With a break in the weather I decided it was a great day to head for the fishing grounds approximately 40 miles west of Sanibel. 

As soon as we pulled up to the spot I knew it wouldn't be long before we had our first hook up.  With the drop of first line it only took a few jigs and we were hooked into a 40lb Amber Jack.  Once the fish was on board we dropped two more lines and got the boats limit of Amber Jack.

Once the anchor was set two chum bags were deployed.  I started chunking threadfins into one inch squares and tossing them over the side.  There was very little current running so the chum was headed straight to where the fish live. 

The first drop of a live pinfish yielded a monster 5lb mangrove snapper.  As time passed the Mangs became more and more aggressive and eventually left the bottom and came right into the chum slick just below the surface of the water.  We switched from the heavy gear to lighter tackle and began free lining chunks of bait back into the chum slick.  We were rewarded with several monster mangrove snapper weighing in just over 7lbs. 

We ended the trip with three Aj's in the box accompanied by 30 Mangrove Snapper.  We caught 11 different species of fish in just over 6 hours.

The sea was flat calm and the ride in was quick thanks to the speed and dependability of our 31 Fountain CC powered by Mercury Optimax outboards.

 As the sun broke the horizon to the east I was met with the sounds of laughing gulls cackling above the Sanibel bridge.  A brisk east wind whistled across the 50lb braided line threaded through the eyes of the rods as I prepared my final throw of the cast net.

With the final throw of the net I filled the live well with a Tarpon's favorite food,  Atlantic Threadfin Herring.  At 8:00 am I pulled up to the dock and met my long time friend and client, Bob of Massachusetts.  Once Bob was aboard we headed for the fishing grounds.

Once the anchor was set I started putting lines out.  Bob looked down the beach and yelled in excitement that he saw a large pod of tarpon headed our way.  The boats to the south of us were hooking up left and right and we knew that once the fish reached us it was going to be our turn.

Suddenly and without warning we were hood up, a 200lb class Silver King rose from gin clear waters and danced above its surface.  Bob was hooked up!  The fish headed straight west without stopping.  After a two hour battle and over two miles of chasing the fish, we finally saw her.  A true trophy.  Several minutes later I had the big girl in my hands.  Bob and I snapped a few pictures and let her go.  As we idled back in towards our spot Bob and I joked at how sore he was and how he still had 2 hours to go. 

Once we were back on the anchor we saw pods of fish still traveling through the area.  I put three rods out and the wait began.  We didn't wait long.  Ten minutes after the last rod was placed in the holder up came another monster, this one about 150lbs.  I tried to pass the rod to Bob but he respectfully declined, so I got to fight this one.  after about 30min the fish was boat side.

We headed to the anchor again and as I grabbed the rope  Bob told me he was ready for lunch.  We packed up our gear and headed towards home.

It was a great day of fishing.