Showing posts with label Tarpon. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tarpon. Show all posts
Thursday, September 3, 2015
Saturday, August 31, 2013
Tarpon by Kayak, Paddle for Your Life! 8-13-11
Tarpon by Kayak, Paddle for Your Life! 8-13-11
Friday had been one awesome day battling monster tarpons and sharks. The pogy pods were still going strong so my fishing partner for the last few trips and I made a plan to meet at the beach Saturday morning for what promised to be another great day on the big water.
We were braced to set a new county record! I had worked until 10:45 the night before, building leaders, rigging rods, sharpening hooks, etc. I could hardly sleep that night thinking about all the tarpon we were going to have stacked up the next day.
Ricky and I rendezvoused at the beach just after daylight and started glassing the surf for a bait pod to put in on. To our surprise the bait had vanished like smoke in the wind. One minute they were here, the next they were gone. We drove up and down the beach from High bridge all the way to the north city limits of Flagler Beach glassing until about 10:30 but to no avail. I told Rick “the baits been moving north, lets go way up towards Marineland and see if we can find them” but Ricky had about enough and wanted to call off the dogs and come back after lunch and see what we could find.
I decided to stop in town for provisions and ice and keep scouting. I made my way up north stopping at any available beach access to glass for bait. As I pulled up to the beach at 16th rd., There they were…..pogies! There were probably 150 people ganged up on the beach and wading in the water right there, seemingly unaware of the large bait school just behind the breakers and what lurked beneath. The bait was nervous and after a few minutes I spotted a tarpon roll on the edge of the school. That was all I needed to see.
I pulled out and headed to recon the remaining accesses before I made a decision where we’d put in. I found some more good bait at Malacompra and phoned Ricky to assemble the team. I could hardly wait for him to get there. With Tarpon rolling and busting into the bait I was chomping at the bit to get on them. Rick finally arrived and we got in the water about 1:30 PM and paddled for the school.
There is not much that’s more exciting than paddling up on a school of bait with big 100 to 150# tarpon busting them. Sometimes the tarpon will strike so violently into the school that bait showers into the air for a 20-30’ diameter.
Due to the almost 3 hour battle Ricky had witnessed me wage on a tarpon the day before, he came packing some heavy duty equipment. Though Rick is an experienced scuba diver and off shore fisherman, this was only his 3rd time in a Kayak. On our previous trips together I had hooked up so quickly Ricky did not even get a chance to fish. Today would be Ricky’s day! My roll for this trip was to keep Ricky in fresh pogies and act as chase boat and photographer.
The school we paddled up to was not tightly bunched which made it a little hard to snag a bait. I had to loop in a treble hook and after a couple casts I had the first volunteer. Rick hooked him up and heaved him back into the pod. About the time I caught another pogy a fish striped Rick’s hook so he paddled over and grabbed bait #2. I was still trying to snag me a bait when Rick Hooked up! Rick hollered out “it’s a big Jack!” The jack pulled him around for a couple minutes before tearing off.
I had just caught bait #3 and Rick had a back up rod so I hollered over to him to try and snag a pogy. He pulled one out on the first cast, hooked him on and served him up. Within minutes Ricky was hollering again “I got him, I got him!” as a big silver tarpon tail walked across the surface. I probably didn’t get to fish more than 10 minutes.
Well, once again it was time to take a ride east for deep water. Since the tarpon was keeping a steady course I grabbed on to Rick’s boat to save some paddling and add a little extra resistance to the fight. The tarpon strained against Rick’s heavy line but all the pulling and acrobatics could not shake my hand sharpened Mustad hook. In about 45 minutes Ricky had him floating yak side and ready for the hero shot!
It was about this point that we heard the first rumble of thunder back towards the beach! Rick spun around and motioned towards the beach and said “look at that, we need to get out of here!”
