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Fishing Report for Homosassa, Florida
Capt. Mike Locklear
May 7, 2004
Homosassa - Saltwater Fishing Report
Homosassa Fishing is Really Cool
Open spaces and the vast body of the gulf are good for the soul and feels good to the skin especially with the lower humidity. May is a good month and many types of fish become hungry for our offerings. The main species are tarpon, cobia, redfish, grouper, bluefish, and mackerel.
The heroes have been few this past week, the tarpon won or the lack of, won over John Maddox, Jr., a world class fly fishing angler. Two years ago, John was a hero by bringing a 130 pound tarpon to the boat his first day on the gulf.
A small but efficient cold front brought down gulf water temperatures below the comfort zone for megalops atlanticus aka "poon" and kept the fish away from our area.
Cool is a word that could mean chilly in this case, the past few mornings had a little nip to the air. Cool is also a word for neat or a particular look that is pleasing to the eyes.
However, history was made for Forest Stillwell of Inverness, Florida, a teacher of Crystal River High School, jumped his first tarpon on the fly on April 25. It was perhaps a river tarpon that dropped out to the flats, none the less the official first tarpon of the season aboard the Hells Bay Marquesas. The fish made us feel cool as it jumped 3 times straight into the air, but came towards the boat each time and finally self released itself.
Today was very cool for the Euart party who managed to land a bunch of trout and redfish. A few bluefish really looked cool as they were jumping out of the water. James Johnson of Atlanta, a commercial real estate broker, landed the largest trout on board my skiff of 10 anglers competing. The yellow mouth of those trout shaking their heads was cool. But as they threw out our jigs this was not cool and it happened at least 3 times. Some redfish action was enjoyed but the largest was only 20 inches today.
Perhaps the most unusual sound I have heard on the gulf came when a man-of-war frigate bird came down from perhaps 200 feet to catch a baitfish. His 6 foot wingspan sounded like wind whipping through at mach speed, we never saw it coming until it was on top of the baitfish a few feet off the water. Last week we caught one and this was totally uncool taking the fishing line off its wings, but it flew off like it was ok and that was cool.
In conclusion, I would like to share with you a really cool letter I received from Bill Fehn of Chattanooga thanking me for taking care of his Dad. His Dad is 84 and they both fished with me recently.
My dad, Debbie and I really enjoyed fishing with you last week. For so many years my dad thought there was just one worthy guide in the state of Florida and when that guide died my dad practically stopped fishing. I have talked about you for years and I was excited that my dad was finally able to fish with you and be proven wrong. My dad was very impressed with you, your boat, and equipment. Many times during the week he commented about the trip. A couple of things without going into major detail were, the way you handled the boat, how you were always ready with another rod if he had a cut-off without having to wait for a re-tie and your preparedness, among other things. I appreciate the watchful eye you kept on my dad, the attentiveness you gave him and the mention on your web site.
BEST FISHING,
Bill
Thanks again Bill, my pleasure.
Capt. Mike Locklear
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