Got out with Amber and Scott again for the last day. We headed back to where we had found lots of tarpon the last several trips hoping it’d be game on again. We caught plenty of bait and headed there to get set up. First bait out we hooked a nice little tarpon Scott brought to the boat, but after we got him on leader he took off and got tangled under the boat and came off, but a technical catch none the less. After that though it was crickets! Not much happened, we moved a couple times and nothing but sharks. I wasn’t seeing the fish showing on the surface at all either, so it seemed that they had gone! We saw one way down from where we were, and even went down in that area to try but still nothing. Just when it seemed to be getting consistent things had to go and change… funny because conditions were more or less the same. Anyways we did end up catching a nice big 20 lb redfish which was a nice surprise, along with plenty of sharks. After that we headed back towards the bay and stopped along the way at a spot I hadn’t fished in a while. Haven’t caught any tarpon yet this year, but summer time it can get good. We marked a fish on the bottom machine right away, so we set up. Scott hooked a shark, and then Amber hooked a nice 60 lb tarpon! They got tangled up but luckily we got the shark cut off, and amber caught the tarpon. After that we had seen a few explosions on the surface way outside of us, we tried moving around a little bit, but after we landed the fish the activity seemed to die down and we didn’t have another tarpon bite. Tried one channel for a bit on the way home where we thought we had seen a fish bust as well, but no luck. Anyways it’s always a great day when you catch two tarpon but after you get a dozen bites the day before it definitely feels slower to only get two bites. I’m off Tuesday and then fishing the next couple days before going out of town until the 4th on Friday. Weather looks to be nice and flat calm the next few days so we’ll be going after them! 2 for 2
6/25/17 June Tarpon Fishing
Got out with Scott and Amber down from WV today for a 3/4 day. We had thought about doing a full day but just played it by ear. The fishing was very good on the early falling tide much better than yesterday so we figured we’d just fish till the tide was done and call it a day. We had a ton of action unfortunately the tarpon though just weren’t staying on the hooks for us. Not really much angling error, just funny bites. They were grabbing it and throwing it as soon as they touched the bait never even getting the hook most of the time. We tried changing bait sizes, hook sizes, hook types, but nothing seemed to help. But it was still fun to watch and that is fishing! We did land one giant fish of about 120 lbs that Amber and Scott took turns on for about 30 minutes. Got it up to the boatside but never where it rolled over for good pictures unfortunately but we got some good video and jump shots at least, and a technical catch with the leader to hand. That was the 2nd bite, and then we proceed to jump I think about 10 more fish, and finally things slowed down and we waited and Scott got to catch a little guy that stayed on for us. About a 20 lber. It was great fun and they were glad to each catch one, I would’ve liked it to been more but it was just one of those days. At least I know where I think I’ll be tomorrow again! 2 for 12
P.S. We normally do not lift tarpon out of the water, however if they are under 40 inches you are still allowed to (carefully). We just make sure not to handle them too much and take them out quickly for a picture and release them. We are not letting them flop around on the boat much, not wiping too much slime off, and not hanging them by their gills for long but supporting their belly (as you should with all fish you don’t plan on killing).
6/24/17 June Everglades National Park Tarpon Fishing Report
Got out for some fun fishing today with friends Ron and his dad George Ferguson. We went after tarpon and decided to try and hit ’em early to see if they were there first thing with the falling tide. Yesterday we got their later in the day on the incoming and it was very good. We caught some bait early and headed out. Saw a few fish when we pulled up which was a great sign. We set up and started to see some fish going by us, but they weren’t very happy. We sat for about 30 or 40 minutes without much action. I moved a little bit and tried to get in front of other fish, and after 20 minutes or so George put a small fish in the air. Ron possibly had one that grabbed his bait and jumped as well. Then George caught 2 fish in a row, again little guys in the 20-30 lb range, but much fun! The tide started to quit after that, so we decided to just kill some time and try to catch a snook. George got a nice on on an artificial bait which was cool up inside the mainland canals. We ran back out to the tarpon area as the tide was coming in hard now. We found them in the same general area and fishing was much better. We caught 3 more tarpon in about 30 minutes to finish the day! After that we headed home and got back in time for lunch. I caught a little bit more bait on the way home so I’m all set for tomorrow at least. Hopefully the fish will still be their cooperating! 5 for 7
