May 30, 2014 Report

Today was day five of fishing with Paul and Neil. The last five days have been a blast with these guys on board and by the time they stepped off my skiff for the last time, they became friends and I will miss them. Once again we targeted tarpon but had no idea what surprises today would have for us. Fishing an area that has been holding tarpon we waited an hour before our first bite of the day, this would prove to be the bite of the day! The rod barely moved but hinted of getting someones attention then the line moved towards the boat, hum. I reeled as fast as I could, the line came tight, the rod doubled over and an enormous tarpon erupted out of the water 30' from the boat and started a drag scorching run. I handed the rod to Neil and pursued the fish as best we could. Thankfully it took us out into open water where we could enjoy the fish and not have to worry about break offs. About 2/3's of the way into the fight the reel experiences mechanical issues and stops working. With no other choice I warned Neil of the risk of my next move and put the boat in gear enough to match the speed of the moving tarpon. Tying the braided line attached to the tarpon to my bow cleat, I cut off the braid and now have a 150lb plus tarpon attached to the boat, not to a rod. I quickly grabbed the other tarpon rod that was stowed, tied a uni to uni knot, untied the braid from the cleat and trimmed of the knot. Gave the rod to Neil, reel reel, tarpon still on. Wow, this is intense! After a long three hour battle the huge tarpon is 10' from the boat and I am ready to grab the leader and release the fish when suddenly and in slow motion the hook pulls free and he swims away without a photo op. Ouch! That's tarpon fishing and what a ride it is! As Paul and Neil stepped off my skiff Paul was already making plans to fish another week soon. I look forward to it guys!

Capt. Mo Estevez www.MiamiBoneFishing.com