2/10/11 BIG Florida Keys Tarpon and some other stuff!

[syxx]

Had Keith fishing from across the pond in Australia. He was suppose to go swordfishing but his buddy cancelled out on him, and he always wanted to catch a big tarpon. I told him there had been a few around so we gave it a shot! We caught a bunch of ladyfish and a few mackerel and blue runners in the morning, and then off we went. We caught a few sharks, big 60+ lb blacktips, nurse, and lemons, for the first hour and a half. Then we had one of the conventionals in free spool and heard the clicker slowly start going out and watched the line go straight back. Keith picked up the rod and figured it was another shark, so I told him to lock it up and hang on. For a minute or so it just steadily pulled drag and shook his head a few times - a shark right? Nope! Big 150+ lb tarpon comes crashing out of the water. We fought him for over an hour. Capt. Jim Willcox came from nearby and took some pictures. Keith was thrilled! After that the tide died out, so we ran to another area close by, ate lunch, and resumed fishing. Caught a bunch of small blacktip sharks, and then another 'sea monster' on the bottom. Finger tipped the braided line up, touched the leader, and then the braid broke. Anyways, very exciting florida fishing charters, great to see this time of year!

Capt. Rick Stanczyk
305-747-6903
rick@seethefloridakeys.net
http://www.budnmarys.com

[Front Runner]

Nice Job! Glad to hear some big boyz are showing up down there. I do Naples Fl fishing charters and have seen a few smaller ones lately. I'll be down in March. Hope the temps keep warming!