Gerry Zagorski
05-25-2018, 08:28 AM
Every year for the past 10 or so, I’ve had the good fortune of joining a group of guys for the spring Tarpon run down in Boca Grande. If you’ve never been, it’s one of those trips you should put on your bucket list and this trip was one for the books….
Each year in the spring the Tarpon migrate along the west coast of Florida from the keys north and settle into to the Boca Grande area for several weeks. The height of the fishing is the 8 weeks with the center being right around Memorial Day and the best fishing coincides with the stronger hill tides in the area. They call them hill tides because if you look at a tide chart, what you need to look for is a tall hill which signifies a stronger tide and you want to fish the outgoing. The reason for this is Boca Grande pass connects Charlotte Harbor to the Gulf of Mexico and during a strong outgoing tide, 1000s of Tarpon set up shop in the pass waiting for the tide to wash the blue claw crabs out of the Harbor and through the pass out into the gulf.
When I say thousands I’m not exaggerating. Tarpon have air bladders and need to come up every so often so you can see them in the pass as they come up, roll and suck in some air. It’s kind of like a bunch of kids playing around at recess. I’ve been doing this for several years now and it never gets old. Each time I witness a school of these majestic 100 pound plus fish roll in the pass, I suck in some air too. The awe of the site and the anticipation of hooking up with one is enough to take your breath away and a site to be seen.
There are 2 methods of fishing the pass and two different factions, old school and new school.
New school guys have gleaming flats boats with outboards, trolling motors, all pro staffed and stickered up with you name the fishing brand on the side of their boats. They run and gun are usually fishing with spinning rods casting crabs into the visibly rolling schools during the day.
The Old School guys usually fish at night and time the tides and this is our preference. They fish old wooden glassed over inboard boats that look like something out of a time warp. These inboard boats have keels which make them drift and track more steadily which is a big plus when fishing the bottom of the pass. Rather than cast they set up a drift that will put them on a line that will eventually take them through the school with weighted baits fishing the bottom. The reason they do this us because if you see some Tarpon up top there are hundreds below it on the bottom. The holes in the pass can range from 35 to 70 feet so they have their line metered and marked at different lengths with green and read yarn. As you drift through the pass with your lines straight down the captain will say “green on the tip” or “red on the reel” so the weights stay a few feet off the bottom as you drift over the varying depth of the pass.
As you’re drifting and following the captain’s orders letting out or reeling in line, you’re sitting in a low fighting chair facing the back of the boat holding the rod and reel across your lap perpendicular to the beam of the boat waiting for a bite… When you feel a strike you have to resist the temptation to lift the rod and set the hook, if you do the fish will be gone…. Instead, you yell ”FISH ON!!” and the captain guns the boat to set the hook. Once hooked you can now take the rod off your lap and put it in the fighting chair gimbal to fight to fish.
If your hook set manages to stick the fish will usually come up off the bottom and make a bee line up to the top and come clear out of water doing a cartwheel in an attempt to spit your hook… It’s at this time where the phrase “bow to the king” comes into play….. The nickname for Tarpon is Silver King and when the king jumps you bow your rod trip down to the king to give him some slack so the hook doesn’t pull and then settle in for a long tug of war and bow to the king each time he jumps. The reel drags are usually set to 8 to 10 pounds since you want just enough tension when the fish is running, shaking and jumping to keep your hook set. Too much drag and the hook will pull and too little you’ll be fighting the fish forever. You don’t want to fight a Tarpon for too long because once they tire you could lose it to one of the huge Hammer Head Sharks that take up residence in the pass during the Tarpon season waiting for an easy meal. I’ve seen it happen right alongside the boat while trying to leader and release a Tarpon and we’ve actually had one follow us in the shadows of the boat waiting for us to hook up giving him the right opportunity. These sharks are smart, huge and very opportunistic.
After the first jump and cartwheel you settle in for the fight. The average fish in the pass is 80 pounds or so and can be landed in 10 to 15 minutes. A larger fish can tip the scales at just over 200 pounds and can take an hour. It’s a game of give and take…. You gain some line and just when you think you have the fish beat, he’ll jump or roll to get some air and take 50 yards on you. Depending on the size of the fish, this could happen 3 or 4 times or for what seems like an eternity…
On this particular trip we got very lucky and stuck and released 5 out of 6 bites we had in a four hour charter. This one drift we got a double hook up and managed to land both. Luckily one fish was on the smaller side and was landed quickly while the other that happened to be at the end of my line was much bigger… This 135 pound Tarpon rode me like a broken bike. We fought it for ¾ of a mile and close to a half hour before we could leader and release it. Towards the end of the fight when the captain knew the fish was tiring we tightened up the drag to put the screws it and finally got it boat side.
It was Miller time after that fish for sure…. Problem was my arms were so tired I could hardly even raise my arm to hold a beer….
All in all one of the more memorable Tarpon trips we’ve ever had… We usually get 1 to 3 fish on a charter so 5 with a double was one for the books.
