Fly Fishing for Tarpon

"I Know of a Place"

by Kelly J. Bandlow

There is a certain time of day, a brief period when the sun dips below the horizon, just as smoothly as a love letter slips into a kiss sealed envelope. It’s when the overbearing and cutting wind now turns into a soft whisper. The harsh & bright color schemes that have dominated now deflect into soft pastels. To most of us, it’s simply a time to unwind after a stressful day. Simple reflections come while sitting on a front porch with a cool drink in hand, or maybe the thoughts of planning dinner are underway.

To a trout fisherman this is the time when little else matters. And if things go as planned, or more realistically, if they go as hoped for, the results of fishing this part of the day can be nothing short of magical. However, Jeff Curtis of Curtis Wright Outfitters & I were not on a stream in western North Carolina awaiting a major hatch to entice wary brown trout to sip tiny midges off the surface. Instead, we were standing in the rapidly lengthening gray shadows of a late January evening in southwest Florida. With nine weight rods in hand we were peering into the brackish waters of a small Everglades tidal creek, hunting for signs of juvenile tarpon. Earlier in the day we had fished this very same spot with little success. I had managed to pull a decent sized 10 pound tarpon out from its hiding spot, tight against the mangrove shore, but that was all we had to show for our three hour effort. Two things had been decidedly against us in our prior visit this day. First, the water had been chilly from the previous night’s 36 degree temperature. Secondly, we had been off to a later start than anticipated, so the overhead sun provided no shaded areas for fish to hide. I knew things would be different this time around and was not shy about proclaiming it.

The reason I was confident that we would find these very strong fighting fish in these narrow, briny, backwater creeks was simple. The past week had brought record low temps across the entire state of Florida. I knew this cold front would drive bait fish of all types into the shallows seeking warmer water. And following along, right on their tails, would be the tarpon and snook that fed on them. Fish were not the only creatures seeking shallow, sun drenched water. We were surprised to stumble upon pods of extremely shy manatees that were also hiding out in our secret spot. There were at least a dozen of them that would slowly porpoise their way up and down the various channels. They ranged in size from baby calves swimming alongside their cow mothers, to some real super tanker sized bulls. One of larger manatees even appeared to have barnacles attached to the tip of its tail.

Because Jeff’s wife Susan had never seen a “sea cow” she was escorting us this evening. We were all highly entertained by the menagerie of wildlife that this estuary world held. The waterways were filled with large, sinister looking alligators cruising in and out of the shadows. Manatees would break the surface with loud belches of air resembling a snorting bull, while splashy, silver mullet of all sizes jumped everywhere. Occasionally a thin, spiked dorsal fin would break the surface indicating a cruising tarpon. Along the mangroves, a sudden, splashy explosion would betray the lair of a feeding snook. Overhead, birds of every color and description flew by squawking and screeching their noisy presence.

However, we were not here in the marshes with the sole purpose of being entertained by all of nature. There were big fish in this canal - I caught a 40 pound tarpon the previous week..what a fight! While eating out with friends at a restaurant in Palm Beach the following night, I mentioned the triumph to my dinning companions. I didn’t realize it, but my words were being overheard by our waiter. Within minutes I had brought the entire wait staff to a complete standstill around our table while they listened intently to my adventure. No one could believe I had managed to catch a large tarpon while on foot and with a fly rod to boot! Even Kelly Rippa from the Regis & Kelly Show, who was seated a table over from our group, had to wait for her salad. I did notice that she couldn’t help but cock an ear to catch bits & pieces of my story as I entertained everyone. I wanted Jeff to hook into a Silver King and let him have this same bragging right.

Jeff & I decided to split up with each of us finding a slot where we had enough room to cast effectively through openings in the tangle of mangroves. Fishing seamed slow, as it had been in the morning, and with no response after 15 minutes of flogging the water, I reeled in my line. As I approached Jeff to tell him that we were moving on to a new location, he replied that he had missed three really nice strikes. With that bit of news I quickly changed my mind and made an executive decision to stay right where we were. Jeff was simply making the common error of not strip striking his hook set when he felt his line tighten as the fish grabbed the fly. It didn’t take him long to figure things out and not set the hook with an upward trout motion. Within a couple of minutes he was fighting a nice fish which jumped several times. The tarpon came undone after a brief but spirited fight and the adrenalin in all of us was now pumping hard. Within the next half-hour Jeff hooked into four more tarpon and we managed to land two of them.

Every couple of minutes Jeff would hook into another fish and I would drop everything and trot over to assist him. A well worn path was created through the sawgrass with all my running back and forth. Trying to concentrate on my fishing was hard, especially when Jeff was yelling and whooping that he had hooked into another fish that was huge- way bigger than anything caught thus far. As I came rushing to his side, it was a thrill to hear the reel screaming out line as a 30+ pound tarpon broke the surface and skyrocketed four feet into the air. This fish was battling both Jeff and three gators that were closing in for a tarpon snack.

After 10 minutes or so, I implored Jeff to get this very uncooperative fish to hand before it wound up in the jaws of one of these alligators. All the thrashing and crashing from Jeff’s constant hook ups were starting to work these large reptiles into a frenzy. Instructing Jeff to step back away from the edge of the bank, I was finally able to grab the leader and gain control of the fish. With Susan keeping a watchful eye on the encroaching alligators I tried to hoist this 40” horse up the three foot embankment. The big tarpon forcefully shook its head and out popped the hook. Suddenly the silver streak shot off into the depths before it could be dinner. The three gators stared disappointedly at us like hungry dogs waiting for table scraps.

Darkness was now rapidly closing in around us, but Jeff encouraged me to replace him and take a couple of casts into this small but spectacular bay. Sure enough, after just a handful of attempts, I was hooked into a leaping tarpon myself. The gators were still very persistent on being fed and they had now surrounded us – literally at our feet. Because of this, I moved 50 yards down the waters edge before releasing this fish back to its salty freedom. Luckily for Jeff & I, his wife Susan had been there to witness the madness in its entirety. She earned her stripes by helping out when needed and by taking some phenomenal photographs and video.

We all agreed the past hour had been an incredible affair. I had never experienced a run of tarpon like what we had just encountered. It was an occurrence not likely to happen anytime soon. Thus, an astonishing tarpon adventure had come to a close. Besides, we still had dinner to prepare and more importantly, fine whiskey and cigars to enjoy around a roaring campfire.

I know of a place…

If your in for a fish fight unlike any other, let us take you fly fishing for these fiesty fish. Curtis Wright Outfitters will be offering a hosted trip to the Key West area to fly fish for these and many other great species. We will organize trips for all budget ranges. Please contact Curtis Wright Outfitters for more information (877-450-3474).