# Lost a tarpon yesterday



## Trouthappy (Jun 12, 2008)

Took the brand new jonboat out yesterday, and fished a protected Gulf shoreline (Florida Bend, eight miles from Suwannee River) with a NE wind about 15 knots. Set out the usual spin rods with crab baits, caught two big drum and two sharks. Then I put a mullet head (12 inch mullet) on the circle hook and heaved it out there. Black water, maybe 6 feet deep at peak high tide. Next thing we know a 6-foot tarpon is jumping like crazy, ripping out that 25 pound pink Ande line. I jumped ashore, grabbed the anchor 12 feet back in the grass, jumped back in, and the Yamaha started on the first tug. Jammed it in gear, and off we went, by now the tarpon was way out there, maybe 20 yards of line left on the reel. We caught up and killed the motor, and the tarpon towed us a half mile offshore in about 35 minutes. The guy with me had cranked on the spin reel like a coffee grinder, twisting the line, the first five minutes until I noticed and told him to stop. The tarpon jumped 7 times, sometime close by. Another boat, the only one we saw all day, ran up to watch, they'd seen it jumping from a quarter mile away. So they followed us with their trolling motor, taking I-phone videos. I touched the short 50-pound leader three times, but that fish was too big to grab that leader and hang on. The 6/0 red Gamakatsu circle hook stayed with him. Finally, DOW! My buddy fell backward off his seat, onto the plywood deck. His line immediately kinked up all over the place, I had to throw away 100 feet. He'd probably weakened the line by kinking it...Didn't know any better, he still carries a red reel from his Corpus Christi days. We sadly went back to the shoreline and resumed fishing. That tarpon might have weighed 120 pounds. I got a couple of pictures of him rolling, but none of the jumps. In the cool water, he got plenty of oxygen and hardly ever came up to gulp air.


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## dpeterson (May 3, 2007)

Losing one sure beats not fishing for them at all. So what is the water temp there in the Florida Bend Thanks for posting


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## BATWING (May 9, 2008)

A leadered fish is a caught fish. Nice work and that will sure bring you back for another go at it.


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## Trouthappy (Jun 12, 2008)

[QUOTE So what is the water temp there in the Florida Bend Thanks for posting[/QUOTE]

Not sure, we are going back tomorrow though. Probably 75 degrees or so. The springs around here are all 72 degrees, and that's chilly.


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## Trouthappy (Jun 12, 2008)

Here's a picture of him about 20 feet away, probably gulping air. Looks like the lead weight has been slung off, which is a good thing.


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## scwine (Sep 7, 2006)

I bet your blood was really pumping during all that. Pretty cool.


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