We finished our pictures as fast as we could, stowed our gear and started paddling as fast as possible for the beach. About then a lightening strike to the NW. really got our attention and added a greater urgency to get off the water. We were about to come to the realization of just how serious a mistake we had made in not being aware of the building storm behind us. Although, I have to say, when we first heard the thunder the sky that direction did not look that threatening.
In the excitement for catching the 120#+ tarpon and moving as fast as possible to get the hell out of there I did not catch what depth the tarpon had pulled us out to but I can tell you this….. It took 15 minutes of paddling with all we had to get back to the 45’ mark!
This is were things got serious. In 45’ of water the wind hit us! I mean some real wind 35-45 mph kind of wind and coming off the beach. The water went from a slight swell to 3-4’ waves breaking over the bow. We were literally paddling for our lives. The thing I remember most was the pressure against the face of the paddle every time it came up. It was incredible. The rain was starting to come down but luckily we never lost sight of the beach.
The only thing we could do was paddle with all we had, stay square to the waves and hope the storm subsided before we ran out of steam. Finally, after about 25 minutes the wind let up and the water started to lay. What a relief that was! It took us a solid hour to make it back to the hill.
Little did we know how bad it was about to get just a few minutes after this picture was taken!
By the time we were back on the beach the big surf had disappeared!
We drug our boats up on the beach and just sat there exhausted. I looked at Rick “I know your butt was puckered on that paddle, It sure had my attention!”
My close friend Capt. Rick Ruebel gave me some good advice once….”you need to be done fishing and headed back by 1:00PM to avoid the afternoon thunder storms. I won’t let myself get caught like that again!
If your planning a trip in the surf with your yak, fish with a partner and be prepared. It can be one of your best days on the water but things can go sideways real fast.
Good luck,
Larry S.
Friday had been one awesome day battling monster tarpons and sharks. The pogy pods were still going strong so my fishing partner for the last few trips and I made a plan to meet at the beach Saturday morning for what promised to be another great day on the big water.
We were braced to set a new county record! I had worked until 10:45 the night before, building leaders, rigging rods, sharpening hooks, etc. I could hardly sleep that night thinking about all the tarpon we were going to have stacked up the next day.
I decided to stop in town for provisions and ice and keep scouting. I made my way up north stopping at any available beach access to glass for bait. As I pulled up to the beach at 16th rd., There they were…..pogies! There were probably 150 people ganged up on the beach and wading in the water right there, seemingly unaware of the large bait school just behind the breakers and what lurked beneath. The bait was nervous and after a few minutes I spotted a tarpon roll on the edge of the school. That was all I needed to see.
I pulled out and headed to recon the remaining accesses before I made a decision where we’d put in. I found some more good bait at Malacompra and phoned Ricky to assemble the team. I could hardly wait for him to get there. With Tarpon rolling and busting into the bait I was chomping at the bit to get on them. Rick finally arrived and we got in the water about 1:30 PM and paddled for the school.
There is not much that’s more exciting than paddling up on a school of bait with big 100 to 150# tarpon busting them. Sometimes the tarpon will strike so violently into the school that bait showers into the air for a 20-30’ diameter.
Due to the almost 3 hour battle Ricky had witnessed me wage on a tarpon the day before, he came packing some heavy duty equipment. Though Rick is an experienced scuba diver and off shore fisherman, this was only his 3rd time in a Kayak. On our previous trips together I had hooked up so quickly Ricky did not even get a chance to fish. Today would be Ricky’s day! My roll for this trip was to keep Ricky in fresh pogies and act as chase boat and photographer.
The school we paddled up to was not tightly bunched which made it a little hard to snag a bait. I had to loop in a treble hook and after a couple casts I had the first volunteer. Rick hooked him up and heaved him back into the pod. About the time I caught another pogy a fish striped Rick’s hook so he paddled over and grabbed bait #2. I was still trying to snag me a bait when Rick Hooked up! Rick hollered out “it’s a big Jack!” The jack pulled him around for a couple minutes before tearing off.
