At an early age I developed a passion for fishing that can’t compare to anything else in my life.
My passion extends to all forms of fishing, from fresh to salt and inshore to off shore but has deep roots in wade fishing for speckled trout. One of my fondest early memories was when I was at the age of fourteen on an afternoon front beach wade. On that afternoon while harvesting the days trout my brother hooked a monster tarpon that broke the surface and put on a quick show for us before he would snap the ten pound line he was attached to never to be seen again, except for in our dreams. Just the sight of the fish and being able to witness such a magnificent scene had us both glowing with joy despite the fact that it was another one that got away and not many would believe the story without proof. Ever since that moment I have become more and more fascinated by that fish and realized that I could potentially land one in my range of fishing areas. I have had the desire to target the species for some time now but with little knowledge of their habits in the Mississippi sound I have just allowed my focus to stay on trophy trout.
This year has been one of great trout catches for Team Stillwater, but we have also had greater numbers of run ins with much larger species including sharks, jacks, bull reds and Tarpon! When Capt. Jeremy called me on an afternoon late in July to report his hook up with a tarpon at one of our favorite wading spots I was excited to say the least. It brought back memories of
that afternoon so many years ago with my brother. My mind started wondering if we should focus on the tarpon fishery and conquer one of these brutes while we have the chance. But again the hunt for silver kings in south Mississippi was placed on the back burner due to the abundance of large speckled trout we could target instead.
Its late September and the heat and lack of salinity has kept me off the water for a few weeks since Hurricane Isaac but conditions are getting favorable again for the fall run. When Jeremy messaged me that Wednesday to be ready to fish I knew I better hustle my morning job and get done around lunch to be prepared Dream Season by Mark McDonald to fish that afternoon. Jeremy, Chris, Greg and I launched from long beach harbor near 1 o’clock that afternoon giving us enough time to fish two spots if needed. Our first stop was a bust due to a lack of trout and abundance of tackle wrecking jacks, but the water was slicking off and it made for an easy decision to run to the next stalking grounds. Once in the water we were all relieved with signs of bait surrounding us and not boats.
We had hundreds of yards to wade all to ourselves with promising conditions for large speckled trout, but the fishing gods had other plans for us on this day. Jeremy quickly snags what will be
the only three trout of the trip and then I slam a redfish shortly after. All four of us are getting explosions on our top waters. Many strikes and few hookups isn’t unusual for fishing top water baits but something strange was going on around us. We were getting strikes from a wide variety of fish all in the same small area. Jeremy and Greg double up on large fish at the same time. Th e explosion that led to Jeremy’s hook up was unusually large and had what me and Jeremy concluded to be the appearance of a tarpon. We could not determine what the fish was because it did not surface again before it broke the line. By the time Jeremy and Greg are broken off from their mystery fish, the trout bite had diminished and we have all fell victim to large, unidentifiable fish.
After I bore down on what I figured to be a shark I was left to fish naked (without a leader), until I realized that I wasn’t as unprepared as I thought. My 30lb. monofilament leader material
was tucked in the front pocket of my fishing shirt. I tied a quick blood knot to splice the two lines together and then attached one of my favorite spooks in hopes to entice a trout. Less than a dozen cast later, BOOM! I have enticed a fish much greater than I bargained for. When the fish struck my lure no more than 20 yards from where we stood it made its presence known. All four of us lit up in excitement. Tarpon! Tarpon!
Every time the graceful beast leaped from the still water we all shrieked with joy as I held on with less than 100 yards of ten pound line to a fish that made me feel small. I followed the
fish gaining short amounts of line and somehow managing to stay in close range. I dropped my stringer and wading belt and anything attached to me for Chris to retrieve, while I chased
the fish into the orange sunset. With high hopes and low expectations of landing this thing I assured my team I would do everything in my power to hold on to it. Jeremy took off for the
boat which was anchored nearly two hundred yards south of the spot I hooked up at. By the time the boat got to us I was forty five minutes into the fight and the fish was starting to peel line towards the deeper side of the bar while making many breathtaking leaps.
As my partners help me climb up the ladder, I was able to enter the boat without the rod-n-reel ever leaving my grasp. Once on the bow of the boat I was relieved to be able to continue the chase without out having to worry about water depth. Th e tightness of the thin line and the gut wrenching sound, made as line peeled off my reel, had me on the edge the entire fight. At the time, Greg was at the wheel and Jeremy and Chris began devising a plan to land the great fish. We all knew we were running out of time, the sun was rapidly disappearing into the horizon and we
would soon lose the benefit of sight. While drawing the fish close to the side of the boat, Chris attempts to secure the tail and Jeremy the head. With a landing net they were able to get a hold of the worn down behemoth. After a few nerve wrecking attempts, I dropped my rod and reached over to grab a corner of the net. In concert, we all three heaved and officially ended the fight by bringing the magnificent fish on board. High fives and a sighs of relief followed. This IS what dreams are made of….