If any of you want to give this fishery a try give me a shout. I’m happy to share some more details about the area, methods and Captains so you have the best opportunity to witness this fishery for yourself and land one of these majestic Silver Kings.
Each year in the spring the Tarpon migrate along the west coast of Florida from the keys north and settle into to the Boca Grande area for several weeks. The height of the fishing is the 8 weeks with the center being right around Memorial Day and the best fishing coincides with the stronger hill tides in the area. They call them hill tides because if you look at a tide chart, what you need to look for is a tall hill which signifies a stronger tide and you want to fish the outgoing. The reason for this is Boca Grande pass connects Charlotte Harbor to the Gulf of Mexico and during a strong outgoing tide, 1000s of Tarpon set up shop in the pass waiting for the tide to wash the blue claw crabs out of the Harbor and through the pass out into the gulf.
When I say thousands I’m not exaggerating. Tarpon have air bladders and need to come up every so often so you can see them in the pass as they come up, roll and suck in some air. It’s kind of like a bunch of kids playing around at recess. I’ve been doing this for several years now and it never gets old. Each time I witness a school of these majestic 100 pound plus fish roll in the pass, I suck in some air too. The awe of the site and the anticipation of hooking up with one is enough to take your breath away and a site to be seen.
There are 2 methods of fishing the pass and two different factions, old school and new school.
New school guys have gleaming flats boats with outboards, trolling motors, all pro staffed and stickered up with you name the fishing brand on the side of their boats. They run and gun are usually fishing with spinning rods casting crabs into the visibly rolling schools during the day.
The Old School guys usually fish at night and time the tides and this is our preference. They fish old wooden glassed over inboard boats that look like something out of a time warp. These inboard boats have keels which make them drift and track more steadily which is a big plus when fishing the bottom of the pass. Rather than cast they set up a drift that will put them on a line that will eventually take them through the school with weighted baits fishing the bottom. The reason they do this us because if you see some Tarpon up top there are hundreds below it on the bottom. The holes in the pass can range from 35 to 70 feet so they have their line metered and marked at different lengths with green and read yarn. As you drift through the pass with your lines straight down the captain will say “green on the tip” or “red on the reel” so the weights stay a few feet off the bottom as you drift over the varying depth of the pass.
As you’re drifting and following the captain’s orders letting out or reeling in line, you’re sitting in a low fighting chair facing the back of the boat holding the rod and reel across your lap perpendicular to the beam of the boat waiting for a bite… When you feel a strike you have to resist the temptation to lift the rod and set the hook, if you do the fish will be gone…. Instead, you yell ”FISH ON!!” and the captain guns the boat to set the hook. Once hooked you can now take the rod off your lap and put it in the fighting chair gimbal to fight to fish.
If your hook set manages to stick the fish will usually come up off the bottom and make a bee line up to the top and come clear out of water doing a cartwheel in an attempt to spit your hook… It’s at this time where the phrase “bow to the king” comes into play….. The nickname for Tarpon is Silver King and when the king jumps you bow your rod trip down to the king to give him some slack so the hook doesn’t pull and then settle in for a long tug of war and bow to the king each time he jumps. The reel drags are usually set to 8 to 10 pounds since you want just enough tension when the fish is running, shaking and jumping to keep your hook set. Too much drag and the hook will pull and too little you’ll be fighting the fish forever. You don’t want to fight a Tarpon for too long because once they tire you could lose it to one of the huge Hammer Head Sharks that take up residence in the pass during the Tarpon season waiting for an easy meal. I’ve seen it happen right alongside the boat while trying to leader and release a Tarpon and we’ve actually had one follow us in the shadows of the boat waiting for us to hook up giving him the right opportunity. These sharks are smart, huge and very opportunistic.
After the first jump and cartwheel you settle in for the fight. The average fish in the pass is 80 pounds or so and can be landed in 10 to 15 minutes. A larger fish can tip the scales at just over 200 pounds and can take an hour. It’s a game of give and take…. You gain some line and just when you think you have the fish beat, he’ll jump or roll to get some air and take 50 yards on you. Depending on the size of the fish, this could happen 3 or 4 times or for what seems like an eternity…
On this particular trip we got very lucky and stuck and released 5 out of 6 bites we had in a four hour charter. This one drift we got a double hook up and managed to land both. Luckily one fish was on the smaller side and was landed quickly while the other that happened to be at the end of my line was much bigger… This 135 pound Tarpon rode me like a broken bike. We fought it for ¾ of a mile and close to a half hour before we could leader and release it. Towards the end of the fight when the captain knew the fish was tiring we tightened up the drag to put the screws it and finally got it boat side.
It was Miller time after that fish for sure…. Problem was my arms were so tired I could hardly even raise my arm to hold a beer….
All in all one of the more memorable Tarpon trips we’ve ever had… We usually get 1 to 3 fish on a charter so 5 with a double was one for the books.
If any of you want to give this fishery a try give me a shout. I’m happy to share some more details about the area, methods and Captains so you have the best opportunity to witness this fishery for yourself and land one of these majestic Silver Kings.