Tarpon season is in full swing along Central Florida's beaches and lower Tampa Bay. Today's trip started along St. Pete beach at first light. Armed with a live well full of pass and blue crabs we felt confident with today's strong tides.
Before the sun came up we found a pod of tarpon only to have them disappear as quickly as we found them. The next 45 minutes we scoured the beach only to draw a big blank.
We moved South several miles and found a pod of Tarpon within 10 minutes. The first crab in was crushed within seconds but the 6/0 circle hook did not connect. Dave made another great cast with a fresh crab and this time a huge Silver King slurped the crab like candy. The giant Tarpon jumped totally amazing Captain Steven as this was a 200 pound Tarpon. Unfortunately the giant won the battle.
I used the trolling motor to get in casting range again this time the sun and stars aligned with a great hook set. Dave was tight to a large Tarpon well over 150 pounds that only jumped once. The silver king was a bull dog that would not give up. An hour later an exhausted Dave landed the beautiful Tarpon.
The day ended with 7 tarpon and very tired arms! It was an awesome day wrestling the silver king. Look for more amazing Tarpon action with next week's hill tides.
Captain Steven Markovich
