belated Labor Day weekend report
Posted: September 5th, 2013, 7:39 pm
Went down Friday night, but did not put the boat in the water due to the low tide and the spectacular strobe lightning show. Got up Saturday and launched the boat and checked the pinfish trap. Everything in it was dead, don't know if it was a lightning strike or what since they were fine Friday night. Not a good start. We got a late start after a big breakfast and getting my teenager and FishingRod's 4 and 6 year old girls geared up. Fishing was slow and the water clarity was poor. We caught a few catfish and short trout while moving about 4 times. We were all pretty frustrated and my son decided to put on a pink gulp which is not one of our go-to baits. About the third cast, he hooks a big fish. He gets it up to the surface and it is a big red with a bunch of friends. I holler at FishingRod to throw out by him and immediately he is hooked up with another big fish. They do a great job of staying out of each other's way and I soon net a pair of bull reds that go 37 and 38 inches. A few quick pics and back into the drink they go. We fished hard that afternoon with one legal trout and a few shorts to show for it. Fish were shallower than I expected with most of them in 3-4 feet of water. That night I castnetted some baits to use in the morning. Sunday, I got up early and went solo. It was smooth so I ran out to a long bar deciding to drift along in about 5 feet of water. I put out a finger mullet behind the boat and then fished with a gulp under a cork. First cast, I hook a solid fish, but it stays down which is not a good sign. Turns out to be a gafftop about 3.5 pounds. I turn it loose and make another cast. That's when the chaos begins. My drift rod is pegged and the drag is screaming. I put my other rod in a holder and grab the drift rod. The fish I still running and my line is accumulating grass and I can't get it clear. A quick check of the reel shows more than half of my line is gone and the fish has not slowed down. I throw my bait bucket into the boat and the fish starts to go left. I move to the back right of the boat and start the engine. As the fish is taking line off to the left, he is also moving the grass clump closer to me(and taking the line under the boat). Finally, the grass is close enough that I am able to start throwing it off by handfuls. The sound of my line changes and I see I am down to just the monofilament that I cover the spool with to prevent the braid from slipping. Not good! I shove the rod into the water, run up to the front of the boat to clear the line, and race back to the console. At this point, I have 3 turns of mono left on the reel, so I go all in slamming the boat into gear turning left and reeling as fast as I can. I finally slow down when I have about 1/2 of my line back and I am relieved to feel the heavy weight of the fish still on the other end. I continue to chase the fish and I see my line beginning to come up. The fish rolls and it is a monster tarpon!!!! I am now so excited I am about to lose control of my bodily functions. I chase the fish down for about 35 minutes, but he never gives me a huge jump choosing to just bulldog away. Finally, I have him close alongside the boat tired, but not completely done. I grab the leader and reach for the fish and he begins to thrash and swims away. Amazing fish and technically a catch, but no pictures as my 5/0 circle broke under the strain. I did not know whether to laugh or cry or scream. First tarpon and he was 5 1/2 to 6 feet long on a 7 ft medium action Falconer custom spinning rod. Ran home with no fish in the box, but a great fish story. FishingRods wife caught a 6 foot bull shark later in the day and FishingRod caught a 17" trout. The next morning, I was back at it again by myself armed with a bunch of live baits and an even heavier rod. Caught 3 Spanish over 20", an 18" trout, a bunch of shorts, and sharks. Not many fish for the table, but we made a lot of memories.
