Baby Tarpon And Bones
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S13:E5 - “Baby Tarpon And Bones” (2018)
Tom & Rich check on the status of baby tarpon and bonefish fishing after Hurricane Irma.
On a cloudy day, Captains Tom and Rich decide that because of the weather, they should check their favorite spots for baby tarpon and bonefish. Using a lighter rod for a more challenging approach, Tom reels in a bunch of baby tarpon. Though still needing some time to grow, these little tarpon put up quite the fight, and give their signature leap out of water.
Tom then decides to use a surface fly known as the Gurgler. This fly has little wisps of a foam consistency, and looks like a crab or shrimp on surface to the tarpon. Because the tarpon are so quick, when the tarpon try to catch the fly, they sometimes end up completely missing it.
The Captains then continue over to downtown Islamorada in search for bonefish. In the middle of the day, bonefish tend to seek deeper, muddier waters for food. With the muddy waters, once bonefish are shifting back and forth in that area, the mud draws to surface, indicating the location of the fish.
Rich had pointed out that the best thing to do during these type of cloudy days is to throw some shrimp or chum out on the water and wait for the fish to approach. Doing just that and setting up a crab rig, the Captains were able to net quite a few bonefish, and releasing them afterwards to end the day.
As always, we had Jason Stemple with us to document this trip in ultra high quality still photos. Here are some of my favorites. Enjoy!
Baby tarpon jumping action shot.
Don’t take the tarpon out of the water.
Sunset driving.
See you on the water,
Capt. Rich Tudor & Capt. Tom Rowland