Tarpon Hole

[mikaluch]

A fish & game warden told me about a spot a couple weeks ago that was loaded with tarpon and off limits to boats with motors, up the North Fork of the St. Sebastian River.  I paddled out there Saturday.  Four miles one way, so it's a commitment.  It's a deep canal with steep banks, so no way to get in nearby.  The tarpon were rolling everywhere, at some times as close as 10 feet from my kayak.  The water is discolored, so I didn't hook as many as I hoped, and I found out that tarpon are really hard to land.  I landed one around 20 pounds.  I had two bigger fish on for several minutes.  They both spit a gold speckled Bait Buster back at me in big tailwalks.  I had five or six more on for several seconds.  Also landed two redfish, 24 and 26 inches.  Weather was all over the place, sunny with no wind, then half an hour later pouring down rain and windy.

I spent quite a while out there, and needed to take a leak.  The only spot low enough to land on was a little island just below a second channel that came in a couple hundreds yards downstream.  I paddled over there, and there was a HUGE alligator on the island.  I'd guess 10 feet long.  So I held it in.  There were quite a few manatees.  One came right up and checked out my kayak, sniffing up and down the length of it with it's nose right against the side.  It must have decided it wasn't seaworthy and started pushing me to the shore.  Interesting day.

[Spike]

Just awesome Mike, wish i was there. 

[jscott]

Cool report.....keep 'em coming!!   

[Sea Weed]

It is cool to see what the rest of the country is like and what they are catching. Sounds like a great experience.

[gatorgar55]

Sounds like alot of fun. Tarpon are a very interesting fish.

[Sea Weed]

you know if you don't have too many things on the yak can't you toss it off the bank and jump in then and get on?? just wondering I did something like that once it saved me a lot of walking. Unless there are crocks there.

[mikaluch]

It's some seriously creepy water.  That 10 foot gator is not too far away, complete with turkey buzzards hanging out on his little island.  It's murky enough that the creature from the black lagoon might be down there.  I've surfed some fairly big swells, and used to teach SCUBA, but I think I'd give up fishing before I'd jump in there.