May 29, 2007

 
 
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Gone fishing                              Capt. Larry Blue
     5/29/2007
 Fishing Archives               June ushers in several species of fish as anglers greedily anticipate their
    arrival. Tarpon may be one of the most desired angling challenges of the fishing
    world. Hundreds of books have been written on the subject, and thousands upon
    thousands of fishermen’s tales have been told on this single species.
     
   

Tarpon are known to take flight often exiting their liquid confines the instant

    they feel the taste of metal from the hook. The strike and jump are so quick that many
    anglers lose their long sought quarry within the first seconds of the battle. Oftentimes
    it happens that all you see, or feel, is the spray of the water nearby from the fleeting
    tail of the silver king. Of course, it’s not always that way… sometimes you have to
    misfortune of actually hooking one of these giant sardines. Misfortune? Yes,
    misfortune! Unless you are prepared to do battle with the Mighty Tarpon you may
    soon feel the misfortune of fatigue and perhaps even defeat.
     
   

However, don’t let that discourage you. Come experience the power of the

    tarpons tail because with each thrust you will lose precious line from your reel. You
    will have to work to get it all back on, inch by inch, foot by foot, but the line will
    come back. Try as you might to stop him. And, if you are lucky, alright if you are
    GOOD.. you will recover enough of the fishing line to catch a glimpse of the silver
    backed tarpon under the boat. Now, if all goes well you may even be rewarded with
    a souvenir of one of his scales before you take a picture and release him.
     
   

Even as hard as this sounds, it is possible to hook, fight and land one of these
             fish. But make no mistake it will take effort, which is why the Tarpon is so sought
    after and prized. Tarpon can be found just off of our beaches in the early morning
    hours. Minutes before the sun comes up you will be stationed less than a hundred
    yards from shore awaiting the fish to make a show, rods at the ready and baited with
    lively pinfish. Do you see yourself there? Come take your chance at a Tarpon, the
    Silver King.
     
   

Shark fishing is making great waves offshore. My son, Capt. Joe had a

    charter out this past weekend and landed several hammerhead sharks and dozens of
    black-tipped sharks. Joe reported that they had one hammerhead on that was
    approximately 17 feet long. He said that the shark took a whole Spanish mackerel he
    offered as bait just a few feet from the transom of the “Niki Joe”. While most of the
    sharks landed have been in the 4 to 8 foot range, a 17 foot shark would have taken
    hours to fight and land. Of course the big one got away! But, the good news is…
    he’s still out there waiting for you to come try your luck.
     
   

Spanish mackerel and their larger cousin King mackerel are still offshore.

    Earlier this week we landed 6 kings and 23 Spanish in less than 2 hours of fishing.
    While the kings may leave us soon, the Spanish mackerel will stick around for the
    next month or more. Last season we were catching large numbers of Spanish
    mackerel well into July. I expect that to be the case again this year. So far the results
    have been great. Fishing for Spanish mackerel is something that anyone can do. This
    is a great way to introduce junior anglers to fishing as there is normally lots of activity.
    Want to see your kids smile?.. take them fishing. It's a life experience and a memory
    to cherish forever.
     
   

Good luck and good fishing, Capt. Larry
   

Copyright 2007 CLB
     
     
    Capt. Larry Blue is USCG licensed full time charter boat operator and guide,
    departing from The Kingfish Dock, at “Gators on the Pass”, in Johns Pass -
    Treasure Island . He is a member of; The Maritime Consortium, The Florida
    League of Anglers and The Florida Outdoors Writers Assn. For charter
    information call: 727-397-3773  or  727-871-1058 cell   OR
    Capt. Joe:  727-678-2959.