“Economy Battle”

After my weekend camping trip in Homosassa Springs, Nick and I had planned a mid afternoon tarpon trip on Memorial Day. I was excited as I hadn’t been out on his boat in a long time, at least for tarpon. Last year we went out on a bunch of tarpon trips, some memorable and many we would like to forget. This year both of us had been pretty busy and could not get our plans to mesh. We met up at Shell Point Marina, where his boat, the “Green Machine” as I call it, is stored.

After loading up our gear we headed out to get some bait from the usual markers. Threadfins were what we were after and we found them in short order. Nick drove the boat around the marker as I tried to get the wind to my back for a decent throw. Today the seas were fairly rough as usual, with a stiff sea breeze. I had one decent throw for enough bait to fish with, but both Nick and I like to have enough to chum with. For me, my streak of “one hit wonder” net throws was over. No pancakes today. More bait was needed for chum. You never know what will come around when blood is in the water. With the wind and tide making it difficult, Nick decided to anchor up. I gave the net to him with my arms wearing out (I need to start working out again), and in one toss we were ready to go. The anchoring was necessary but his throw still made me feel like a greenhorn. Oh well. A problem was then discovered. The gas light was blinking.

We had neglected to check the gauge before leaving the marina. Tarpon fever will do that to you sometimes, forgetting the little things that can turn into big issues. I have towing service and we were already close to our destination, so off to the bridge we went, slowly, to conserve fuel. The crowds on the water had left for the most part. We attributed this to the fact that many people were boating during the day and grilling in the evening. Maybe so, but whatever the reason was, this was a pleasant surprise.

Off to soaking threadfins we went. Tidal movement was pretty much non existent. Nick decided to start chumming up the waters, almost a standard procedure for a slow or slack tide. Usually at least a shark will take the bait and pull some drag. That’s what happened, and after boating a couple of small bull sharks, tide started flowing out of the bay-slowly. The cut threadfin were also attracting some small to medium size grouper, unfortunately, no keepers. A little discouragement set in; no rolling tarpon were seen and not even a hit on three lines in the water. The tide was barely moving and we wondered if time was just being wasted. Hell, beer and ribs were waiting at home.

Finally, after a very late start the tide was moving well. More grouper were biting (still no keepers), and mackerel, as well as pods of bait started showing up. This was a good sign of course, as bait attracts fish, and a tarpon is a fish. Hopefully some action would begin. With the healthy moving tide, the pods of bait and smaller fish biting, Nick and I were optimistic, but running out of time. Both of us had obligations at home, myself more than Nick.

Well, here we go. A solid hit on Nicks Redbone heavy action rod with the 6500 series baitrunner. He hooked the fish and assumed shark. I understood why, as the fish made a run but never jumped. I didn’t agree. Of course, I didn’t say anything, but I thought it was a tarpon; the line kept rising up to the top of the water and drag was screaming. All of a sudden there was the jump. Nick quickly handed me the rod as another rod was bent over in the rod holder. He quickly broke the line on that fish, which was potentially a nice grouper, and I got to work.

Nick was very generous in letting me fight the fish. He could have easily had me drive and battled the silver king, plus he broke a nice grouper. I know he was just being selfless, but I joke with people that his arms were just tired from being in Boca Grande the day before.

When first seeing this poon jump, it didn’t look that big. Given our gas situation, we really wanted to “dead boat” this fish without tossing the anchor, but that plan quickly faded fast as this king spooled off two hundred and fifty yards of braid extremely fast and took me into the mono backing. This spooling was the first time for me. Another thing I need to realize is that for tarpon fishing, a very strong backing and knot is needed. Luckily, Nick tossed the anchor ball and we chased down the fish slowly to regain some line; nonetheless, this was a very tense moment for me. Due to the lack of gas in the tank, we shut the motor down and fought the fish, started the motor up and followed it when necessary, and repeated. That is why we dubbed this fight the “economy battle”. Fast and efficient. Running out of gas on the way back to the marina would be a disaster. After this major run, the tarpon made two more jumps in succession and we realized we were dealing with a very big fish. Hugging the bottom, the fish resisted for only about ten minutes, made a couple of small runs and I had her boatside. I have never had such a quick, but entertaining fight with a tarpon. Part of me thinks the fight was short because the fish wore itself out greatly by making such a strong run, and jumping so many times within a short time frame. Another part of me thinks that I just may have fought the fish well. In all reality, the short struggle was a combination of both.

I have to give a big thanks to Nick for taking me out that day, as well as not being selfish and handing me the rod. Without that, and our teamwork, I wouldn’t have gotten my tarpon photo for the year. We slowly made our way back to the ramp with I’m sure was just fumes in the gas tank. A lucky day to say the least, and another tarpon for the “Green machine”.