Tony Buzolich
09-01-2005, 09:43 PM
I guess I've been a bit slow in getting this report out as I've had several quiries about the trip. Part of the delay is because of an injured leg and I didn't want this part of the trip to sour the report.
First off, I love tarpon with a passion and when I heard about Isla Holbox having giant tarpon nothing could hold me back. When someone says "giant tarpon" I immediately think of Homassasa and Stu Apte and 200lb. fish flying in the air.
Well, Isla Holbox has these too, but not on this trip.
The trip was planned for August 13 through the 20th. If you check your calender you'll see that Friday the 19th was Full Moon and the entire week preceeding it was big and bright. Not the best for fishing tarpon.
The daily routine was to head out to sea every morning a minimum of three o five miles, slow the panga to an idle, and then search the waves for small braking splashes as schools of roving (migrating?) tarpon headed on some mysterious course. These fish were not just lazily cruising, they were moving fast. But, yes, they were BIG. And yes, that does get anybodys adrenilin going. What a site to see. Schools of several hundred fish all 75lb.-150+lb. cruising along as your panga tries to parallel their course without scaring them into another direction. Get ahead of them far enough so you can get off one good cast before they pass. As they approach the now still panga you feel the theme from Jaws running in your head. Dun-dun, dun-dun,,,, and then your guide says in broken English "Cast Now" then "Streep- streep.
And the school passes. Without even a follow.
Change flies, change colors, change size, geez, change everything. Nothing seems to work.
Repeat the senario over and over for a full week. Spot the tarpon, get ahead of the school, make one good cast,,,,,, and watch them swim by.
This is definitly nothing like fishing tarpon anywhere else I've ever been. Tarpon fishing in the keys is like stalking and hunting but here it's almost a game of chase.
As the mornings would slow, we'd break for lunch and converse with other pangas about all of our luck. No one had a single strike all week.
We'd then head toward shore and into the mangrove jungles, and along with that, the mosquitos. Gawd, the mosquitos.
No amount of spray or repellant seemed to help. No brand was better than another.
We all ventured into this jungle, but by the end of the week, we all stayed around the fringes of the lagoons or completed our day at sea.
While in the open water the fishing was still good even without the tarpon cooperating. Everyone caught plenty of Bonito, Jack Crevalle, Barracuda, Spanish Mackeral, and even Cobia, while the mangroves did provide us with plenty of baby tarpon and snook.
On Wednesday the 17th, our panga stopped at a river mouth after fishing baby tarpon all morning. The mouth had two large jetties from which we could cast for jacks and snapper and a beautiful beach for swimming. While looking excitedly at the fish everywhere, I planted my leg into a large crack and promptly fell forward. Immediately, I was in pain. Three of our group had to carry me back to the panga. My shin and calf area were now larger than my thigh.
Wrapping my leg with cold soda cans and water and a T-shirt provided little relief. Now a two hour bouncing boat ride back to Holbox. Four more hours if I wanted to get to a hospital in Cancun. Holbox has non.
I elected to overdose on Ibuprofen, Tylenol, and lots of cervasas once we got back to our lodge.
They next morning the swelling had gone down some but still very painful. More Tylenol, and still two more days of fishing till we had to leave.
Upon making it back to Sacramento, my wife took me immediately to Kaiser emergency where I spent the entire day Sunday. No break, just a crushed upper tibia.
So, as I sit here trying to be objective about the trip, I find it hard to think of much else besides my wrapped swollen leg.
The giant tarpon were there, but so was a full moon. Would this make all the difference? Probably not.
I'll still chase tarpon, but it'll probably be in the keys.
Enough for now. Salmon report next week,
TONY
First off, I love tarpon with a passion and when I heard about Isla Holbox having giant tarpon nothing could hold me back. When someone says "giant tarpon" I immediately think of Homassasa and Stu Apte and 200lb. fish flying in the air.
Well, Isla Holbox has these too, but not on this trip.
The trip was planned for August 13 through the 20th. If you check your calender you'll see that Friday the 19th was Full Moon and the entire week preceeding it was big and bright. Not the best for fishing tarpon.
The daily routine was to head out to sea every morning a minimum of three o five miles, slow the panga to an idle, and then search the waves for small braking splashes as schools of roving (migrating?) tarpon headed on some mysterious course. These fish were not just lazily cruising, they were moving fast. But, yes, they were BIG. And yes, that does get anybodys adrenilin going. What a site to see. Schools of several hundred fish all 75lb.-150+lb. cruising along as your panga tries to parallel their course without scaring them into another direction. Get ahead of them far enough so you can get off one good cast before they pass. As they approach the now still panga you feel the theme from Jaws running in your head. Dun-dun, dun-dun,,,, and then your guide says in broken English "Cast Now" then "Streep- streep.
And the school passes. Without even a follow.
Change flies, change colors, change size, geez, change everything. Nothing seems to work.
Repeat the senario over and over for a full week. Spot the tarpon, get ahead of the school, make one good cast,,,,,, and watch them swim by.
This is definitly nothing like fishing tarpon anywhere else I've ever been. Tarpon fishing in the keys is like stalking and hunting but here it's almost a game of chase.
As the mornings would slow, we'd break for lunch and converse with other pangas about all of our luck. No one had a single strike all week.
We'd then head toward shore and into the mangrove jungles, and along with that, the mosquitos. Gawd, the mosquitos.
No amount of spray or repellant seemed to help. No brand was better than another.
We all ventured into this jungle, but by the end of the week, we all stayed around the fringes of the lagoons or completed our day at sea.
While in the open water the fishing was still good even without the tarpon cooperating. Everyone caught plenty of Bonito, Jack Crevalle, Barracuda, Spanish Mackeral, and even Cobia, while the mangroves did provide us with plenty of baby tarpon and snook.
On Wednesday the 17th, our panga stopped at a river mouth after fishing baby tarpon all morning. The mouth had two large jetties from which we could cast for jacks and snapper and a beautiful beach for swimming. While looking excitedly at the fish everywhere, I planted my leg into a large crack and promptly fell forward. Immediately, I was in pain. Three of our group had to carry me back to the panga. My shin and calf area were now larger than my thigh.
Wrapping my leg with cold soda cans and water and a T-shirt provided little relief. Now a two hour bouncing boat ride back to Holbox. Four more hours if I wanted to get to a hospital in Cancun. Holbox has non.
I elected to overdose on Ibuprofen, Tylenol, and lots of cervasas once we got back to our lodge.
They next morning the swelling had gone down some but still very painful. More Tylenol, and still two more days of fishing till we had to leave.
Upon making it back to Sacramento, my wife took me immediately to Kaiser emergency where I spent the entire day Sunday. No break, just a crushed upper tibia.
So, as I sit here trying to be objective about the trip, I find it hard to think of much else besides my wrapped swollen leg.
The giant tarpon were there, but so was a full moon. Would this make all the difference? Probably not.
I'll still chase tarpon, but it'll probably be in the keys.
Enough for now. Salmon report next week,
TONY