Tarpon Cay Lodge
As winter sets in, here in the northern climes, the thoughts of many anglers turn to fishing somewhere warm, especially somewhere warm with a bunch of fish that take the fly really well. Jason and I had the opportunity to visit Tarpon Cay Lodge a couple of years ago and fish there with our friend, Lee Haskin, a regular at the camp. It is one of those places with fishing so good you’ll think it was yesterday (as in, “You should have been here yesterday”). These are “baby” tarpon, running between 5 and 35 pounds. They take the fly really well and fight with all the gusto of the big boys. They jump, they clatter their gill plates, they run like gang-busters, and you can do all of it on a 8-wt rod–or even a 7 salt model. They take top water stuff and flies just under the film, Tarpon Cay is remote yet very comfortable with great food and superb guides. The photo below is on our friend Lee, with an average baby tarpon. Lee’s flies, especially his Gurgler, Neutralizer, Slideball, and his bucktail flies are lethal on these fish. Lee can be contacted at www.gurglersonline.com/. Visit Kiene’s Fly Shop (www.kiene.com/) for more info on booking a trip to Tarpon Cay Lodge.
Lee Haskin with an average-sized baby tarpon at Tarpon Cay Lodge