So I got a guide to take me out for a day and as luck would have it I hooked into a 150lb Tarpon on some medium light tackle with 50lb threaded line. The idea is to let these fish run with the bait and then reel back on them. Well within seconds of setting the hook and before I could register in my brain that the fish felt big it came flying out of the water about 100 yards from the Boat. Then 2 seconds later it comes leaping out of the water again and now it's heading straight for the boat, the next jump is literally 10' from the boat shaking his body left and right as he passes by. This thing was a monster and easily 6' long with eyeballs as big as baseballs, his gills flared, and his mouth was wide open and big enough to stick a basketball into it. Within seconds of him passing the boat the reel was screaming as he had taken out about 200 yards of line.
Sadly I didn't get a picture of him or the other 3 I ended up catching from the Pier in Naples but I will never forget the experience.
If you ever get a chance to go Tarpon fishing do it! It's like catching a 30lb Steelhead Salmon times a hundred.
Here's a pic of a Tarpon off the net that's around the size of the one I'm talking about.
PS-how do upload my own pics onto this site?
