1st poon of 2010 from the kayak…great action and lots of high flying for the 8wt and 10lb tippet…the electric dread (as usual) sealed the fate…
Way yonder cool as always Cordell…The Dread is deadly again
What’s in the baskets? And where do you sit?
Hugs,
LF
those are my stripping baskets in case of heavy winds and rains etc…I rarely use them except when on the move…once I cast I dont strip back into the basket until last cast…seat is in the middle but remember that I rarely sit down unless in super tight area…it is laid out to attack like a dbl throwing star…if cast both on the front and off the back and even the sides…I have complete stability
Sweet fish!!!
Tarpon is the one fish that I really would like to catch someday. Very good fish. Do they pull the kayak very far?
small tarpon like this dont really pull the kayak at all…nothing like a bonefish or a redfish…they are all about
aerobatics
and when they feel resistance they jump instead of dig and burn…most times they dont even hit the backing but you have to do lots of “bowing to the King” to keep the tippet from snapping…they clear huge distance and also touch the tail to the nose while jumping, maybe even twice in the same jump…pretty fun to catch…20lb bite leader barely held
Friends on another site have been pulled 2-3 miles out into the Gulf of Mexico. The fishing partner takes the pic and they paddle back in.
A drift chute works well and/or hangin’ your feet over the kayak. Just be careful of the Hammerheads and Bullsharks that follow the Tarpon. :shock:
You didn’t keep this tarpon, did you? It appears dead in the photo.
Has the tarpon season been reopened in Florida? Due to the Jan/Feb. fishkill in the record cold snap in FL, the tarpon and bonefish season had been closed until April and then the FWC would decide if it would reopen.
dude let me set you straight…I am a guide for a living…I am one of the 40 hand picked guides from TARBONE and one of the most prolific taggers on the books…I tag bones, tarpon, redfish and permit and am a professional in every way…I also take fin clips and am in constant contact with the University of Miami Rosenstiel School…much of what you read about florida bonefish is based on MY research
Thank you for “setting me straight”. My question was not meant to be antagonistic but since you seem to have taken it that way, I apologize.
I wasn’t aware that the tarpon season had been reopened after its winter closure and that was the reason for my question.
sorry to be snappy…I fish for a living and I take extreme pride in my work…tarpon can be fished for whether the season is closed or not, you just cant keep them…they are not to be lifted out of the water, even by taggers without the $50 tag, a rule broken by 99.9% of everybody…when you see a tarpon picture the tag must be present on the fish or it is simply an illegal catch…a rule even american presidents break while fishing here…since they are not enforcing it so much for whatever reason the act continues…
whoops
a few more to ponder…
Thats a BUNCH of great pictures, Cordell! Next time I’m down, you’ll have to lead me to some tarpon (I know you can’t put 'em on the hook for me!).
So…after a summer of fishing, after the fish kill earlier this year…what is your assessment of the damage?
heavy bonefish loss…only 4 for the yr for me and all smaller than I have ever seen but I do see pods at times with huge numbers but they pass thru without staying long…notice the one in the yellow kayak with a huge tail and small body, new species(in theory)…I should have about 30 or so by now…the snook here are the best I have seen even though I know they took a pounding…I see monsters in the canals…permit just started to show after the July full moon…none for 8 solid month but now seeing up to 50 a day…tarpon are totally in control IMO…the canal you fished and where you stayed at are on fire every day before the sun is up and hot…where you stood and casted for peacocks at the daycare is now jacks and tarpon bigtime…sadly not a single peacock has been seen in the entire Miami Airport Lakes system…that is where they were stocked originally for all of miami…just huge carp and tarpon basically but the numbers are very high…gone are basically all the cuda, sharks, rays and assorted baits which leaves a huge gap…still not possible to stay on fish for 8hrs
Good stuff…Thanks for posting