Trip of a lifetime - tarpon - boca grande
Got to Boca Grande around 3pm, a bit more dingy then usual, from not really sleeping on the flight, but that doesn't matter, I'm flying on a high ( no I didn't burn one ), now. Get supply's and go walk the beaches, didn't fish for maybe more then 30 minutes, but saw a big snook , okay maybe not big, about 30", Tried to get him to bite my fly, but he just looked at me and smiled and just slowly faded back out.
Day-1
Got to actually sleep in, My guide said we need to wait for some sun, and go out at 9am, and he was right, woke up at 6:30am and it was dark gray and ugly, but by 8am bright and sunny. We headed to 1st stop and there are a lot of fish coming from both directions, and I got one to eat right away and totally blew it and broke him off. As far as the casting goes, no problem, as far as accurate/properly stripping the fly, I was way off, had a couple more eats that I flailed on, and many, many shots that were off. Major learning experience! All on the ocean this day.
Day - 2
Same time, same place
Still making mistakes, still blowing shots.
3 eats, and still blowing it!
All on the ocean today.
Day - 3 EPIC DAY!!
Left the dock at 6am
We started in the back country at dawn, and pulled up to the 1st stop and there are fishing rolling here and fish rolling over there. They were anywhere from 20-70pds . And my casting/stripping is improving. I had 4 eats, and landed 2 - 40-50pders. And then they just disappeared. Well time to go out on the ocean and play with the big boys. If you never seen a 100+pd Tarpon swimming in 5 feet of crystal clear water, let's just say it is one of the coolest things you'll see. Okay we are posted up, and here comes these beautiful beasts. And I can feel my adrenalin. I had many shots, but the Ocean is a lot tougher then early morning in the back, these fish have somewhere to be. I had 3 eats and pretty much did all the mistakes. Now it's slowed for a bit, we weren't seeing as many fish. So my guide decided to go to a spot that there are a lot of fish, but they are hard to feed, ultra clear water, daisy chaining fish, missed the first eat, and them some how I feed the biggest fish in the chain, 150+ fish, right next to the boat, and it just explodes, and just instantly leaps and on the second leap, with a very good bow, it comes off. We just look at each other, and I bring my fly line in the see my factory loop is gone, another lesson learned. No factory loops for Tarpon!
Day - 4
BAD WEATHER DAY
White glare causing clouds with a lot of wind on it. We still went out and it was ROUGH. Fish would appear 20' from the boat. Very tough for a unprepared first timer. I did still managed 2 eats.
Day - 5
Still a lot of white clouds and no sun.
Fish were still showing, but really hard for this green horn to see. I had 3 eats for the day, did a Striper set on one, and the others just didn't stick.
Day - 6
Started in the back. And found a PILE of fish rolling, I think to myself, oh shit its on! Wrong! These fish would NOT eat. We stayed there for about an hour. Then we left for the Ocean. Hung out at a couple spots, but fish were not swimming. So we made a drastic move to a all new spot to me. We are there and now fish are swimming! It was VERY clear water, I got 1 eat right away, and 4 straight up refusals.
Then here comes a nice string of 3 nice fish. And my guide says" these ones will eat". So I cast, wait, wait, okay strip, strip, he's on locked on it, following and then slowy she and drips and turns, opens that huge mouth sucks the fly in and comes tight, and I just strip set that hook home, yeah buddy!
120pder in the air, and it's a all out f____in battle. Roughly 20 minutes, and I'm starting to stress that my 80pd bite can't handle much more of this or me. Sucked the leader all the way into the guides, more then once, then hand on leader and what I knew was coming, snapo broken leader. That was the biggest and baddest fish I ever caught.
MY TRIP OF A LIFE TIME, Until next year Fished 11wts and used my guides flys/leaders.
This is a small note - this is my first of many to be trips with this guide and this week slot, and as far as casting goes for I was way unprepared for how dead on everything has to be, casting 90' for stripers, no problem. But this is a lot of 20-60' casts, backwards casting, and better be quick about, and the fly has to be just right, and stripped ever so slow, while still having to watch the fish and try and read its body motion, this fishing so challenging and technical, AND VERY ADDICTING!! I'll be practicing like an obsessed maniac until this time next year.
THANK YOU!!
I would like to give a special thanks to Bill Bishop. If it wasn't for him taking time to direct me in the right direction, with one of the best guide/teachers around, this never would have happened. Thanks again Bill!
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