more, though I don’t know we are suppose to get heavy winds on Friday… may keep the water from getting back into the ideal range. Though it’s getting to be the time of year when tarpon are the priority most days so may be giving it a go regardless. 0 for 0
3/13/17 March Tarpon Fishing Half Day Florida Keys
Got out with Lucas and Patrick today down from Tennessee on spring break. They wanted to try and catch tarpon. We had some leftover bait from a couple days ago, many of which stayed alive very well with the cooler water temperatures, so we were able to get out early and get right to it. We had some action fairly quick, Lucas hooked a nice fish with not much fussing around. We had him on for a minute or two, but unfortunately he shook the hook while jumping a ways from the boat. Not a huge fish but a 50 lber maybe. Soon after that Patrick hooked one about the same size, this one stayed on there though. We caught him from the dead boat since he wasn’t super huge, and tried to get a double header. But no luck, though Patrick landed his and we got a few pictures. After that we moved around a little, but no more love. The tarpon were still showing here and there, and I saw a few on my bottom machine, but just were no longer active. A few other boats in the channel were just doing a lot of sitting, though one did catch a fish right around the time while we were fighting ours. Anyways after that we did a little light tackle fishing and had some fun. We tried for tarpon again for the last 45 minutes, though all we had was a bunch of blacktip sharks. Anyways not a bad way to spend a half day! I’m up to miami tomorrow to see the birth of our child on Wednesday. So no more tarpon fishing for me for a little while anyways. Like I said yesterday, cold front coming tomorrow night, and suppose to stay chilly all week into the weekend. So it’s a good time to take a break. Should be back at it hopefully next week some time! 1 for 2
