I Caught a Tarpon!

About 2 months ago I found a resident school of juvenile Tarpon on one of the rivers I like to fish on down here in Tampa. I have been fishing them at least once or twice a week with dismal results. I have managed to jump 6 of them but can not seem to land them. Finally I was so frustrated that I invited my friend Capt. Tommy Z of Action Charters to accompany me to my top secret Tarpon spot for a Tarpon Tutorial. He declined the offer to come with me in the Hotrod (Can you believe it?) and insisted we take his brand spanking new Maverick HPX Kevlar Tunnel Hull flats boat. Now how can you argue with that? Why drive a Corvette when you can catch a ride in a Ferrari?
Anyway, we get to the area and just sit there for about an hour and observe to see if we can establish any kind of a pattern, see what they might be eating, and generally absorb any knowledge that might help us figure out how to catch them. Finally he says okay lets do it and we pull up the anchore and drift within casting range. He suggest we cast up stream and let the current bring our lures back towards us working them at different depths until we get a hit. We tried several different color jig tails and finally I feel a tug. I set the hook hard three times and start fighting the fish. It jumped immediately and confirmed that indeed it was Tarpon on! The fish made a couple nice runs and 2 more jumps before I finally manage to get the fish boatside so Capt Tommy can get a grip on the fish. He kept the fish in the water while he removed the hook and then handed the fish to me for this quick photo before the fish was released to grow bigger so I can catch it again some day.

I cant wait to go back in the Hotrod and see if I can do it Solo.

Capt Tommy Ziesmann (Tommy Z) can be contacted at (727) 432 - 0355. His website is http://www.action-charters.com/

Finally Back In Action on the Hotrod Gheenoe

I got out for a couple trips early this week targeting Sheepshead and Redfish in some deep holes surrounded by shallow flats. The water was so low I had to drag the Hotrod through barely ankle deep water in a few spots to get to my fishing hole.

As you can see from the first picture, I scored a small Redfish on my fly rod. My first actually. It was a little on the small side, but still it pulled a lot better than the dink trout I have been catching on it. I am looking forward to spring and summer when I can go out on the flats and catch some big Redfish and Snook on the fly rod in the areas where I had my success with last year.

I really haven't been out much since the boat wreck the day after Christmas, and I still haven't received any money from the insurance company. I do know how much I am going to get though I just need to find and buy a new trailer before I tell them to come and pick mine up and then they will pay me.

I'm looking at taking the insurance money and possibly selling the Hotrod and getting a new boat that will be large enough to take two anglers fishing instead of just one. I hope I don't regret that decision. The Hotrod is so easy to maintain and inexpensive to operate and I had no problem pleasing almost every angler I have taken fishing on it so far. I guess I need to weigh all the advantages against the disadvantages and compare that against a different boat.

I think I will probably keep the Hotrod for a while longer and see how it works out. God forbid I get a different boat and have to think up a new name for my blog...

On a related note. I finally got around to getting my American Red Cross First Aid and Adult, Child and Infant CPR certification, the last step I needed to get my USCG Captains License. Now I just need to get my package together and submit it and wait for it to come back from the Coast Guard and U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Then I will be ready to get into business.

Thanks for reading, and I look forward to your comments and suggestions.

On and on.....

It's well into the month of February and I am still waiting on the insurance company to settle. There have been some developments of late but I kind of prefer to keep my cards close to my vest as the old saying goes since one never knows who might be reading this.

Here is what I can say though. While the insurance company was doing thier research, I was doing mine as well as I wanted to know the actual value of the Hotrod to know if they were trying to screw me over or what.

First the motor. I searched everywhere for a 2001 or newer used 25hp yamaha 2 stroke short shaft motor to replace mine. Blue book puts the value around $1600-1700. Problem is, nobody is selling them, and I wanted to make sure the one I bought was in as good or better condition as the one I had before the accident. Well I couldnt find one. I basically gave up and said to heck with it and decided to buy a brand new one. Guess what, nobody has any new ones either. Something about the EPA cracking down on 2 strokes etc. ad nauseaum whatever. But then I lucked out. I called another dealer asking about a new one and he told me he just happened to have a used 2006 on consignment for several hundred dollars less than a brand new one, which he told me he probably couldnt get anyway... and it had less than 5 hours on it. I went to check it out and the paint wasnt even scratched on the skeg! It was for all practical purposes brand new. Needless to say, I snatched it up so fast his head was spinning. And on top of that, it had a brand new composite 4 blade prop on it and came with the factory prop as well, a 6 gallon gas tank and the hose to connect it and on top of all that the gas tank was full! I put the motor on the Hotrod and took it out and it performed flawlessly as one would expect a brand new motor to do.

About a week later I finally got a call from the insurance company. They told me how much they were going to give me for the motor, which luckily for me was actually a few dollars more than what I paid...shhh! They also told me what they were going to give me for the trailer which I have found a new trailer that can be had for that amount.

Now the only thing left is to figure out how much they are going to give me for the Hotrod itself. As I stated in an earlier post, initially they told me it was a total loss. Well I managed to convince them that it is not a total loss and they told me to take it to a fiberglass repair shop for an estimate and to send the estimate to them. I prefer to do the work myself if possible but I guess I need to take it to a fiberglass repair shop for an estimate. The fiberglass repair shop wants to charge me $45 for the estimate...which they will waive if they do the work. So I guess I have to spend $45...

Hopefully this will all be over soon so I can get back to terrorizing the fish in the bay soon. Of course nothing is stopping me now other than the fact that the weather has been total crap and I've been taking the kids to doctor and dentist appointments and various other mundane tasks assigned to me by "She Who Must Be Obeyed".

Look forward to a sheepshead or other winter fishing type report.

Oh one other thing. My good friend Apollobeach Sam and I made a fishing video for your viewing pleasure. It is basically a fishing show trailer spoof called The Ultimate Angler.

Check it out here