Hey fellas...looking forward to my first trip of the season pretty soon, how about y'all? Have a little insomnia, figured I would post some **** stuff and hopefully get some of y'all jazzed about trying it with stick and feather.
Really, I just wanted to raise the topic of fly fishing for tarpon here in TX, and ask why more people in our state don't seem to pursue them this way? I see a lot of people that post here who seem to have caught their fair share of tarpon, but who don't seem to have considered doing it on a fly rod...or maybe aren't interested in it. For me, it's the only way I have ever fished for them, whether in the Caribbean, FL, or here in TX. Although I throw both lures and flys on our inshore fish, and have no aversion to bait offshore, as dictated by conditions, I am a purist when it comes to poons.
I do admit that, at least in TX, being a fly purist cuts down on the number of fishable days...and possibly the number of fish jumped, and in general, greatly raises the degree of difficulty on an already very difficult endeavor. In Florida, I think the fly is actually an advantage more often than not...and there is no doubt that the best tarpon guides in FL are fly guides. However, jumping them and catching them on fly here in TX is still extremely feasible, especially on the mid and lower coasts.
I promise you, the degree of excitement associated with watching a tarpon inhale a fly at close range, often within mere feet of the boat, and the first phase of the battle when initiated at close range on the fly, is night and day relative to most conventional tackle hookups.
Don't get me wrong, a jumped tarpon is exciting no matter the method, and I certainly don't look down my long purist nose at people using lures, because again, I throw lures regularly at other species, but jumping a tarpon on a fly rod is easily the most exciting fishing experience known to man....at least this man, LOL.
For those of you who have already landed a tarpon or two on conventional gear, I'd highly recommend you set your sights on the next level. AND - not just so you can say "I did it on the fly" and pretend that's somehow superior, but because it really is way, WAY more heart-stopping, knee shaking, hand clenching AWESOMENESS!
Aside from the obvious visual aspect of sight casting to large fish, the "hunting" aspect of spotting the fish and making a good "shot", seeing that huge mouth open, trying desperately to remember to avoid the long ingrained lure fishing habit of "trout striking", then the strip strike connection where you are literally connected to the fish for a moment or two via only the string and sans the rod, the pandemonium of trying to clear the line, the fact that the initial jumps are literally in your face and not 60 yards out, it all adds up to a very, very different experience than jumping a fish on a spinning or baitcast setup.
To this day, my most vivid tarpon memory is not one of the fish I have landed, it was a 150+ lb. fish that I hooked and lost after about 10 seconds. This fish was spotted way under the mangroves (obviously in FL), and followed the fly out, right towards the boat. When he ate, he was facing us head on (as most fly rod tarpon hookups happen), and from less than a rod length away, it looked like you could have fit a basketball in his mouth. On the first strip strike, this mammoth fish literally almost jumped into the trees. I repeatedly strip set as he tailwalked down the tree line and the guide frantically tried to pole the stern of the boat away from the trees to give the fish room and keep it out of the boat. Lost that fish on his 3rd jump, but man what a memory.
My next favorite memory happened here in TX just last year, as I hooked up on a 60lb fish maybe 3 feet from the starboard side of the boat. The fish did something really weird on being hooked, which was to head straight down to the bottom at full speed....then the line went slack...and I thought I had busted him off...and I lowered my rod in disgust...only to be amazed when 2 seconds later the fish rocketed straight up into the air about 6 feet away at a perfect 90 degree, straight up, angle. I realized the fish's initial dive was made to gain room and momentum and acceleration for the jump. I don't know what the record height a tarpon can jump to is, but I bet this fish was close! I was standing on the casting platform on the bow of our skiff, and I was looking UP at the tail of this fish. Like, way up. For a second, I thought he was coming down on me. My buddy standing on the poling platform said the head of the fish was way over his head. Meanwhile I am standing there on the platform, rod in lowered hand at an angle parallel to the sea, as if I was just carrying it in the parking lot (because I thought the fish had busted off), and I bet you could have fit a basketball in MY mouth as I stated wide eyed at this fish sailing over my head. Managed to land that one.
Anyway, sorry so long a post, hopefully it gets the blood pumping for some of y'all in the morning ...and hopefully at least one of y'all goes out to buy a 12 weight rod tomorrow.