I had just caught bait #3 and Rick had a back up rod so I hollered over to him to try and snag a pogy. He pulled one out on the first cast, hooked him on and served him up. Within minutes Ricky was hollering again “I got him, I got him!” as a big silver tarpon tail walked across the surface. I probably didn’t get to fish more than 10 minutes.
Well, once again it was time to take a ride east for deep water. Since the tarpon was keeping a steady course I grabbed on to Rick’s boat to save some paddling and add a little extra resistance to the fight. The tarpon strained against Rick’s heavy line but all the pulling and acrobatics could not shake my hand sharpened Mustad hook. In about 45 minutes Ricky had him floating yak side and ready for the hero shot!
It was about this point that we heard the first rumble of thunder back towards the beach! Rick spun around and motioned towards the beach and said “look at that, we need to get out of here!”
We finished our pictures as fast as we could, stowed our gear and started paddling as fast as possible for the beach. About then a lightening strike to the NW. really got our attention and added a greater urgency to get off the water. We were about to come to the realization of just how serious a mistake we had made in not being aware of the building storm behind us. Although, I have to say, when we first heard the thunder the sky that direction did not look that threatening.
In the excitement for catching the 120#+ tarpon and moving as fast as possible to get the hell out of there I did not catch what depth the tarpon had pulled us out to but I can tell you this….. It took 15 minutes of paddling with all we had to get back to the 45’ mark!
This is were things got serious. In 45’ of water the wind hit us! I mean some real wind 35-45 mph kind of wind and coming off the beach. The water went from a slight swell to 3-4’ waves breaking over the bow. We were literally paddling for our lives. The thing I remember most was the pressure against the face of the paddle every time it came up. It was incredible. The rain was starting to come down but luckily we never lost sight of the beach.
The only thing we could do was paddle with all we had, stay square to the waves and hope the storm subsided before we ran out of steam. Finally, after about 25 minutes the wind let up and the water started to lay. What a relief that was! It took us a solid hour to make it back to the hill.
Little did we know how bad it was about to get just a few minutes after this picture was taken!
By the time we were back on the beach the big surf had disappeared!
We drug our boats up on the beach and just sat there exhausted. I looked at Rick “I know your butt was puckered on that paddle, It sure had my attention!”
My close friend Capt. Rick Ruebel gave me some good advice once….”you need to be done fishing and headed back by 1:00PM to avoid the afternoon thunder storms. I won’t let myself get caught like that again!
If your planning a trip in the surf with your yak, fish with a partner and be prepared. It can be one of your best days on the water but things can go sideways real fast.
Good luck,
Larry S.
Sunday, August 4, 2013
Beach Tarpon Report - Flagler County 8-4-13
For the second Saturday in a row I loaded up the yaks and beaded to flagler beach to look for some Tarpon. Last saturday morning there was a decent amount of pogies but they were scattered to thin to really fish effectively. Water clarity was great however. I probably saw 10 tarpon strikes all morning but never got a bit. By 10:30 AM the pogies had all but disappeared.
This saturday my brother joined me but there were so few pogies we did not even launch the boats. We saw no striking fish action at all.
The west winds have started and it is time the things to be kicking off here.
That's it...not much to tell for now.
Larry S.
This saturday my brother joined me but there were so few pogies we did not even launch the boats. We saw no striking fish action at all.
The west winds have started and it is time the things to be kicking off here.
That's it...not much to tell for now.
Larry S.
Saturday, August 11, 2012
Has This Ever Happened to You?
.
If you like to hunt and fish like myself, I expect you may have fallen victim to a temporary lapse in judgement just as my friend Troy did today. The following may help you with your situation.
I fished my good friend Troy Kent this morning. We were chasing pogy schools, looking for Beach Tarpon in our kayaks off Flagler Beach.
