Sight Fishing

Capt. Justin Napior

Happy November everyone! You ever have one of those fishing days where you go out kind of last minute with no plan? Well my buddy Will and I recently had a little guides day off and it was exactly that. We met at the ramp nice and early, I did have one spot in mind so we made a quick run. The tide was low and the wind was blowing. We got into a bunch of smaller snook and one solid redfish, but we knew we could do better. We were near this creek mouth that I had been up before, but only about half way. I said to Will, “You want go all the up this thing as far as we can go?” He knew exactly what I was thinking, Tarpon! We start making our way into the creek, catching a few snook along the way, as the creek got tighter and tighter, we started getting pretty excited! We made our way through a tight mangrove tunnel and there they were. Tarpon rolling all over in one little opening in the mangroves! Will made a long cast and one nails his paddle tail! I see one roll right next to the boat, so I make a quick cast and boom! Tarpon flying, he spit the hook and I quickly cast back in the same spot and get a solid hit, this time it was a nice snook!

We sat tucked in this little pocket and jumped about ten tarpon; we were like little kids just yelling and laughing every time he hooked one. We pushed a little deeper up the creek and it seemed like at every turn we saw tarpon. This is Will and my favorite type of fishing, deep backcountry creeks and bays. After a handful of nice snook and two tarpon landed, we made our way back out, both of us smiling ear to ear. As a guide, days like this are priceless, nothing can replace time on the water and the knowledge you gain along the way. We are constantly learning.

I hope everyone has a great winter, I’m looking forward to seeing some new faces this season. Tight lines everybody!