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Print versionFlorida Live Blog: Bite Attractor Smith
After John and Kathleen left last week, the winds eased, the seas flattened out and the sun came out to play. This last week has been weather perfect and the fishing has been pretty good too!
Tim Smith is an angler that some of you may recognise. Throughout the year there’s rarely a month that goes by that Tim isn’t in the catch pages of the angling media. Why? Well because Tim is one of these fortunate people that sacrificed much of his younger years for his family business and now in his 40’s, he’s decided it’s time to kick back and enjoy what he loves the most... going fishing! At home Tim averages up to 100 days a year fishing, he’s done some fishing travel around the Med, to Norway and Ireland but he’d yet to visit the Florida Keys... that was until this last week. The Florida Keys is a funny place... it’s fishing, locals, weather and atmosphere are enchanting and captivating, so how would clean cut businessman Tim fair up.
If you mention Florida, many who have never been here will conjure up thoughts of the Bling properties of the rich and famous and the America that is portrayed to us on British TV. This can be so for Miami, but the Florida Keys are a little different. With its Spanish history, and large Cuban population, the Keys could be described as more Caribbean influenced than American. The Keys motto is that “It’s always 5 o’clock somewhere” meaning anytime is good to knock of work for a beer! This in Rum Runners territory...
First things first, when you hit the Keys you’re going to need a fishing licence, so on Tim’s first morning we headed out to get him a licence, stock up on bait, and end with a visit to the world famous ‘Robbie’s’ marina. For those of you that haven’t heard of Robbie’s, if you’ve ever seen Tarpon being handfed on fishing TV, it was probably at Robbie’s. For years the guys at Robbie’s have fed Tarpon, which are free to come and go as they please, but hundreds have chosen to make the Marina their home. At any one time there can be hundreds, if not more Tarpon, and their sizes range from 10-20lb babies right up to 200lb monsters! They appear to be like pets, but don’t let that deceive you... we can easily think that we have lured the Tarpon into our world, a conquer over nature so to speak, but it is the Tarpon who’s really in control – he’s found a bunch of silly lunatics willing to feed him for free without him having to put in any effort! Robbie’s Marina, with its huge population of Tarpon can make Tarpon fishing look easy, but the truth is the Tarpon hook-up ratio is right at the other end of the scale.
After feeding Robbie’s Tarpon, we kicked back in Robbie’s open bar (built from driftwood and all other manner of beach-combed junk) and whilst having a Bud in the midday heat we discussed a plan for the coming week; and as we did so I could see Managing Director/top angler Tim look around him at the shanty bar, the laid-back locals, and the mass of fish and I’m sure he was thinking – I’m going to “haul ass (my new American term of the week) here”! Mad dogs and Englishmen... came to my mind (!!!)
On our fist afternoon afloat, our main priority was to get live-bait and then get ourselves anchored in one of the channels, hoping that we might have a chance at a Tarpon or two. The water was now much clearer than the past ten days, so prospects were looking good. And with an improving forecast, as the week went by, the water would clear further, upping the stakes each day. As we caught bait, live Pinfish (a perch like critter with lots of spines) I explained to Tim a routine that I go through with all new anglers to the Keys and it goes a little something like this... “It’s a dog-eat-dog world down there – eat or be eaten – so watch your hands. If it doesn’t have a spine or spikes it has teeth and it bites... watch your hands!” I’ll come back to this at the end!
With the anchor down, we proceeded to trot float-fished live pinfish down the 9ft deep channel, with the hope that as the sun dipped, the Tarpon would come on the feed, and just as the sun touched the horizon, a few came out to play. At first light and last light Tarpon are notorious for putting on a display of surface rolling, busting and throwing themselves into the air and although tonight’s display wasn’t the best I’ve seen, it was a sure good indication that there were some Tarpon around. It’s hard to explain, but to be stood there, on a casting deck 14 inches off the water, with 20-100lb silver fish throwing themselves around, certainly does get the blood racing... it’s like watching a float dip for the very first time! Tim was bubbling with excitement, but tonight it was not going to be – but that’s Tarpon fishing! On route home we did have some luck however...
On a nearby dock, the owner had fitted an underwater fish-attracting light! Probably a heap of crap in the UK but they certainly work here, and as we passed the dock, the first thing we noticed was a large school of sardine, followed by 20-30 small Tarpon, some Snook and some Jacks - game on! I cut the engine, dropped the trolling motor, Tim rigged a fee-lined live bait and first chuck it was fish on! A small Tarpon, just into double figures hit the bait as it touched the water, jumped and then headed under the dock and around a post. Carefully Tim played the baby Tarpon out, unhooked her and realised her. By that time the rest had spooked and were gone.
