Flyfishing for Tarpon With less than a half inch of rain since January, the gulf waters have been extremely clear and have made spotting tarpon very easy. With very little cloud cover so far this month, the glare has been very minimal. Homosassa’s waters are very shallow and as a result seeing fish and rock piles are extra easy. Catching a tarpon on a fly is not an easy task and requires a lot of practice and some experience. The best bet is to hire a guide who specializes in this type of sport. My good friend, Capt. John Bazo is one of the native experts. Special equipment such as very expensive flats boats, fly rods and reels, push poles, and trolling motors are tools required to catch a big silver king tarpon up to 180 pounds. The flats skiff I use is made by Pro-Line Boats and has low sides to resist the wind and has a snag free deck. The use of twin transom mount trolling motors by Motorguide with 107 pounds of thrust each are standard among fishing guides and tarpon addicts. Because tarpon are very sensitive to outboard exhaust in shallow waters is why the trolling motors are important for a quiet approach. The last 50 yards upon getting close to a school of tarpon is when the guide earns his pay. He must first shut off the trolling motors and then pole the boat close enough to give the angler a 50-100 foot shot at casting a fly in front of the cruising tarpon. A new person entering into the sport should first get some lessons from a reputable fly shop such as Leisure Time Fly Shop in Crystal River or from the guides I mentioned above. A person should become comfortable in casting a fly 50-70 feet in any direction including into the wind. Sometimes this practice takes years and at times the sport could be compared to golf or archery. One thing for sure is that when you do see the fish coming at you, the adrenaline is comparable to any kind of deer or turkey hunting. The fun part is that you do not have to sit still and the presentation of the fly must land within the path of the fish to get a bite. Seeing a big 6 foot fish open his mouth on the fly and then close it and turn away is as good as it gets almost. I think the jumps the fish make are the most spectacular sight to witness and then the drag clicker is singing that sweet tune from the speed of a mighty departing silver king. Catching tarpon on the fly is by far the most successful method in feeding Homosassa fish. If this does not appeal to you, a great way to catch your first tarpon is to hire a reputable plugger or jigger like Capt. Jim Long of Homosassa. He regularly takes his clients to world famous Boca Grande where many people have landed their first tarpon with the just one outing. The best time to fish for tarpon is the full moon night of June in Boca Grande. This is when thousands of crabs float out of the harbor and the fish go into shallow water and become very aggressive. Dozens of hook-ups are common among experienced guides. If you are ready to try something new, give one of my friends a call. Capt John Bazo can be reached at 352-489-7755. Capt. Long’s number is 352-628-0383.