Friends fish the Florida flats

By Bill Graves
    As odd as it might seem, I take my annual Florida vacation during summer. As enjoyable as a winter getaway to sun and sand might be, I’d rather brave the sweltering heat and fly fish for tarpon, and high season for the Silver King is June.
    Despite inclement weather, which led to mediocre fishing, my outing last month was truly enjoyable. For the first time in a dozen years I took a fishing partner along, a rookie to flats casting for tarpon and his excitement and awe increased my enthusiasm and enjoyment, as well.
    Mike Wallace and I have shared hundred of cast and blast adventures over the 30-some years since he married into the family. Some rewarding outings, others frustrating, but none were ever boring. After listening to my tarpon tales year after year and promising to join me some summer, last month he finally took the plunge. Despite how easy tarpon fishing seems on outdoor television shows, I told him it was no picnic, and after three days in pursuit of the Silver King, Mike agreed.
    TV anglers can fish for a week, pick and choose the highlights for a 22-minute show inserted around commercials and leave all the boring, uncomfortable and frustrating film scenarios on the editing room floor. For example, temperatures hover around 90 degrees; the sun beats down unmercifully and then reflects back off the water, there’s seldom a breeze — and when there is — it’s hot air and the humidity is stifling.
    If the sweltering weather isn’t enough to wilt a Northern boy, the waves and tides will make an angler trying to stand steady on the bow casting platform feel like his legs are made of jelly. When the wind is blowing one direction and an incoming tide is flowing opposite, motoring from the dock to your fishing site will nearly jar the fillings from your teeth. During my recent trip a change in wind direction forced us to fish the back country bays and lagoons for two days because the seas along the beaches were just too rough.
    The plus side to back country tarpon fishing is the opportunity to see a lot more wildlife, and Mike got a full show. There were a dozen shapes, sizes and colors of shore birds wading the flats. Terns, gulls, pelicans and ospreys bombarded the ocean around us constantly, their fishing results far superior to ours. As awkward as pelicans look on land, it’s amazing to watch them fold up during their flight, dive 100 feet and plunge into the ocean, then nonchalantly bob back to the surface to swallow their prey.
    At least a dozen huge sea turtles, brown and green, paddled near our boat over the three days. We saw a school of 50 or more brown manta rays about two or three feet across their wings. The group swam up to the bow of the boat while we were anchored and then split to pass on both sides. A beautifully colored leopard ray that was over six-feet wide leapt four feet clear of the water, sailed a dozen feet in the air and splashed back down noisily within 20 feet of our boat.
    Of hair-raising interest was a 7- to 8-foot bull shark over 300 pounds that circled our boat twice, while Mike was standing on the bow. I told Mike that the shark was fishing too and it would be a bad time for a misstep. Over the years, I’ve watched hundred of porpoise frolic around the boat or in our motor wake, but this June for the first time one came right up to us. While anchored, a pod of four porpoise swam near and when our guide splashed his hand in the water one broke away and came boat side. He rolled over, bumped the boat gently with his nose, and even breached the surface and blew out air, staying around for three or four minutes in hopes of a free handout of bait.
    Amongst all the wildlife watching, we did actually do some fishing too, although the wind and daily rain worked against us. I got a 130- to 140-pound tarpon to take my fly the first day and nearly an hour later finally fought it to the boat. This particular fish refused to jump even once, making long runs instead. When we finally released the fish my arms were so tired I couldn’t even wave good bye. Mike’s first chance came next, but having heard how difficult it is to set the fly in a tarpon’s rock-hard mouth he pulled too hard and broke his 20-pound leader.
    Later the first day, I hooked and got one jump from the largest tarpon I’ve even seen, the guide guesstimated it weighed 175 to 200 pounds. On day two, Mike cast to several fish, finally hooking one, but it too had the hook pull free. Toward evening we located a school of 30 or so tarpon and both cast several times until I finally hooked, played and released a Silver King of about 100 pounds. This was an acrobatic fish that leaped six times.
    Mother Nature ruined day three, driving us off the water three times with thunder and lightning. A funnel cloud formed less than a mile away at one point, such water spouts are precursors to tornados so of course we quickly motored to safety. All in all, it was a real learning experience for my boat buddy and rookie tarpon angler. No fish for him, but he’s hooked and can’t wait for another chance next June, and I’m already thinking ahead too.