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/