You may recall another report entitled, "Silver Kings Crash
The Party" where Brooks lost two large land-based tarpon in
about 30 minutes while shark fishing near Boca Grande Pass, FL.
At the time, I reminded him that only about 1 out of every three
tarpon hooked by an angler is successfully landed. Not that he was
keeping count, but that statistic must be pretty accurate. I headed
out with him to strike camp early in Englewood on this trip. Once
again, we were setting up for some land-based shark action. The
rest of the club wouldn’t show up until about sunset giving
us most of the afternoon to gear up, do some bait fishing. And depending
on beach traffic, maybe ring the dinner bell and start feeding the
sharks a little earlier than usual.
We
were pleasantly surprised to see our friend Brett fishing the surf
when we arrived. After some finding out he'd had some decent luck
earlier, Brooks recommended we go ahead and drop at least one shark
bait. What the heck? The beach wasn’t real busy, boat traffic
was minimal and the conditions were great.
Since
we had some willing jacks, they were the obvious bait of choice.
I dropped a nice one
about
about 125 yards out in the first gut at 6:30. If we timed it right
and luck was with us, we might just be hooked up or have one on
the boards when the rest of the club pulled up. Not long after setting
the trap, Brooks' 15’ Ugly Stick with an Okuma Coronado strapped
to it wakes up. Instantaneously, we look to the drop point and the
surface erupts with the metallic, twisting body of the infamous
silver king! Brooks rushes to set the hook and shouts, “I’m
not losing this one!” He had learned well from his previous
two hookups and was calm and determined as he adjusted the drag,
implemented a solid hook set and slipped into his harness. Experiencing
the thrill of being strapped to a healthy tarpon is one thing, but
watching it perform aerial acrobatics off the beach while you're
hooked up is another thing altogether. It's a sight to see and one
that can get a crowd really fired up.
Ten minutes in and the ‘poon had cleared the water several
times when we noticed a boat heading straight for the fish. Immediately,
we began waiving to get their attention. Since they were less than
a hundred yards out, the concern they may cross our line and cut
us off was rearing its ugly head. Brooks was screaming louder than
anyone at this point while I twirled a towel and frantically pointed
a finger...my index finger, that is. Finally, the party on the boat
turned their attention away from the tarpon towards the beach where,
by now, about 100 people were on the sand and the condo balconies
watching the show. Finally, the boaters added up the 15’ Ugly
Stick strapped to my brother and the fish and realized it wasn’t
a free jumping tarpon. Quickly, they waived then changed course,
and at a safe distance, parked to watch the outcome.
Enough
about them. Brooks was managing his game like a champ, bowing to
the king when called upon and playing it with patience.
Within 20 minutes or so, we get the fish into the shallows of the
wade gut. Several people in the crowd were filming the scene and
I made a note to get some footage from somebody before we wrapped
up. While Brooks handed the rig to a wide-eyed tourist kid, I threw
the camera to Brett and began leadering the fish as Brooks made
his way in to join us.
Surprisingly, the animal still had plenty of gas in the tank and
almost exited before we got some shots off. One of the tourists
with a nice analog camera also shared pics with us (thanks for the
copies). A few minutes later, Brooks took over and successfully
revived and released the fish.
It's
too bad the rest of the club wasn't there to see it live, and although
there were no sharks to be caught that day, we didn’t care.
This trip was one for the books. And
finally, the third time was a charm for Brooks. He can brag about
this quick fling for the rest of his life.
|
