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N 26 49 042, W 82 16 872


Manic Moore
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If you check the numbers they are slightly out of club waters.

 

I decided to the family to Florida, Parks the first week, then Gulf Coast the second week. The FPO booked the villa, and hey presto we are staying near Boca Grande, the Tarpon Capital of Florida.

 

Well I did a few beach / Pier sessions for the usual sting rays and around here they seem a bit smaller thean the average stamp I have caught further South near Fort Myers. Best one for the week ran to 19lb though and great sport on carp rods.

 

The piers did have some huge fish caught at nights but you need 50lb + gear when you are trying to bully Jew Fish in the 100lbs class out of the pier pilings and kids regularly hooking and loosing 80lb+ Tarpon at night on similar gear.

 

All in all not the variety of species size and venues they have further south but when you can average 10 to `15 sting rays in a 4 to 5 hour session in the morning up to double figures, who's complaining.

 

Anyway the high light of the holiday ( after the family delights of course dry.gif )

 

One morning I was looking for a new venue I had been told about and stopped at a marina for directions, and started chatting to a skipper who's customers hadn't turned up. Well after some haggling I was racing down the ATM machine to withdraw $300 for a 6 hour trip for Tarpon in the Boco Grande pass.

 

This is a narrow pass about the size of the swash channel and runs up to 60' deep and tens of thousands of tarpon gather there prior to mating.

 

Well you have never seen anything like it. Huge tarpon rolling on the surface and anything from 50 the 100 + boats all working an area less than the size of half a football pitch, I kid you not.

 

At the hot spots you have to hold your rods close to the boat so you don't catch them on other boats. There were times when I could have ran accross 3 or 4 boats by just stepping accross the gunnals. The most incredable sight you have ever seen. The bream marks on the ledge, luxury. At any one time there are probably 4 or 5 hook ups all trying to find a pathway out of the boats whilst hanging on to a silver torpedo that is stripping 40lb line like it was cotten.

 

The tackle was an odd arrangement too. 40lb mono, 80lb mono 3' hook length, tied to a 10 O circle hook, then clipped on the bend of the hook by a small snap link was a 4oz lead head with a 2 inch shad with no hook in it.

 

The idea is lower it down to the bottom, wind up a turn and hold still untill you feel the faintest pluck, then wind like hell. As the fish turns it picks up the circle hook.

 

Well we had 5 hook ups. The most visual lasted about 5 to 10 seconds. I felt the pluck and even with a 6.1 to 1 retrieve could not keep up with a fish estimated at 150lb that swam from 50' down to launching itself 10 feet in the air and shook the hook out. How it didn't land in a boat I never know, it happened so fast it left me speechless.

 

Prior to that I hooking into one that I got to the side of the boat and was estimated at 110lb and that took 25 minutes to subdue even though the skipper was just following the fish around while I pumped and wound and lost line to a fish that didn't seem to think I was going to mess up his day. Despite loosing the next 3 hook ups it was a trip I will never forget, for all the reasons above and the sight of a 1000lb hammer Head trying to relieve one angler of a small 40lb Tarpon, and all in 90 degrees of sun shine.

 

If you have ever fancied a trip where you can all but guarantee hooking into one of the most exciting, hard fighting fish in the sea, Port Charlot between May and June has to be on your list of venues.

 

I am waiting of a picture to be emailed of me trying to hold onto the rod, unfortunately as the skipper was avoiding boats and the crew was helping to unhook at the side of the boat we didn't get the pictures I would have liked

 

But here's a stinger to be going on with

 

 

Glad to be back NOT

 

 

Gordon biggrin.gif

post-4-1245173241jpg

Edited by Manic Moore
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Hi Gordon

 

Glad to hear that your trip went so well

 

No doubt you will try and catch up on what has been going on over here while you were in the sun. Turbot and Conger records broken etc

 

We can not match Tarpon, Jew Fish and oversize stingrays though, I look forward to hearing all about them.

speak soon

 

Charlie biggrin.gif

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