Winter Land Based Tarpon!

Andrew and I headed out with Barry on a chilly Wednesday evening. One last trip before he was headed back up north for graduate school. We arrived to a busy beach but found an open spot we could set up in. I really wanted my own tarpon from the beach! After three years of land based fishing I had yet to land one! I was really hoping they were still around with these fluctuating weather conditions we’ve been having recently! Fish especially tarpon are sensitive to weather changes and tend to swim to warmer waters during winter months.

Baits were being taken out in the kayak, the purple 80w being first in the line up tonight and down the line Andrew went. By the time he was dropping the last bait my purple 80w was screaming with the speed and unmistakeable FAST run of a tarpon! I hurried to get over to my rod make sure she was hooked and held on! Andrew all the while out in the kayak praying this silver king doesn’t tail dance and land in his lap!

Wow I’m thinking my first tarpon! I have to land this fish! At one point this fish was taking almost full drag on the 80w then all of a sudden nothing! Did I just loose this fish? Is she swimming at me? Did I get broken off? I couldn’t feel the anchor which is usually a good sign the fish keeps it off the bottom. As I gained more and more line I noticed it going left to right my fish was still on as it jumped out of the water 5 feet from shore! She ran a few more times before giving up to the heavy drag of the 80w! YES! Finally i landed my first tarpon ever! She was BIG and just beautiful! We estimated at 140lbs ish. There was such chaos at the time of her landing we didnt measure her! Andrew and Barry worked quickly to dehook her as I got ready to snap a few pictures before her release! An amazing catch & memory!

If you want to check out the video of the catch and release ive added it on youtube! ---> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zln-LHO-gpI