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Fishing Report for Homosassa, Florida
Capt. Mike Locklear
May 14, 2006
Homosassa - Saltwater Fishing Report
The first week of May brought us some March winds and not many tarpon as I expected. Seems there is a pattern to the Homosassa poons resisting their normal grounds out on the flats so attention was turned to provide action the good old fashion way.
Dennis Atkins, Wiley Rork and employees of Vulcan Materials drove down from Asheville, N.C. to try some tarpon fishing. We postponed the tarpon hunting and went trout and redfishing. We had pretty good luck catching a nice mess of both trout averaging 16-20 inches and redfish to 26 inches.
Capt. Jim Long still had tarpon fishing on his mind and decided to try on his last stop a secret place on the river. When that tarpon hit Atkins line it was Katie bar the door. A huge fat river fish over 6 feet long went airborne spanning an area the size of a football field cut across long ways. The fish was so fat it could not jump all the way out of the water.
After about 15 minutes and 3 jumps later, one jump that the tarpon made almost went on the river bank. Crab traps and pilings were maneuvered through with Long at the wheel like a heavy equipment operator. More than a few times Long had to put the Mercury Opti-Max in reverse to keep the tarpon from under the boat possibly cutting the line on the outboard prop or trim tabs.
Perhaps Long forgot his own ethics of good sportsmanship in handling the tarpon mainly because a fish of this size deserved some proofing for Atkins first trophy. Long went into the gator mode breaking out the steel gaff hook that Capt. Nat Ragland designed for handling big fish at boat side.
The tarpon was not at ease as Atkins broke the tarpon’s will in a mere 30 minutes of extreme tight drag pressure, a technique pursued when the fish is down deep. The fish got a headache after trying to jump through Long’s skiff bumping its head on the hull’s bottom.
Finally, the tarpon came alongside enough for Long to grab the leader. Long’s work began while Atkins rested enjoyed his victory over the king of outdoor sports. Long stuck the gaff hook into the tarpon’s mouth after several tries missing. Atkins had to reel the tarpon back up for Jimmy. By this time, several boats had stopped to watch the action.
Long pulled the fish half way out of the water for a couple of quick photos and quickly returned it to revive it. As far as I know it was the first caught tarpon of the ’06 season.
From May 8 through Mother's Day Eve not many tarpon have been seen. Only one tarpon came into my view from another flats skiff, that was hooked by a fly fishing angler. They both were busy for at least 45 minutes battling a teenage bull estimated to weight about 60 pounds.
Another cold front with water temperatures dropping to the low 70's prevented many tarpon from showing on the flats of Citrus and Hernando county coastal waters. The first quarter of the Homosassa season for fly anglers is off to a slow start. Let's hope next week brings some good news.
Remember if you are too busy to go fishing, you are just too busy, because fishing is good for you.
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