Tarpon Season
Capt. Jeff Legutki
May 13, 2009
Ten Thousand Islands - Saltwater Fishing Report
Well it is finally tarpon season, and it's in full swing right now. Calm, warm days with perfect water temps in the 80's.
The average day starts out casting to rolling fish in the deeper channels until the sun is high enough for the pursuit of the back country laid up fish.
Tarpon can be the most frustrating fish to chase, sometimes the fish react just the way you want them to by jumping on a well placed cast, but most of the time they just give you the fin and move on or settle to the bottom out of sight. A lot of the laid up fish have had a case of lock jaw these past several days. The rolling fish that we see have been a little easier to entice. Casting to bubbles after they submerge has been the most successful method.
Casting to these giant laid up fish has to be perfect on the first cast or they just slide away. This tends to get very frustrating after you cast at a dozen fish with no results. And then, one fish just explodes on the fly and you tend to forget about the first 12 that just ignored every offering. All it takes is one to make a great day.
This has to be a pursuit of passion to chase these finicky giants. Its not like feeding bluegills with dough balls, sometimes you can stand on the bow for a long time with no results, makes you feel like a hood ornament on the bow, just standing there and staring into the water trying to find these elusive fish. Next to permit, this can be the most frustrating fish to chase with a fly rod, but when all goes right, nothing that swims in the ocean is as exciting as the jumping, gill rattling, drag screaming, tarpon!
I have seen a lot of fish each day, with the average of 20 shots a day. There are some big 100 + pound fish around, but the fish my anglers are catching are between 40 - 60 pounds. The biggest fish for me this year so far has been between 80 -90 lb. The mid range fish are my favorites, they jump and pull as much as the adult fish, yet you can get them boat side quicker and release them unharmed.
My spin fisherman, have had better odds for the reason of having the option to blind cast in between shots. Some days the fish are sitting on the bottom out of sight, and this is where the spin fisherman excel over the fly. Hooking fish you didn't know was there, catching you by surprise! The strike can be so aggressive it almost scares you,especially when it happens right under the gunwale as you are ready to pull the lure out of the water. Sometimes soaking the angler on the bow by the explosion.
Snook fishing is predictable this time of year, as the big females are starting to congregate in the passes and inlets, fattening up for the upcoming spawn. Make sure you release these fish in good shape so they can do there thing and bless us with millions of new snook to chase in several years.
The beach fishing for snook has been real good, sight casting to roaming fish along the trough where the sand meets the water. Most fish are sub slot, yet the provide a lot of action and are quite easy to fool. Higher stages of the tide will provide the most fish. I typically target these fish with 7 wt. and small sparse flies like the "DT" or Tom Shadely's "lightbulb".
As the heat of summer comes along, its hard to beat the night fishing for snook under the dock lights. This has got to be the easiest method of catching snook. For the novice fly angler, this is by far the best way to start your introduction to saltwater flyfishing. The cast are not as demanding as daylight hours and the fish are there for one thing, and that is to feed. It is not uncommon to catch up to 20 fish a night!
May is my favorite month, but June and July is just as productive. If you would like to experience some of the best saltwater fishing in the country, call and book a trip now!
Tight lines and screaming drags to all,
Capt. Jeff Legutki
www.naplesfloridaflyfishing.com
Ten Thousand Islands Fishing Forecast:
The fishing is just going to get better as summer approaches. Crowds are thinning out and the fish feeding heavily. Tarpon and snook take the prize for the next several months with warming waters and plenty of bait fish to feed on. The glass minnow schools will be here shortly and beach fishing for the two will absolutely be on fire!
Target Species:
Tarpon - Snook
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