Made it out to the IR nice and early this morning. The area had been getting pounded by rain in the early overnight hours, but by the time grey light was cracking the horizon, things had settled down. Light winds <5 out of the NNE granted me with slick water to start the day. I headed to an area i had seen some juvie tarpon in recent weeks, with hopes of a first tarpon on the fly. :crossed

I made it to the intended grounds before the sun hit the horizon and,the sounds of massive mullet schools greeted me in the dark. By the time it was light enough to have a good assessment of the situation, i was in the thick of it. Everywhere around me, the water boiled from the amount of mullet zipping about. And the hungry fish were hungry.
With the amount of cloud cover i decided to start on the top water, and 3 casts in, the yo-zuri plug got hammered. A solid fight followed ending with this hefty 26" gator getting her glamour shot taken. The lighting wasnt ideal, but she cooperated anyhow.

She swam away strong, and avoided the dolphins that were feasting as well...

Not long after, a mid 20's snook was also fooled by my offering, but sadly the camera malfuntioned and the footage was lost. :banghead

An hour later the bite started to slow. The mullet were still happily milling about, but their predatory pursuers seemed to have given in to the rising water temps. I got on the pole and started covering ground to the south, just cruising in side of casting range of the bait pods. Suddenly a boil caught my eye, and the roll of a juvie tarpon had my hard beating out of my chest. I sent the red and white seaducer sailing to intercept the fishes attention. Well it didnt take much "seaducing" and this guy pounced on the fly. A great fight followed, and i got leader to hand once, but ultimately the hook pulled right at the boat, and the **** swam off no worse for wear. I didnt get him in hand, but still stoked for my first tarpon experience on the long rod.:Rockon


I went hunting for a Redfish to complete my slam but I couldnt find one to save my life(So close). The wind started to pick up a bit, so i let it carry me along the shoreline for a few hundred yards. Had a few strikes along the way but couldnt connect with any more of the juvies. Temps started to climb about 10, so i turned and headed for the ramp. Loaded and off the water by 11.

Thanks for reading, Tight Lines.