We had made our plan late Friday night and Troy was to meet me at the beach by 8:00AM the next morning. The only stipulation to going was that he had to meet his wife by 12 o'clock noon!
You can probably see where this is going......a fishing trip planed with me, on a time table? HUH??
We weren't having much luck hooking up a tarpon but the sharks were keeping us on our toes.
Well, about 11:00 I called over to Troy....."how you doin' on time ?, You need to go?" Troy pondered the question briefly and responded back...."I'm O.K.!"
So, we kept on fishing. Who am I to tell my friend he needs to stop fishing so he can go meet his wife?
In Troy's defense, we had probably seen 40-50 aggressive tarpon strikes at this point and caught 6-7 nice sharks.
About 12:00 ol' Troy hooked up another shark from under the pogy school and after a volley of stripped line and a tug-a-war, Troy finally brought him alongside the yak. I was able to de-hook the toothy fish and I thought that might be a fitting end to the trip so I asked Troy if he wanted to call off the dogs and head for the hill?
Troy paused a moment and said "let's try em again!" I replied, "O.K......, let's go hook one up!"
(Troy) "that's what I'm talkin' bout'! You might have to write me an excuse for my wife though."
So, we paddled back to catch up with the school.
After about a half an hour the Tarpon action had slowed and I looked over to see Troy reeling in a pogy he had just snagged. He paused for a minute and I could see he was thinking about something. I decided I had better offer to head in if he needed to. He replied "what the heck.....lets run through em again!"
You don't have to ask me twice!
After about another 30 minutes Troy finally said, "Larry, you know, I had probably better get going"
"Yeah, let's call it and head in."
It was probably 1:00 by the time we beached the boats and by 1:30 PM we were loaded and ready to head for home.
Now I should mention Troy and his wife are school teachers so the "writing an excuse" comment was kind of a joke but when I got back to the office it came to me to do just that.
The following is the excuse I prepared for Troy and feel free to copy it if you should find yourself in a similar situation!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Heather,
Please accept this note as evidence of Troy's where abouts for the period of time between 8:30 AM and 1:30 PM., this day, Aug. 11, 2012. The Tarpon striking action lured us into the false sense that we might hook up with one of the beasts at any moment. Unfortunately, this clouded our good judgement and best intentions. Though others of our fishing party departed in a timely manor, we willfully abandoned our commitments and obligations, pressing on with our efforts.
Troy and I are deeply regretful of our actions today and Troy fully understands the implications of his broken promise to meet you no later than noon, this day. He has given me all assurance that he will make this up to you at an agreed upon time and in a manor of your choosing.
However, as regretful and embarrassed as we may be of our shortcomings, I fear that Troy may fall victim of this circumstance in the future and recommend that he make additional copies of this note, for use as the need may arise.
For these reasons and under these circumstances, I choose to offer no assurances to anyone as to my where abouts at any given time, as this has not proven to work out well for those individuals in the past.
Furthermore, I am understanding of your situation as Troy was 37minutes late in meeting me this very morning!
In closing, please excuse Troy's poor judgement and tardy arrival.
Thank You,
Larry Stephens,
If you like to hunt and fish like myself, I expect you may have fallen victim to a temporary lapse in judgement just as my friend Troy did today. The following may help you with your situation.
I fished my good friend Troy Kent this morning. We were chasing pogy schools, looking for Beach Tarpon in our kayaks off Flagler Beach.
We had made our plan late Friday night and Troy was to meet me at the beach by 8:00AM the next morning. The only stipulation to going was that he had to meet his wife by 12 o'clock noon!
You can probably see where this is going......a fishing trip planed with me, on a time table? HUH??
We weren't having much luck hooking up a tarpon but the sharks were keeping us on our toes.
Well, about 11:00 I called over to Troy....."how you doin' on time ?, You need to go?" Troy pondered the question briefly and responded back...."I'm O.K.!"
So, we kept on fishing. Who am I to tell my friend he needs to stop fishing so he can go meet his wife?
