GenCon
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- Joined
- Jan 15, 2013
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Fly fishing is not just about trout, although trout is one of my favorite quarries.
There are many other species, including salt water fish, that I enjoy going after. One of my favorites is the tarpon. Some fishermen refer to the tarpon as the “silver king.” Fishing for tarpon is a very different kind of fly fishing. Lots of fishing for tarpon is done in the Florida Keys.
Tarpon fishing in the Keys is very interesting. You have a choice of fishing the bay side or, as we refer to it, “the back country.” Fishing in the back usually involves a knowledgeable guide. Your guide can take you places where you may find tarpon hanging out on the edge of a bank or near to an island. The fish there will be laid up, meaning just laying still, or they might be slowly cruising along.
Your guide will pole the skiff around slowly looking for signs of fish. He or she will be looking to spot them rolling, or just looking to see where they are laying. Tarpon roll gently across the surface to grab a gulp of air, you see. They have a swim bladder that allows them to gulp air that is then dispersed into their lungs and circulatory system.
Now let’s talk about the fishing itself. On day one of my recent tarpon-fishing trip, my guide, Robert Line, took me “out back” in the Keys. Conditions were not great. It was cloudy and a bit breezy. Robert stopped us at one of his spots and, after a couple of minutes, he saw a tarpon roll about 50 yards away.
Robert poled us up to the spot and then held us still. That’s when I saw it: a huge tarpon just sort of floated to the surface about 50 feet away from our position. I wound up and cast, landing my fly about 4 feet in front the tarpon’s face, then slowly stripped it away. I saw the fish move forward and then watched him eat my fly.
This tarpon was about 6 feet long. It always amazes me that a six-foot fish will eat a fly that’s only 2 inches long. I set my hook with a strip strike... and all hell broke loose.
The tarpon jumped several times and made a couple of blinding runs. After about 20 minutes, I had him boat-side. I asked Robert to grab my leader and break him off. There is no reason to fight a big fish like that, past that point. IT’s just too hard on the fish. Robert estimated my tarpon to be roughly 125 pounds. What a way to start the trip!
I ended up with one other fish as the day progressed. That one was about 70 pounds. All told, Robert and I fished together for 5 days and I had a great time. I caught a decent amount of fish, despite the fact that conditions were not ideal, and ended the trip with 9 tarpon on the boat. A couple broke me off and a couple just did not come tight, but all in all, it was a great trip.
Robert is a great guy and a great guide. His knowledge of the back country is phenomenal. We plan to fish the same week next year. Who knows — maybe the weather will be a little bit nicer, and maybe we’ll see more fish. All I know is that I’ll be there.
I tried to add another pic. For some reason it wont let me.
GenCon
There are many other species, including salt water fish, that I enjoy going after. One of my favorites is the tarpon. Some fishermen refer to the tarpon as the “silver king.” Fishing for tarpon is a very different kind of fly fishing. Lots of fishing for tarpon is done in the Florida Keys.
Tarpon fishing in the Keys is very interesting. You have a choice of fishing the bay side or, as we refer to it, “the back country.” Fishing in the back usually involves a knowledgeable guide. Your guide can take you places where you may find tarpon hanging out on the edge of a bank or near to an island. The fish there will be laid up, meaning just laying still, or they might be slowly cruising along.
Your guide will pole the skiff around slowly looking for signs of fish. He or she will be looking to spot them rolling, or just looking to see where they are laying. Tarpon roll gently across the surface to grab a gulp of air, you see. They have a swim bladder that allows them to gulp air that is then dispersed into their lungs and circulatory system.
Now let’s talk about the fishing itself. On day one of my recent tarpon-fishing trip, my guide, Robert Line, took me “out back” in the Keys. Conditions were not great. It was cloudy and a bit breezy. Robert stopped us at one of his spots and, after a couple of minutes, he saw a tarpon roll about 50 yards away.
Robert poled us up to the spot and then held us still. That’s when I saw it: a huge tarpon just sort of floated to the surface about 50 feet away from our position. I wound up and cast, landing my fly about 4 feet in front the tarpon’s face, then slowly stripped it away. I saw the fish move forward and then watched him eat my fly.
This tarpon was about 6 feet long. It always amazes me that a six-foot fish will eat a fly that’s only 2 inches long. I set my hook with a strip strike... and all hell broke loose.
The tarpon jumped several times and made a couple of blinding runs. After about 20 minutes, I had him boat-side. I asked Robert to grab my leader and break him off. There is no reason to fight a big fish like that, past that point. IT’s just too hard on the fish. Robert estimated my tarpon to be roughly 125 pounds. What a way to start the trip!
I ended up with one other fish as the day progressed. That one was about 70 pounds. All told, Robert and I fished together for 5 days and I had a great time. I caught a decent amount of fish, despite the fact that conditions were not ideal, and ended the trip with 9 tarpon on the boat. A couple broke me off and a couple just did not come tight, but all in all, it was a great trip.
Robert is a great guy and a great guide. His knowledge of the back country is phenomenal. We plan to fish the same week next year. Who knows — maybe the weather will be a little bit nicer, and maybe we’ll see more fish. All I know is that I’ll be there.
I tried to add another pic. For some reason it wont let me.
GenCon