Peace!
Really, I just wanted to raise the topic of fly fishing for tarpon here in TX, and ask why more people in our state don't seem to pursue them this way? I see a lot of people that post here who seem to have caught their fair share of tarpon, but who don't seem to have considered doing it on a fly rod...or maybe aren't interested in it. For me, it's the only way I have ever fished for them, whether in the Caribbean, FL, or here in TX. Although I throw both lures and flys on our inshore fish, and have no aversion to bait offshore, as dictated by conditions, I am a purist when it comes to poons.
I do admit that, at least in TX, being a fly purist cuts down on the number of fishable days...and possibly the number of fish jumped, and in general, greatly raises the degree of difficulty on an already very difficult endeavor. In Florida, I think the fly is actually an advantage more often than not...and there is no doubt that the best tarpon guides in FL are fly guides. However, jumping them and catching them on fly here in TX is still extremely feasible, especially on the mid and lower coasts.
I promise you, the degree of excitement associated with watching a tarpon inhale a fly at close range, often within mere feet of the boat, and the first phase of the battle when initiated at close range on the fly, is night and day relative to most conventional tackle hookups.
Don't get me wrong, a jumped tarpon is exciting no matter the method, and I certainly don't look down my long purist nose at people using lures, because again, I throw lures regularly at other species, but jumping a tarpon on a fly rod is easily the most exciting fishing experience known to man....at least this man, LOL.
For those of you who have already landed a tarpon or two on conventional gear, I'd highly recommend you set your sights on the next level. AND - not just so you can say "I did it on the fly" and pretend that's somehow superior, but because it really is way, WAY more heart-stopping, knee shaking, hand clenching AWESOMENESS!
Aside from the obvious visual aspect of sight casting to large fish, the "hunting" aspect of spotting the fish and making a good "shot", seeing that huge mouth open, trying desperately to remember to avoid the long ingrained lure fishing habit of "trout striking", then the strip strike connection where you are literally connected to the fish for a moment or two via only the string and sans the rod, the pandemonium of trying to clear the line, the fact that the initial jumps are literally in your face and not 60 yards out, it all adds up to a very, very different experience than jumping a fish on a spinning or baitcast setup.
To this day, my most vivid tarpon memory is not one of the fish I have landed, it was a 150+ lb. fish that I hooked and lost after about 10 seconds. This fish was spotted way under the mangroves (obviously in FL), and followed the fly out, right towards the boat. When he ate, he was facing us head on (as most fly rod tarpon hookups happen), and from less than a rod length away, it looked like you could have fit a basketball in his mouth. On the first strip strike, this mammoth fish literally almost jumped into the trees. I repeatedly strip set as he tailwalked down the tree line and the guide frantically tried to pole the stern of the boat away from the trees to give the fish room and keep it out of the boat. Lost that fish on his 3rd jump, but man what a memory.
My next favorite memory happened here in TX just last year, as I hooked up on a 60lb fish maybe 3 feet from the starboard side of the boat. The fish did something really weird on being hooked, which was to head straight down to the bottom at full speed....then the line went slack...and I thought I had busted him off...and I lowered my rod in disgust...only to be amazed when 2 seconds later the fish rocketed straight up into the air about 6 feet away at a perfect 90 degree, straight up, angle. I realized the fish's initial dive was made to gain room and momentum and acceleration for the jump. I don't know what the record height a tarpon can jump to is, but I bet this fish was close! I was standing on the casting platform on the bow of our skiff, and I was looking UP at the tail of this fish. Like, way up. For a second, I thought he was coming down on me. My buddy standing on the poling platform said the head of the fish was way over his head. Meanwhile I am standing there on the platform, rod in lowered hand at an angle parallel to the sea, as if I was just carrying it in the parking lot (because I thought the fish had busted off), and I bet you could have fit a basketball in MY mouth as I stated wide eyed at this fish sailing over my head. Managed to land that one.
Anyway, sorry so long a post, hopefully it gets the blood pumping for some of y'all in the morning ...and hopefully at least one of y'all goes out to buy a 12 weight rod tomorrow.
Peace!