In Troy's defense, we had probably seen 40-50 aggressive tarpon strikes at this point and caught 6-7 nice sharks.
About 12:00 ol' Troy hooked up another shark from under the pogy school and after a volley of stripped line and a tug-a-war, Troy finally brought him alongside the yak. I was able to de-hook the toothy fish and I thought that might be a fitting end to the trip so I asked Troy if he wanted to call off the dogs and head for the hill?
Troy paused a moment and said "let's try em again!" I replied, "O.K......, let's go hook one up!"
(Troy) "that's what I'm talkin' bout'! You might have to write me an excuse for my wife though."
So, we paddled back to catch up with the school.
After about a half an hour the Tarpon action had slowed and I looked over to see Troy reeling in a pogy he had just snagged. He paused for a minute and I could see he was thinking about something. I decided I had better offer to head in if he needed to. He replied "what the heck.....lets run through em again!"
You don't have to ask me twice!
After about another 30 minutes Troy finally said, "Larry, you know, I had probably better get going"
"Yeah, let's call it and head in."
It was probably 1:00 by the time we beached the boats and by 1:30 PM we were loaded and ready to head for home.
Now I should mention Troy and his wife are school teachers so the "writing an excuse" comment was kind of a joke but when I got back to the office it came to me to do just that.
The following is the excuse I prepared for Troy and feel free to copy it if you should find yourself in a similar situation!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Heather,
Please accept this note as evidence of Troy's where abouts for the period of time between 8:30 AM and 1:30 PM., this day, Aug. 11, 2012. The Tarpon striking action lured us into the false sense that we might hook up with one of the beasts at any moment. Unfortunately, this clouded our good judgement and best intentions. Though others of our fishing party departed in a timely manor, we willfully abandoned our commitments and obligations, pressing on with our efforts.
Troy and I are deeply regretful of our actions today and Troy fully understands the implications of his broken promise to meet you no later than noon, this day. He has given me all assurance that he will make this up to you at an agreed upon time and in a manor of your choosing.
However, as regretful and embarrassed as we may be of our shortcomings, I fear that Troy may fall victim of this circumstance in the future and recommend that he make additional copies of this note, for use as the need may arise.
For these reasons and under these circumstances, I choose to offer no assurances to anyone as to my where abouts at any given time, as this has not proven to work out well for those individuals in the past.
Furthermore, I am understanding of your situation as Troy was 37minutes late in meeting me this very morning!
In closing, please excuse Troy's poor judgement and tardy arrival.
Thank You,
Larry Stephens,
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
Massive Top Water Tarpon Strike in a Pogy School!
.
If you are not in awe of this big tarpon strike into a school of pogies.....your not a fisherman!
This is the ultimate top water strike!
If you are not in awe of this big tarpon strike into a school of pogies.....your not a fisherman!
This is the ultimate top water strike!
It was sure exciting to see!
Tight Lines, Larry S.
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Tarpon Quest 2! August 17,11
.
Tarpon Quest 2! August 17, 2011
I couldn't resist chasing the tarpons around Wednesday morning! I did not have a partner to fish with which is not the best idea but I took a chance. I glassed a number of bait pods and finally settled on one with some nervous bait after studying them for a bit I was able to see several tarpon roll in them. I grabbed my gear and put in.
There was a pretty good swell and the surface was a little rough which made finding the bait once I got out there a little hard.
The action was real good! I snagged a pogy and casted him back in the pod. Within 10 minutes I got a strike and the line started heading east. I set the hook and a slob of a tarpon in the 140-150# range rocketed skyward. He thru the hook on the first jump which was probable a good thing since I was by myself. I snagged another pogy and immediately had that one stripped from the hook. The next bait got the same result.
The next pogy made it about 5 minutes before the line started to leave. I set the hook and pulled the pogy right out of his mouth without ever sticking him?
