Tarpon Report 4-4-2012
My old friend, Jake Jordan, is back in Florida and hunting tarpon at night. Here’s the latest report. If you want to fish with Jake or see more about his operation, go here.
April 4, 2012: This evening my old friend Jerry Gibbs (retired fishing editor of Outdoor Life Magazine), joined aboard “Fly Reel” at 11:30 PM for a few hours of fly fishing for big Tarpon. The wind was blowing at 10 knots from the south, southeast, and the water temperature was 81 degrees. The near full moon lit up the night so you could read your watch without a light, a beautiful night.
I drove over to Pelican bank and Jerry began to cast the “poon bug” at the feeding Tarpon, on the first drift, Jerry hooked a 110 pound female which headed south at a high rate of speed. The TFO Blue Water Medium Duty fly rod along with the Mako (ugly betty) #9550 fly reel, filled with a RIO Clouser, Tarpon Taper floating fly line, proved too much for this big Tarpon. Jerry dialed that drag up to 7 pounds and that tarpon pulled my boat into the wind and Jerry wound the fish closer to the boat. After a 15 minute battle Jerry wound the leader through the tip top of the rod, making this a caught Tarpon, then out of nowhere came several 12 foot Bull Sharks attacking that poon. Jerry grabbed the spool and I gunned the boat in reverse, the 20 pound tippet broke, and then that Tarpon escaped from those big Sharks.
Jerry jumped seven Tarpon and released three before we got chased off the water by a big lightning storm at 2:00 AM, another great evening of fly fishing for Tarpon.
Tarpon On! And in the dark, yet.