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.
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.
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