Once again I snagged another pogy and heaved him back into the middle of the school. In just a few minutes the rod pulled down and I set the hook, grabbed the camera and was able to just catch her first and only jump.
The tarpon immediately headed east for deep water. I hooked her in 18' and in 12 minutes we were in 45' with 3-4' swells but remarkably the fight was over at that point. I tugged her on board for some pics and turned her loose.
I was a little uncomfortable with the conditions, especially since the fish had almost pulled me over trying to get the pictures. I decided not to push my luck and headed for the beach.
The tarpon action is really great right now but no telling how long it might last.
Good Luck,
Larry S.
Tarpon Quest 2! August 17, 2011
There was a pretty good swell and the surface was a little rough which made finding the bait once I got out there a little hard.
The action was real good! I snagged a pogy and casted him back in the pod. Within 10 minutes I got a strike and the line started heading east. I set the hook and a slob of a tarpon in the 140-150# range rocketed skyward. He thru the hook on the first jump which was probable a good thing since I was by myself. I snagged another pogy and immediately had that one stripped from the hook. The next bait got the same result.
The next pogy made it about 5 minutes before the line started to leave. I set the hook and pulled the pogy right out of his mouth without ever sticking him?
Once again I snagged another pogy and heaved him back into the middle of the school. In just a few minutes the rod pulled down and I set the hook, grabbed the camera and was able to just catch her first and only jump.
The tarpon immediately headed east for deep water. I hooked her in 18' and in 12 minutes we were in 45' with 3-4' swells but remarkably the fight was over at that point. I tugged her on board for some pics and turned her loose.
I was a little uncomfortable with the conditions, especially since the fish had almost pulled me over trying to get the pictures. I decided not to push my luck and headed for the beach.
The tarpon action is really great right now but no telling how long it might last.
Good Luck,
Larry S.
PS, I have several people inquire about which PFD I am using. It is a pretty decent vest and has held up well. It gets a little hot but that is probably true for the others as well. This one is a Bass Pro Shops vest. It is reasonably priced and here is a link where you can find out more about it.......
Sunday, August 21, 2011
Tarpon Quest 3 - Aug. 12,11
Tarpon Quest 3 Aug. 12,11
Typically, the pogies are gone by this date but Monday (the 8th) I had to make an inspection over at the beach and I used the trip to do a little recon. To my surprise there was still plenty of bait pods making their way along the beach. I couldn’t get off work to fish until Friday morning and I did not have anyone to accompany me but with the bait still here I couldn’t resist.
As usual I made my way glassing down the beach and decided to put in on a nice pod of nervous bait way up north at the edge of the city limits. Before I could get in the water I had already seen several tarpon strike into the helpless little pogies.
The surf was flat and glassy and the launch was just like I like it…uneventful. I paddled for the school and snagged my first bait. The water was as clear as I have ever seen it. You could see the bait schooled up 6-8’ down. The conditions were ideal!
It did not take long before I noticed something swimming away with my line. I eased up on the rod until I felt the weight of the fish and then lowered the rod as he swam. Once the rod was back down at the water I let him have it!….Two hard hook sets and the fight was on. The big tarpon immediately made a jump that had to be a record. He launched straight up and his nose had to have made the 15’ mark. Incredible. From there it was dive, dive, dive and of course head for deeper water.
My tarpon fishing partner Rick Was working on a house nearby so I called him on the cell to let him know I was hooked up and heading east. Everything was going good and I was 47 minutes in when all of the sudden….pow, the main line broke. I was putting some pretty serious heat on him in an effort to break him before he got me to far out. I knew I was pushing the limits of the equipment. When the line gave way I almost tumbled out the other side of the yak!
