Tarpon fishing takes the spotlight for the month of May. Plenty of great casts to the Silver King and plenty of non responsive fish…ignoring any fly cast their way.
This is what to expect when fly fishing Boca Grande. Make a perfect presentation, strip correctly and watch the fly undulate and move through the pod, and get no response. It takes extreme perserverance and a “Never give up” mentality” to believe that your next cast will be “The One” that gets eaten.
After all all the rejection and mental torture, there is that moment when your life as a fly fisherman abruptly changes fishing for tarpon ;seeing a Silver monster eat your Fly, and then take your fly, flyline and backing 200 yards down the beach in nano seconds..! So, was all the casting and failed promises and bearing absolute rejection worth it? The answer is a resounding YES! Congratulations…
Kyle Meyer of Colorado had that experience June 10th, as we watched a 120lb tarpon inhale his fly after a picture perfect 60 foot cast. The fish followed it to 10 feet from the skiff and ate it…and game on. First, and most important accomplishment is to clear the line. After all that stripping, there was a pile of line on the deck. He didn’t look at the fish as he concentrated on getting the line back on the reel, which he did perfectly…. He fought the fish for 25 minutes. The fish made one half-hearted jump, took off again, and broke off… Congratulations!
Once the Tarpon arrive, Backcountry fishing is wide-open as there are fewer boats fishing in the back, and higher daytime tides make it possible to explore shorelines that are not easily fished during winter tides…Snook fishing has picked up with snook coming out of the back, heading to the beach, and then offshore to spawn. Plenty of big snook on the beach and around the docks open to the passes.
Looking forward to the rest of June and July fishing the Silver King…
Thanks to Jeff, Brad, Charles, Kyle, Dick, and all the tarpon fishermen who make guiding the best experience of a lifetime…All of you are accomplished anglers who make the job easy and fun.
Stay well, and don’t give up on your dreams.. It will happen!!!!
Capt. Al