The following day we set out to do some shark fishing, which is always pretty reliable if you want, fish over 100lbs. They’re simple to attract, not a pain in the ass like Tarpon to hook, and they fight like a banshee on a leash. In just a couple of hours we had all the Sharks we could contend with, and as the last one of the day was a baby, around the size of a nice tope, I allowed Tim to bring it aboard for a quick snap... bad move! Seconds later I had a baby Lemon Shark permanently clammed to my vinyl seat! At this point I must add that Tim had already been bitten by the baby Tarpon from the night before! Eventually we unclamped the Lemon sharks teeth and set her free.
That evening at last light we were back on the Tarpon and as the sun went down; my girls came out to play. Tim was first with a run – hit, hold, run, jump, gone... the usual story and then the same for myself. A few trots of the float later, Tim was into another Tarpon... hit, hold, run, jump, you get the story, but this one stayed on a little longer before she blew the hook and was gone. Then just as the Tarpon slowed on the feed, it was my turn again. Keeping her through the first critical jump, and following run I managed to turn her quick and play her quickly to the side of the boat, but still fresh, with the leader within reach, with a kick of her tail she went under the boat, caught the trim tab... Adios Omego!
On route home that evening, we snuck past the dock where the Tarpon had been the night before, but instead of using the trolling motor, sneakily we motored uptide and anchored the neighbours dock. Now I have anchored wrecks, reefs and all manner of underwater obstructions but I have never anchored somebody’s dock before! With just Tim fishing, 6 chucks later he had hooked and lost 6 Tarpon, and it was time to call it a day.
With a great forecast of flat calm conditions, on Tim’s middle day we decided to give the Tarpon a break from our lip piercing practise and head way out into the gulf for some big shark fishing and with a good chum slick going, we were instantly into fish! No sooner had I cast the first Barracuda bait, the first run came before I had put the bail arm on the reel over. I struck and the all mighty of rays, well over 200lbs, left the water, crashed back down and smashed me up. In the following few hours we caught tons of Lemon sharks with three bull sharks and many smash ups!
On day four we decided to do things a little different... Florida is all about big fish – big Tarpon, big Sharks, and big Bonefish (in season) and so on, but what many forget is that on light tackle there’s some superb fishing here for lots of smaller fish less than 10lbs, and on 6lb spin gear, they fight like stink! After chunking (cutting up and throwing in small bits of fish bait and shrimp) whilst anchored 15 miles out into the Gulf, it wasn’t long before we had a zoo of creatures feeding at the back of the boat... Small sharks, Snappers, Grouper, Spanish and Cero Mackerel, Porgy, Rays... you name it, it was there. Over the duration of his trip, I counted that Tim caught no less than 27 species and I think we forgot a couple! To end our species scratching session we were greeted by a huge shoal of Bluefish, which provided awesome surface sport free-lining small, live Pinfish. On route home from our species endeavours, we stopped and jigged for some sea trout, just to break the trip.
I mentioned earlier that I would come back to my “has teeth – will bite!” warning... and I have to say I have never seen one man get bitten or spiked by so many fish as Tim did over his first holiday to the Florida Keys. There wasn’t an hour that went by that there wasn’t a yelp and blood pouring from one hand! The highlight of this was when a good sized Mangrove Snapper (named this because they have huge fang like teeth and snap!!) clamped down on the end of Tim’s finger. Seriously having two 5mm teeth sunk into your finger tip must have been painful, but I was laughing so much that I was unable to help. I wish I had taken a picture... to see Tim go from clean cut, on the ball businessman, to a sun burnt, fish beaten, hung-over, jet-lagged insomniac, that kept getting bitten, was one of the highlights of my year. Tropical sports-fishing, with the travel involved, the difference in climate, time zone, culture and fish power does takes its toll on you and some are never the same again! Tim’s organisation was out of the window, life had become a blur of fishing, sun and beer; and his hands... well not even the Avon lady can get rid of bite holes!
On Tim’s last day and again on the morning of departure we hit the Channels hard looking for Tarpon again and as usual, we hooked a few, jumped a few and lost a few at the boat until finally I managed to get one to play ball for the camera (pics next week).
It can be deceiving Tarpon fishing... they’re protected, and they have no commercial value, so in the main very few get killed, so there’s literally thousands of them, but they are the hardest fish in the world to tempt, hook and keep on! And if you want a photograph of one, you really need to be golden balls (!!!) Over his Trip Tim managed a few small Tarpon, but a bigger one evaded him. But then there’s something about this fish... they do like to play hard to get, and that’s what makes them intriguing, frustrating and addictive... it took me several years before I cracked my first hundred pound fish and I have a feeling Tim is just at the start of this journey! You’re either one of those anglers that likes a girl that plays hard to get or you’re not... and I know which Tim is. See you next spring Tim!
On route back to Miami we did the regular pilgrimage for Buffalo Wings at ‘Hooters’ bar and as promised, here’s a quick pic for all you WSF lads out there! Check out the Hooters 2010 calendar at www.hooters.com I have mine...
For more info on our Florida Keys angling holidays, check out our website www.fishinginflorida.co.uk
Until next week
Jim
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