It was disappointing but I quickly recovered and got a fresh leader on. I spotted another bait school and paddled over to snag a new bait. In less than 10 min. I was hooked up again. This fish did not jump at the hook set and it pretty quickly became evident why…..Shark! It was a 48” spinner shark. I got a few pictures as best I could without being overly risky and cut the leader. Even a small shark is nothing to fool around with in a kayak.....all kinds of things can go wrong. I originally thought this was a black tip. It’s a good thing I did not keep this one as the spinner has a 54” fork requirement where the blacktip has no minimum. Shark ID can be pretty difficult, be careful if your going to keep one. The main difference (I later discovered) between the blacktip and the spinner is the anal fin. The blacktip’s anal fin is white and the spinner’s is tipped in black.....go figure.
Once again I tied in a new leader, snagged another pogy and was back in the game. It did not take long to hook up with my third fish of the morning….another big 115-125# silver king. He made two big tail walks at the hook set and the fight was on. It was an epic battle. The fish headed south east pulling me along for the ride. I called Rick again…..”hey man, I’m hooked up again!” Rick said “I’m almost wrapped up, as soon as I’m done I’ll put the boat in and get some pictures for you.”
At one point the Tarpon pulled me thru a school of big yellow fin Jacks that numbered over a hundred. It was an incredible sight to see them swarming around the boat in the clear water with those bright yellow fins shinning.. Man, I would have sure liked to have tossed a jig in the middle of those guys. Maybe next time.
By the time Ricky arrived I was so far out he could hardly see me. There was a shrimp boat anchored out beyond me culling his catch and there was some bird activity down current from the boat. The tarpon was headed that way and my first thought was oh, no! there’s probably going to be a bunch of sharks hanging around there and I didn’t want my tarpon, or me for that matter, anywhere around them.
By the time Rick caught up with me I was over an hour into the battle. Little did I know we were just getting started!
I had the leader up to the boat a number of times but he was far from caught. He would come up and get a gulp of air and dive, stripping line as he headed for the bottom. I just could not break him! Every time he gulped air he would regain his energy. Rick was getting anxious to get this over with and was pressing me to put some more heat on him. My go to guru for ocean and flats fishing, Capt. Rick (another rick) gave me some advice on how to deal with these air gulpers. I'll see how this works out of the kayak and report on this technique in another post.
It was time to do something, incredibly, we were approaching the 3 hour mark and my rod hand was trying to go to sleep on me. We had almost made a complete circle around the shrimp boat and had been as much as a ½ mile beyond him at one point.
At 2 hours and 51 minutes in, under my straining Ugly Stick, the main line gave way and I was free! It was disappointing and a relief all at the same time. What a battle. I still can't believe how long I was on that fish.
I have since revised my rigging to help eliminate break offs like this on these long bodied fish. When your after fish in the 100-150# range, leaders, knots and line become critical.
We took a short rest and started our journey back to the beach. When we arrived a couple guys came over and asked “We have to ask….what were you guys hook up with? We’ve been watching you for three hours getting pulled around out there!” Two words…..Big Tarpon!
It was close to 2 PM and I had been hooked up to fish almost the entire morning. From our vantage on the dune we could see the tarpon action was still going on with some aggressive strikes into the scattered bait schools.
Its was an incredible morning to be fishing in the surf with the glassy conditions and clear water. You don’t get to see it like this very often.
Here’s a few pictures from the trip
Good Luck,
Larry S.
As usual I made my way glassing down the beach and decided to put in on a nice pod of nervous bait way up north at the edge of the city limits. Before I could get in the water I had already seen several tarpon strike into the helpless little pogies.
Pogy school.
The surf was flat and glassy and the launch was just like I like it…uneventful. I paddled for the school and snagged my first bait. The water was as clear as I have ever seen it. You could see the bait schooled up 6-8’ down. The conditions were ideal!
Tarpon strike, bustin' bait!
It did not take long before I noticed something swimming away with my line. I eased up on the rod until I felt the weight of the fish and then lowered the rod as he swam. Once the rod was back down at the water I let him have it!….Two hard hook sets and the fight was on. The big tarpon immediately made a jump that had to be a record. He launched straight up and his nose had to have made the 15’ mark. Incredible. From there it was dive, dive, dive and of course head for deeper water.
