After a long holiday weekend, I'm betting that a lot of us are going to feel like being somewhere else other than the office. It's not in the cards for me and if you're reading this post then you're likely at work as well. This week's "DF Dispatch" with Dave Fason takes us to Florida for tarpon with Captain Willy Le of Native Fly Fishing. Enjoy and then get back to work.
Dave wrote... "When you think of catching these sand paper mouthed, alien eyed, prehistoric looking fish-creatures, the last thing you normally envision is glass glowing in your hand. The power of even a small tarpon is remarkable. There are few fish that will run, jump, and shake while taking you on a wild ride. Plus these guys grow up to 180 pounds! This makes hunting them with glass even more taboo. So why wouldn’t we do it?
After a planned family trip to Jacksonville, Florida I decided to book a side trip with my brother-in-law to find juvenile tarpon. After a bit of research, we came across Native Fly Charters captained by Willy Lee. He had glowing reviews and it was only a couple hour trek from Jacksonville. We woke up before sunrise, loaded 32 ounces of cold brew and jumped in the car. We followed the GPS to the point Willy sent us the night before. The sun started to break the horizon without a cloud in the sky. With a slight breeze working for us, we were in luck.
While my brother-in-law and l share a love for all things fishing related, this was our first time going after tarpon. We did not know exactly what to expect. After roughly one hour on the water we sighted our first group of rolling tarpon. Armed with my Barclay 868 rod in hand, I took a few casts towards the group. Within seconds, I had my first tarpon hooked with a trout set! Clearly I was new to this game and the young beast easily freed itself. After a few friendly heckles from the boys in the boat and laughing myself, I regrouped and within minutes had my first tarpon tight on the line. It jumped, made a few runs, jumped again all while putting a massive grin on my face. After hours of Willy setting us up and great coaching we both had multiple fish to hand.
Relishing in our successful day, we slugged a few Tecate beers and made the journey back to the ramp. Getting to experience these fish on glass was something to remember. I cannot say enough good things about Willy. Please, if you are ever down in the Cocoa Beach, Florida area give him a shout. You won’t regret it.
It was a good day."
Dave wrote... "When you think of catching these sand paper mouthed, alien eyed, prehistoric looking fish-creatures, the last thing you normally envision is glass glowing in your hand. The power of even a small tarpon is remarkable. There are few fish that will run, jump, and shake while taking you on a wild ride. Plus these guys grow up to 180 pounds! This makes hunting them with glass even more taboo. So why wouldn’t we do it?
After a planned family trip to Jacksonville, Florida I decided to book a side trip with my brother-in-law to find juvenile tarpon. After a bit of research, we came across Native Fly Charters captained by Willy Lee. He had glowing reviews and it was only a couple hour trek from Jacksonville. We woke up before sunrise, loaded 32 ounces of cold brew and jumped in the car. We followed the GPS to the point Willy sent us the night before. The sun started to break the horizon without a cloud in the sky. With a slight breeze working for us, we were in luck.
While my brother-in-law and l share a love for all things fishing related, this was our first time going after tarpon. We did not know exactly what to expect. After roughly one hour on the water we sighted our first group of rolling tarpon. Armed with my Barclay 868 rod in hand, I took a few casts towards the group. Within seconds, I had my first tarpon hooked with a trout set! Clearly I was new to this game and the young beast easily freed itself. After a few friendly heckles from the boys in the boat and laughing myself, I regrouped and within minutes had my first tarpon tight on the line. It jumped, made a few runs, jumped again all while putting a massive grin on my face. After hours of Willy setting us up and great coaching we both had multiple fish to hand.
Relishing in our successful day, we slugged a few Tecate beers and made the journey back to the ramp. Getting to experience these fish on glass was something to remember. I cannot say enough good things about Willy. Please, if you are ever down in the Cocoa Beach, Florida area give him a shout. You won’t regret it.
It was a good day."
Headed to the Mosquito Lagoon area? Give Native Fly Charters a shout.
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