Homosassa Tarpon and Redfish Rule!!!

Report Date: June 12, 2003

Recent trips have been outstanding with many catches of big Redfish, Cobia, Spanish Mackerel, Tarpon, and Sharks. There are plenty of species to target right now.

Old friend Ed Baker and his son Michael from up north, fished a day with me recently. We left the dock at MacRae's Bait and Tackle on the Homosassa River and headed into the backcountry for reds. First stop, we boated several nice reds to 26 inches.
Then we moved to another Redfish Hotel I knew and Bam!! Fish On!! Another big Redfish, then another, then another. After tired arms from fighting so many big redfish, and with the tide change, we decided to run about 6 miles offshore to some rocks I knew which should hold Spanish Mackerel, Cobia, Grouper, Grey Snapper, and Sharks.

We anchored, put out a chum block and before long, had a beautiful chum slick full of fish. We were kicking back and eating a sandwich when two large fish came swimming by the boat. Cobia, I thought. We had put out a live pinfish earlier. So, Maybe ol' Mr. Cobia would find it. A few minutes later, I noticed a large shadow appear under out pinfish, then Wham!!! away it went, pulling line and the drag screaming. I handed the rod to Michael, and the big fish made a circle toward the boat. Once he saw the boat, he realized he was hooked and turned and peeled off 100 yards of line in nothing flat and headed for the other side of the pond. Hold On Michael, I yelled as I pulled anchor to chase the big fish. The 65 lb Power Pro line was doing it's job. So was the drag on the Diawa BG30 reel. I knew this fish was in the 40-60 pound class of Cobia and it would take some time to wear this fish out. And it did.

At this point, there are two possible endings to this fish story: 1) Michael fought the fish for 45 minutes and finally managed to bring him to the gaff. 2) The fish tail whipped the line and got off. Next report I'll tell you the ending.

Click on the above pics for larger images.

There are plenty of Tarpon around so give me a call. We have a few dates open.

Reminder!! Redfish will remain hot and get better as the summer goes along. Scallop season opens July 1st. Give me a call or email to book a redfish or scallop snoekeling trip.

Until next time....

May God bless you with gentle breezes to your back, golden sunsets, big fish and tight lines.

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