Bow to the King!

One night last week, Jason hooked a fish that began to run out away from the dock, taking drag in a long run which was not like any snook.  “Redfish?” we thought. No, too powerful. As the seconds, and the line on Jason’s reel, was disappearing it began to become evident the hooked fish was not going to stop.  As he reached the monofilament backing line, Jason had to make the difficult decision to end the fight by grabbing the spool with his hand allowing the line to break.  “Spooled” is the technical term for this situation, when a fish runs out all of one’s line without stopping, thereby taking the entire spool of line with him. At the end of that run, we heard the splash of a large fish jumping.  Very strange we thought.

Sometime during the night while I was half asleep, it suddenly dawned on me. Tarpon. It would have been unusual that a Tarpon would hit the small jig that Jason was throwing, but big fish eat small bait all the time. The next day, when I was rehashing the event with Jason, I mentioned my thoughts about the possibility of the culprit being a Tarpon, and he seemed to think that could be the case. Even though it was unfortunate that Jason lost a full spool of Power Pro braided line, it sparked some excitement deep down inside of me. Maybe they were here, and just maybe, I would get a shot at hooking one!

As long as I have been coming to the island, I have always wanted to be here during the spring Tarpon migration. During this time of year the Tarpon begin to show up in the passes around Captiva and North Captiva islands, and lots of fishermen follow looking for the chance to hook up with this fish known as the “Silver King”. The Tarpon gets this nickname as a result of the large silver dollar sized scales that cover their powerful frame that reflect the sunlight like mirrors. The lure of hooking up with one of these monsters, who can grow to 250 lbs. or more, is not only exciting due to their size, but also the amazing aerial show they put on when hooked.  Leaping over and over, throwing its head and body around attempting to shake the hook from its hard bony mouth, they produce statistics that only about one in ten hookups from experienced anglers result in landing the fish.

A few nights later I decided I would take my heavier fishing rod setup I had bought several years ago as my first shark rod.  I put on a large soft plastic swim bait which looks like a mullet or ladyfish and figured if I were a Tarpon I might just eat it.  I figured if I were to see or hear Tarpon within casting range from the dock, I would give it a fling. Fortunately for me, that night the conditions were perfect for Tarpon: Outgoing tide, low light/darkness, little or no wind, and lots of bait in the water. We saw a boat in the pass fishing for Tarpon, and soon there was an explosion of excitement, “Fish On!”. As that boat was fighting their fish, more Tarpon were rolling and crashing bait on the surface within range of a cast from the dock.  There was an electricity in the air that comes with expectation and excitement when all the stars are aligned and something big is about to happen.

As the other boat came to a dock near us to show their catch to their friends staying at that beach house, Jason headed over to check out the catch.  We also had a visitor to the island from Colorado who had Tarpon experience from the Florida Keys and was definitely sensing the conditions were setting up well for me.  I continued to cast out and retrieve as the other boat released their fish, praying a silent prayer to simply hook up with a fish to get the feel. Just as Jason was returning to the dock, I had a quick thump then a solid strike.  Given the size of my lure, I assumed this was not going to be a snook. Within a couple of seconds I found out I was right – in a BIG way!  Following the strike, there was a quick run on my drag and then the first jump.   Now I try to remain objective and not exaggerate the size or weight of fish, but the size of this Tarpon was shocking.  I suspect it was near 150 lbs. and sounded like a person fell in the water when it landed.

I collected myself and prepared to fight this monster the best I could, remembering the method to increase the odds of landing a Tarpon is to “bow to the king”. This phrase is used to describe the technique of bending at the waist and extending your pole toward the Tarpon when it jumps.  The idea is to minimize the chances he will break your line or throw the lure during the violent jump and head shake. So as the second jump came, I was ready and made my best attempt to honor his highness.  Unfortunately, my efforts were not sufficient and he threw the lure having slightly bent the hook out.  Exciting none the less and now I am ready for another chance.  Maybe the next time the king will fall.

David