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Fishing Report for Homosassa, Florida
Capt. Mike Locklear
October 23, 2004
Homosassa - Saltwater Fishing Report
Big October Tarpon in Coastal Rivers
Hello Friends and readers. God was good to me today. It was 5:00 PM, the location was the Homosassa Fishing Club dock. The fish from the day of guiding charters were cleaned and the scraps were being tossed near the edge of the river bank. A few extra large tarpon were coming in close and enjoying the free seafood.
The night before I rigged one of my Boca Grande tarpon rod and reels. A Daiwa Sealine-X 50 level wind pooled with Ande 40 pound test clear monofilament. I connected a Berkley 80 pound leader with a 6/0 Owner hook.
Old friends and I were renewing relationships on the dock and a short trip to MacRae’s with Yancy Stribling III for some Marlboro Lights was the prelude to the big mama tarpon which quickly ate the trout head from a filleted fish that I tossed into the middle of river.
Within a minute the line started revolving off the baitcaster. The 7’ 6 “ G-Loomis rod saltwater Series Model Number SWR 80-25 has the backbone to land a huge tarpon.
Capt. Charlie Harris was also hanging around with his St. Croix rod and Fin-Nor reel. We both had our boats tied to the dock.
When I set the hook with all my might, the fish jumped and my eyes were large and the crowd across the river were whistling and clapping as the big silver king made her presence known to all who were enjoying the river and its beauty.
She had my heart beating faster than if I was having my best lay. Butch Rawson, a professed fly angler, asked me to make the tarpon jump. I applied maximum pressure and she came out of the water full body in the evening sun, glittering like a shiny silver sun. Water erupted 8 feet high as she entered the water again.
Yancy and another bystander had untied the boat as we were pulled downstream toward the docks of MacRae’s. The large crowd at MacRae’s now lined the docks to the very outer end. “Come on Hammer, put it on him.” local native, Kevin Head hollered out.
A fellow fisherman from the beer and wine tiki bar of MacRae’s called the Shed loaned us a good gaff as we were thinking about landing the fish since it was Saturday and weekend rules apply. The crowd wanted us to land the fish. This was possible due to having a great captain in Harris who loves the river as much or more than me.
I was almost out of breath after what seemed like a long time, but only 10 minutes had elapsed of putting all the pressure I could muster. A few maneuvers by Harris with his superb boat handling kept me close to the fish where I could really put the hurt on the giant poon.
Suddenly I could tell the tarpon was getting tired and she rose to the surface and boiled a few times. I know eventually she would give up by becoming horizontal or sideways to the surface. She was really big.
A decision was made to boat the fish for a short period of time and Harris gaffed it which was not an easy task. Stribling was now driving the boat and the other club member, Ed was using Charlie’s camera to document the action.
When we got it into the boat, she flounder around on the deck of the 24 foot GLX Carolina skiff. I had my old inaugural Redfish tour Pro-Line Boats and Mercury Outboard tournament dress shirt on and a new pair of New Balance tennis shoes on.
Both my favorite fishing shirt and new shoes became a slimy and bloody mess as was Harris’s Columbia shirt as we wrestled to pick up the 6 foot tarpon that was as wide and thick as a box car. After several attempts we managed to get it back into the water without killing it.
We motored a bit with her alongside and she swam off and rolled upright for some much needed air behind boat. Total time elapsed; 22 minutes of hard but fun fighting time.
Harris mentioned that Jesus was probably mad at us for landing the tarpon as it is very hard on their vital organs to keep them out of the water out for a long time.
For this reason we did not measure the fish. The tarpon was very hard to grip without gloves and no gaff; as the gaff was kicked out of the boat by the tarpon like it was a broke baseball bat from the World Series. Thank God the gaff was a floating one and we got it back later.
We called it a 150 pound tarpon. I know it was bigger than the 138 pound tarpon of 2001 that was accidentally killed from 150 minute long fight and then too much time measuring it for a guess of the weight.
This was icing on the cake from an already successful day for the Homosassa Guides Association and their clients catching more than 60 trout and 20 reds and several flounder, sheep head and jack revile.
The weather is great and the fishing is good. Remember that fishing is good for ya and if you are too busy to go fishing, well you are just too busy.
Give All The Glory To God.
Capt. Mike
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