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Fishing Report for Homosassa, Florida
Capt. Mike Locklear
July 11, 2005
Homosassa - Saltwater Fishing Report
Tarpon & Scallops are Fun!
Fly-fishing for tarpon is my passion and also for my clients of the week; Allen and Scott Brand along with Neil Gladden. But first here’s a little scoop about fun with the family.
July started out great with a family vacation to north Florida. My wife and I along with Courtney and her friend Rachel drove up on July 1st in anticipation of finding some tasty scallops. John chose to stay on his Uncle’s farm and work. How about that attitude for a 15-year old? I am proud of him.
We decided to try out Cape San Blas across the bay from the city of St. Joe. The T.H. Stone State park is located at the end of the Cape. Some 85 miles west of my usual scalloping grounds, we found this bay gin clear and loaded with scallops unlike the tannin stained St. George Sound.
With a side trip to Wakulla Springs State Park, we found the Captain of the river boat tour to be very entertaining as the swimming was cut short due to a few electrical storms in the area. We arrived late and if you go be sure to go early during the summer months. Our reason for being late is we liked sleeping in.
Beginning on the 4th of July I made my way out to the bay and met my party for the next day. I invited Scott Brand to go along with me to scout for the tarpon. By the time we found them it was late and the visibility was not very good. We both took some shots without any eaters, but had a look or two.
On July 5, Scott and I ventured out for a full day of fishing to the shoal where waters were rough and waves too high for anchoring. So we moved back to protected waters during a falling tide.
The action began to pick up in the tarpon pit and Scott hooked about a 5 foot long tarpon. This was an effort on both our parts as I poled and he cast several times. The tarpon ate and the rod flew back with fly as if Scott was in stride to make another cast. That’s our story and we are sticking to it.
Later we moved out as the tide dropped and still another tarpon swallowed the fly within 15 feet of the boat. The strike was an awesome spectacle to marvel, watching an old prehistoric fish eat one of his brother’s custom tied
flies.
The next day we had to stay in because the winds were more than 20 knots all day. On July 7, Neil Glaskins joined me for a day of fly-fishing for tarpon. He had plenty of shots and a few tarpon looked at his fly and came real close to eating it. One shot had Neil so excited, he just knew the tarpon was going to eat it, when it turned away with the fly only inches away.
My last and final day to date was with Allen Brand. He set up the whole trip for his brother Scott and friend Neil. His day is our last to date fish for tarpon. Like his Dad says, no one loves fishing any better than Allen. I understood why. He does not want to quit.
We had a great morning with 25 tarpon coming to us in ones and twos.
The 26th tarpon ate and Allen stuck it to him really well and got the fish on the reel. The silver king leaped into the air twice and on the last jump the sky bound tarpon threw the fly.
Later in the morning another tarpon came around 180 degrees and tried eating the fly but spit it out before turning about to swallow it. Allen and I both gasped.
We moved out to the gulf side of the shoal and anchored. Not long after the move, a single log of a tarpon with a lit up black back came across swimming rapidly and we both made a wholesome effort to intercept the tarpon. While I was poling the Marqesas Hell’s Bay, Allen was false casting his Tibor Pacific and Sage fly rod.
The cast was made and the fly was nearly perfect in front of tarpon’s path. He saw it no doubt and turned towards us and opened his mouth and clamped down on the fly with his bucket mouth. Perhaps all the tarpon were hit a little too soon and this one was no exception. Allen laid into him a tad bit too early and the fly came out before the tarpon turned away.
This is a common mistake all fly fishers make that trout fish up north on the streams. Their instinct is to lift the rod upon feeling the bite. This is not the best way to hook a tarpon. The best way is to let the fish turn away and take a second strip after feeling the tarpon bite. Keeping the rod pointed at the fish is also a good way to prevent trouting the tarpon.
Easier said than done, but the brothers also learned they were stripping way too fast. It is a good idea to lead the tarpon enough to get the fly down a foot or two and strip smoothly and not too fast. A medium paced strip of 6 to 10 inch strips is best with a shorter version of strips of 3 inches as the tarpon comes closer to the fly within two feet. The shorter strips also work very well when running out of room before the tarpon sees the boat and turns away, not eating the fly.
But with all that said, the best reason all those fish got off is—Hey, Its tarpon fishing!
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