PTT Pro Tarpon tour
 

I'm hooked on this Pro Tarpon tour tournament on the WFN. world fishing network.I've been in a few tournaments,and thought I had seen a pack of boats.
Not compared to these guys in Boca Grande. Man,I can't believe how many boats are fighting huge Tarpon in such close proximity to each other.
How they manage to pull this off without losing their tempers amazes me.
Have any of you southern guys been involved in this tourney?or fished in conditions like that?

Re: PTT Pro Tarpon tour
 

Never fished a tournament in the pass but I do fish amongst the crowd. Some of the big boats think they own the place and bully their way around (Yeah,I know, navigational rules). Little boats just maneuver around them. My little 18' SeaCraft handles them and the sometimes very rough sea conditions very well ;). Tempers do flare and there are fights!

Re: PTT Pro Tarpon tour
 

After watching those tournys on TV I get chicken legs. I go to Boca Grande with my Flats Skiff in October every year. Somedays I'm the only boat in the pass. I would rather sip a brew, relax, catch a Trout, Snook or a Redfish inside :eek:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...k/PA240051.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...k/PA220038.jpg

Re: PTT Pro Tarpon tour
 

Suhweeeet!!!! :cool:

Re: PTT Pro Tarpon tour
 

I do envy you Florida and southern states boys.I love cold water trolling and we catch a lot of big Salmon on the Great Lakes but we don't have the diversity of fish like you do.
It's a lot of fun fighting a big Chinook and they do scream line off a reel,but it "aint like a Tarpon in the 150lb range.

Re: PTT Pro Tarpon tour
 

Tarpon are fun but my favorite would have to be a permit. A 30 pounder on 20 lb mono over a near shore reef is hard to beat until an "endangered" Goliath Grouper grabs it :mad:

Re: PTT Pro Tarpon tour
 

Jewfish. None of that PC stuff here.

Ain't no such thing as a "Mahi mahi", either. It's just one way to prepare and cook a dolphin fish. :mad: :mad: :mad:

Re: PTT Pro Tarpon tour
 

Agree with you 100%. Jewfish they are. We need to do something about that endangered crap also. They are about as endangered as our northern brethrens' dogfish.

Re: PTT Pro Tarpon tour
 

i have been to boca grande the last 2 summers in a row in my little whaler. when the tarpon are there, there is always a crowd. there were no tourneys going on during the times i was there and the area was still crowded. How close you have to be to the crowd depends on what the fish are doing also. the first time i was there, the schools of tarpon were spread out all over the place and you could be patient and a school would come to you or you could slowly motor over to a school as long as it wasnt too packed with people. we had a MONSTER on for about 30 minutes until it wore through the leader. It was so big it never actually breached the water when it was jumping. probably in the 7' range. the next year(last year) the tarpon were holding the bottom in one spot which made the fishing pretty hectic. we were litterally in the crowd drifting over the school then motoring back over and drifting again. someone has to be on the wheel at all times and pay attention as youre packed-in like sardines with all the other boats. hooked tarpon were jumping in and bouncing off other peoples boats which is usually more funny than anything. its a whole different style of fishing than what im used to so i made sure that i gave everyone the right of way until i figured out the routine. also, i wasnt prepared last year and had no 10 fathom jigs which is the only thing they were eating at the time. they wouldnt touch my live bait. its fun but its not the only way to fish for huge tarpon. Cayo Costa state park is where i camped out and there is a pretty cool restaurant on a Caloosa Indian shell mound a couple miles south of there. Its on Cabbage Key. check it out if you can get down there... if i can ever figure out my photobucket password, ill post up some pics

Re: PTT Pro Tarpon tour
 

I live about 7 miles away from Boca Grande Pass by water. It is a Zoo out there May thru July.

When we go out there to fish we normally go for this....


http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/i...r/IMG_3514.jpg


Nice snapper good eating and fun to catch.

However six years ago I got this...


http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/i...r/DSCN2450.jpg

Fiberglass replica of my "Trophy" around 175 # and 6 feet or so. :D :D

Re: PTT Pro Tarpon tour
 

Look at 'ol Terry.......just showing off!! Very nice! :cool: :)

Re: PTT Pro Tarpon tour
 

Can't wait to see that 21 out there; another classic to go with all those old Morgans :cool:

Re: PTT Pro Tarpon tour
 

If those "Morgans" are of the British variety, maybe we'd enjoy some pic's! :cool: :cool: :cool:

C'mon Terry. Have you been holding out? !

Re: PTT Pro Tarpon tour
 

They are another sexy hull that I see quite often; Guides seem to like them. Sharp entry with a low stern deadrise (Shallow water capable)and lots of fishing room. I Think the Mosleys pre- date them, not sure though. I'm going to try to shoot some videos of my fishing adventures this season; inshore and offshore. Will share them when it happens.

Re: PTT Pro Tarpon tour
 

Fantastic fish Terry!

I won't pretend to know the status of the Jewfish but I have talked to some guides that regularly pull up and release some pretty cantankerous customers from the pilings and channel holes along the TB Skyway...

On the other hand, the endangered issue of many species is very real and conservation of their quarry is something every outdoorsman should take ownership of.

If not for quotas and scientifically monitored management programs we would have no white seabass on the west coast and the weakfish and striper fishery would not be what it has returned to be on the eastern seaboard.

Sometimes a stock just needs some time recover. Out west we can't sell sport caught fish. It's a good thing in a way or we'd have a mess of irresponsible anglers trying to make an extra buck and watching fish go to waste cause they couldn't find a buyer. Even so the PETA crowd is trying to shut down some of our healthiest fisheries. :mad:

Akin to your gigantic Jewfish groupa, we have a similar situation with the Giant Black Seabass. It was annihilated by drag nets and spearos in the 50's 60's and 70's. Unlike your big grouper, ours still hasn't come back. They are very approachable and will easily allow a diver within a couple of yards of them. Makes a big target pretty easy. Takes 15 years for population to double. Not very good odds for them without protection.

Dorado, err, dolphin fish, in contrast might be the perfect game fish - fast growth and reproductive rates, thrilling game if a bit easy to hook,
and excellent table-fare which also freezes well. Even so our dolphin fish stocks are not what they used to be and I'm pretty sure 50-70 lb fish are virtually unheard of in FL now, too...

Nothing wrong with limiting your kill rather than killing your limit, take what you need and leave the rest...

Here's a 27 lb young white seabass I caught in La Jolla kelp... 50lb fish are turning up more each year thanks to good management and elimination of coastal drag nets...
http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/i...Whtseabass.jpg

Re: PTT Pro Tarpon tour
 

Amen brother!!!! You talked me into it, a slight change in dinner plans, I'm going to the freezer right now for a bag of dolphin. Some cajun fish fry mix, hush puppies, cheese grits, slaw, YUM!!

Re: PTT Pro Tarpon tour
 

Luv the south!! :D

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Damn that sounded good.

Re: PTT Pro Tarpon tour
 

Yes Sir....it was!! However I've got a small problem, down to my last couple of zip-lock freezer bags of dolphin. There is good news though!!! Dolphin season is just starting, if I can afford the $4++ for a gallon for gas.

Re: PTT Pro Tarpon tour
 

Nuttin' but Chitlins, gizzards & beans at Area 442 tonite!!

Yo Sammy, yo cumin' fer din din tonite???? [img]/forum/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img]

See ya, Ken