lost a huge tarpon

[RIJIMMY]

im down in hilton head, sc, took the wife and kids out for a family shark trip in the low country with a guide. It was from 6-9pm, easy fishing in the creeks. We netted some mullet and anchored in the mouth of a creek. he said the night before the hooked a tarpon and lost it. My kids caught a few small sharks after an hour or so and I was considered the trip a success. I was talked to the guide and a huge tarpon surfaced about 40 ft from the boat. It was an amazing sight. There was a ton of bait around us, lots of small bunker, I was suprised he called them pogies, I thought that was an RI thing. Then one of the rods went off, my son had the rod but the guide said I'd better get this one. The fish was peeling line like I never seen before, he pulled the anchor in and we chased the fish down, We were down to the backing, I gained some line and thought I had a big shark. After about 10 mins of a steady run, the fish surfaced, it was a 5-6ft tarpon, we saw its entire head and back, it dove straight down and stayed there. I had it within 15 ft of the boat and then that awful feeling of a loose line. The wire leader had pulled out at the hook, I lost the fish after a 20 minute battle. Maybe I horsed it too hard, dont know. The guide said there was nothing I could have done. I've caught a lot of different fish but never had a fight like that. Im hooked and ready to move down here. Everywhere you look is bait, tons of it, bunker, mullet. Shark, tarpon, jacks, redfish, spanish mackeral. So a family trip turned into the fish of a lifetime, my wife got the whole thing on video which should be cool.