Key West Report

[DZ]

Thanks for the kind comments.
Paul - so nice of you to invite me - so generous of you.

Having never fished for Tarpon I sought out the advice of respected fisherman and author John Skinner. John and others including Jimmy Fee, and Rudi Babikian gave me some sound advice about what to use and when to fish. I knew the hookup to land ratio with large Tarpon was meager at best so my milestones were to at least hook a Tarpon, then maybe actually see it before losing it, and lastly land it (hopefully).
I remembered that Skinner had told me the Tarpon sometimes get very finicky and to downsize my presentations when that happens.
I have done lots of bucktail fishing for striped bass and hooked many nice bass from bridges but it's impossible to describe a hook up with a Tarpon. The strikes were savage and immediate jumps were sheer adrenilin pumps! The splashes when the Tarpon landed shattered the silence of the inky darkness. I know you're supposed to bow to the Tarpon when it jumps but if you can't see it jump how do you know when to bow? I remember thinking why can't I just hook a small one? Really funny how something new can reinvigorate why we love to fish.