| Fly fishing for trout? Salmon? Bah! For a different | | | | moving in from deeper waters to feed. The fish |
| experience, it is all about tarpon fly fishing in | | | | are swimming fast, bearing down on the skiff in |
| Florida. | | | | small schools of giant fish. The fisherman must |
| There are a lot of different types of fishing | | | | make an expert cast to drop a fly in the path of |
| experiences. There are also many ways of | | | | the oncoming fish and hope one stops to strike it. |
| gauging the success of any fishing trip. To many | | | | Then the hook must be set in that bony upper |
| anglers, the number of fish that you have in your | | | | mouth. In most cases, the fish will throw the |
| live well, cooler, or stringer is the way you | | | | hook rather quickly. |
| measure a successful trip. To others it is the | | | | If the hook is set, the challenge has really just |
| enjoyment of the external surrounding | | | | started. The tarpon is a feisty fish. It may be one |
| environment and the immersion into nature that | | | | of the hardest fighting fish pound for pound |
| makes the experience successful. To others, it is | | | | anywhere. It will make long wild runs and then |
| the sport. It is the challenge of taking a large fish | | | | suddenly pull with stubborn bull dog tenacity. And |
| on light tackle. Fly fisherman understand the idea | | | | they will jump. The tarpon is known for their high |
| of challenge. | | | | arching jumps that can set the fisherman's heart |
| Tarpon fly fishing in Florida is a good example of | | | | to racing wildly. In fact, it is common to ask the |
| the idea of sport. Many people have compared | | | | returning fisherman how many fish he "jumped" |
| this form of fishing to hunting. The tarpon is a | | | | rather than how many he caught. |
| saltwater fish that comes to the shallow offshore | | | | It is really not the catching that is important in |
| flats and coastal rivers to feed. Many tarpon grow | | | | tarpon fly fishing in Florida or along the coastal |
| up to 8 feet long and some can weigh as much | | | | waters of the other Southern states in the |
| as 200 pounds. The top of their mouth, where | | | | tarpon's range. It is the hunt that is the thing that |
| the hook must be set, is covered by a bony plate | | | | draws the fishermen. The flesh of the tarpon is |
| that some have described as being a bit like | | | | bony and not good eating and in many places the |
| concrete. | | | | fish is protected and catch and release is the |
| The tarpon is usually sought in the coastal waters | | | | norm. It is the human being against the denizen of |
| of the Florida Keys in a small skiff. The fisherman | | | | the sea that this is all about, not putting food on |
| stands in the front of the skiff and the guide | | | | the table. |
| positions it to intercept schools of tarpon that are | | | | |