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Fishing Report for Homosassa, Florida
Capt. Mike Locklear
July 19, 2006
Homosassa - Saltwater Fishing Report
Sometimes You Just Don't Know
By Ben Baumgardner
While fly-fishing north Florida waters this past week my guide, Mike Locklear of Homosassa, Florida and I tried to size up the day as to whether or not go out for tarpon. It was spitting rain at the boat ramp and the conditions did not look good
What do you do when better sense tells you to not go out? How do you answer the question “y’all going out in this wind”? When do you decide discretion is the better part of valor and stay at the room, instead of enduring 8 hours of eye straining in search of fish that may never show? According to the captain, the answer ultimately is if there is no lightning—go for it!
The day started with a light shower and stayed cloudy all day. The conditions for sight casting a fly at cruising tarpon seemed dense with no bright sunlight. With light winds and smooth water we pushed on. The threat of a huge thunder head stayed south of us all day as if held there by God himself as a subtle warning. Mike kept eyeing it waiting for sparks to erupt. We and one other boat were the only ones on the flat.
As we anchored out the bottom was near impossible to see due to the bad light conditions. So much for 80 foot casts. With that in mind we went into combat mode and only striped out 40 feet of fly line to go with the 9 foot leader. Not much range for fast moving tarpon. Two things on our side were the water was clear and the wind was near calm.
As luck would have it soon after 9:30 we saw a tarpon in the 80 pound class cruise along the boat and with a quick flip and two short strips the fish and fly were only 10 feet from the boat. The silver king offered, holding for that long instant and then turning away. Well not a bad sign. We sharpened up and watched harder.
This time we caught sight of the fish a good 50 feet from the boat, not great, but as good as it was going to get this day, and with a quick false cast we put the fly in the tarpon zone. The tarpon made a bee line for our fly and nailed it! With an instant change of direction the big tarpon tailed walked 20 feet and hit the water at full bore. WE had him!
He jumped and I applied pressure with the rod tip down and dirty. This seemed to keep the fish up and we were rewarded with at least 10 more aerial assaults during 15 minutes of all out pressure. We brought the 75 pounder to side and pulled the fly from his mouth. Wow!
But this was just the start. We moved after a brief rest looking for better visibility. We found a sandy bottom backed up to a dark green grassy area providing contrast that would help in spotting our target. After 30 minutes we had our second clean shot and this fish was just as hungry.
Applying hard pressure we were again rewarded with an aerial assault backed up with blistering runs. This tarpon looked to be bigger than the first, maybe 90 pounds. We never broke anchor and pulled the fly from his mouth at the boat.
After a few minutes to retie a new leader on we were set again. We didn’t wait long and had another eater. My excitement bested me and I set the hook right when the big fish whirled away and the leader broke. Make no doubt that in close range, touch is more important than a hard jab. We retied and set back in the same spot.
Again within 30 minutes we had another clean shot and again he nailed it. This was a bigger fish than before, probably 110 pounds or better. Once again we applied pressure and got 6 jumps before 30 foot from the boat the silver king leapt and spit the fly at us with a force that sent it 10 feet to the other side of the boat. What a day.
The next day we had the clear skies needed but with it came 15 to 18 knot winds from the east and a pronounced roll and chop to the water. This mixed the sea and brought in dingy water which combined for no better visibility than yesterday. The seas and wind made for tough conditions. The mere act of keeping your balance on the light Hells Bay Marquesa was a full workout. Later in the day, we set up in the best spot we could find for seeing fish and a spot we had previously marked for a hooked fish.
We waited for about an hour and finally started seeing tarpon cruise by soon after lunch. The bad news was the fish were much deeper than yesterday further limiting the chance to see one in time for a proper cast. By this time we were lucky to see the fish more than 40 feet from the boat.
Once again persistence paid off as I spotted a tarpon with just enough time to flip a 30 foot cast in front of the fish and allow a second or two for it to sink into view of the cruising giant. Mike shouted “Strip! Strip!” Two flicks of the fly and Wham! He had it. The tarpon pulled the line out like a GTO as he blistered my stripping finger 30 feet of line and did a somersault for good measure.
Once again the low rod tip and hard pressure made the fish come up for jump after jump. This guy was not going that easy. He turned at the bow and cut under the anchor line gaining the advantage. Mike jumped off the guide platform and ducked under me to break anchor. He let the rope go just in time for me to swing the rod tip over his head and get back the tarpon’s advantage.
From there we maintained pressure and brought him boat side in a little over 5 minutes. Mike grabbed the leader and declared him a caught fish however the tarpon had other ideas. Zip, and another 30 foot of line whizzed off the reel. We worked him some more and brought him along side again. Mike grabbed the leader again we laughed at having caught this fish again.
We both had enough and I palmed my reel to enhance a final jump when the tarpon broke the 20# knot in 30# tippet. Both man and fish were happy. The tarpon was free and I was sweating and out of breath. I’m sure we were both happy.
After a cool drink, I sat down to ponder all I had seen in two days. The first day, had we let our better sense get to us we would have missed the four tarpon I stuck. After the first caught fish I was content. To fight several silver kings was a real experience. What I learned is to put the “Homosassa Hammer” to work. You want jumping tarpon keep your tip down and the pressure on!
What an awesome second day. I did not expect to catch another tarpon. At the request of the captain, he asked me to keep my backing dry and that he did not want to give me any help by chasing the fish. I admit I was a little sore after yesterday, so I was determined to finish this fight quickly. It was over in 5 minutes. We touched the leader twice, what a trip!
Oh! I almost forgot thank you Enrico Puglesi for your fly designs. They are tarpon catchers!
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