Capt. Mike Locklear
June 27, 2003
Homosassa - Saltwater Fishing Report
Tarpon Return After Rains
Today, Mike Coe and I saw quite a few strings of tarpon heading north. That usually means that we will be getting fresh tarpon schools every day coming up the coast for a couple more weeks.
It is the expert’s opinion that July could be the best month yet for hungry tarpon. Water temperature staying below 84-86 degrees is key. Higher temperatures will send them north quickly.
After 5 days of rain last week, I got plenty of rest and time off. Early this week, Dinger brought in his buddy Pat Camp who is a new inductee into the fraternity of fly fishers for tarpon.
Pat’s first cast to a tarpon was the only fish we saw all day. But it more than made the trip as the 5 foot black-backed and wide silver side showed itself as the one gallon black bucket mouth opened its mouth and swallowed a black and purple Ballard tied fly. The hook of choice is an Owner SSW 4/0. A 3M Scientific Angler 12-weight floating line was used to deploy the fly.
The tarpon just sat there after it ate the fly for 10 seconds. I forgot to splash the pole into the water to scare it off. Pat raised his rod tip a bit and the tarpon felt that and quickly spit the fly. That is so exasperating to me, but is actually a reward for Pat getting an eater on his first rip to Homosassa.
The next day Grant Smith and his friend, John jumped on board for a half day of learning the waters as they have a house on Battle Creek. These guys are great fishermen and catch a lot of snook at night on their own. We never saw an eye-ball of a tarpon. We did happen onto a large school of jack crevalle in which a 10 pounder was landed in short order.
Today, Mike laid his fly perfectly to the spot I instructed him to cast to and got eaten big time by a 30-inch redfish. It was a sight to see the redfish eat. Somehow the fish got off instantly after Mike raised his rod. He later said, “I wished I would have hit that fish harder.” “Hind sight is always 20/20”, I replied.
We have four more days to land a tarpon and a redfish on the fly for a successful trip. While we had a redfish on today, the tarpon were on top of us by the time we saw them, due to high white clouds putting a lot of glare onto the water throughout the day.
If you would like to give tarpon a try either on the fly rod or with spinning gear, I have a couple of days open on July 3 or 4. Also, keep in mind that scallop season opens on July 1 and I am available along with my children to help you find, catch and clean your bounty.
32 years in the business.Fish with one of the best known fishing guides of Florida.
Specializing in light tackle and fly-fishing for tarpon, cobia, redfish and spotted sea trout.
Come aboard a 24' custom Carolina skiff equipped with 2007 Mercury 4-stroke, a wireless Motorguide bowmount trolling motor, a wireless Powerpole anchor for efficient operation with a licensed guide sine 1976.
The tuna tower helps the captain see those fish before you start fishing! That's the advantage!