A tarpon jump I managed to photo myself.
My tarpon fishing partner Rick Was working on a house nearby so I called him on the cell to let him know I was hooked up and heading east. Everything was going good and I was 47 minutes in when all of the sudden….pow, the main line broke. I was putting some pretty serious heat on him in an effort to break him before he got me to far out. I knew I was pushing the limits of the equipment. When the line gave way I almost tumbled out the other side of the yak!
Nice Spinner Shark!
Once again I tied in a new leader, snagged another pogy and was back in the game. It did not take long to hook up with my third fish of the morning….another big 115-125# silver king. He made two big tail walks at the hook set and the fight was on. It was an epic battle. The fish headed south east pulling me along for the ride. I called Rick again…..”hey man, I’m hooked up again!” Rick said “I’m almost wrapped up, as soon as I’m done I’ll put the boat in and get some pictures for you.”
Rick lucked up and caught this jump. very hard to get photo.
At one point the Tarpon pulled me thru a school of big yellow fin Jacks that numbered over a hundred. It was an incredible sight to see them swarming around the boat in the clear water with those bright yellow fins shinning.. Man, I would have sure liked to have tossed a jig in the middle of those guys. Maybe next time.
By the time Ricky arrived I was so far out he could hardly see me. There was a shrimp boat anchored out beyond me culling his catch and there was some bird activity down current from the boat. The tarpon was headed that way and my first thought was oh, no! there’s probably going to be a bunch of sharks hanging around there and I didn’t want my tarpon, or me for that matter, anywhere around them.
By the time Rick caught up with me I was over an hour into the battle. Little did I know we were just getting started!
Hooked up!
I had the leader up to the boat a number of times but he was far from caught. He would come up and get a gulp of air and dive, stripping line as he headed for the bottom. I just could not break him! Every time he gulped air he would regain his energy. Rick was getting anxious to get this over with and was pressing me to put some more heat on him. My go to guru for ocean and flats fishing, Capt. Rick (another rick) gave me some advice on how to deal with these air gulpers. I'll see how this works out of the kayak and report on this technique in another post.
It was time to do something, incredibly, we were approaching the 3 hour mark and my rod hand was trying to go to sleep on me. We had almost made a complete circle around the shrimp boat and had been as much as a ½ mile beyond him at one point.
At 2 hours and 51 minutes in, under my straining Ugly Stick, the main line gave way and I was free! It was disappointing and a relief all at the same time. What a battle. I still can't believe how long I was on that fish.
I have since revised my rigging to help eliminate break offs like this on these long bodied fish. When your after fish in the 100-150# range, leaders, knots and line become critical.
We took a short rest and started our journey back to the beach. When we arrived a couple guys came over and asked “We have to ask….what were you guys hook up with? We’ve been watching you for three hours getting pulled around out there!” Two words…..Big Tarpon!
It was close to 2 PM and I had been hooked up to fish almost the entire morning. From our vantage on the dune we could see the tarpon action was still going on with some aggressive strikes into the scattered bait schools.
Its was an incredible morning to be fishing in the surf with the glassy conditions and clear water. You don’t get to see it like this very often.
Here’s a few pictures from the trip
Good Luck,
Larry S.
See that tiny shrimp boat in the distance....little did I know I'd end up on the other side of him!
All the water that looks wind blown is actually disturbed from the bait school
That's some glassy ocean water, perfect conditions!
Headed east!
Look at that bent rod!
There's the anchored shrimp boat during the fight.
Spinner shark.
A pogy I just snagged with a "j" hook.
Pogy school down below.
At this point we were at least a 1/2 mile past the anchored shrimp boat!
Tarpon making a circle...Look at the bobbles coming off the wake!
Nice spinner shark!
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