JOSH GOES FISHING: Miami Tarpon Fishing

Today was definitely a fun day on my first charter fishing trip with my friends Sam and Davis. Davis fishes a lot and knows a ton about fish and marine life, just like me. Sam is an amazing fisherman and fishes the ocean in Miami and the Keys offshore all the time. He fishes in tournaments in Miami and the Keys. He knows very much about offshore fishing tips and tricks. The charter we went on was Fly Fish South Florida, and the guide, Taylor, was one of Sam's cousin's friends. Today we went out for Tarpon, but we'd also go out to see whatever else we could catch. Once we got to the secret spot, right behind Miami Seaquarium, not far from the Crandon Park Marina where we came out from on Key Biscayne, we threw out a frozen mullet, hooked through the lips. Sam and I were jigging with a white jig in the back too. It took a while before we had our first fish. On the jig, Sam and I had caught a blue runner! It was a small fish, but it was fun to start the day with a fish. Soon enough, we saw the rod tip with the mullet bend and a huge Tarpon jump. Fish on! We gave the rod to Sam and he fought the fish hard. We helped him fight the fish until the end. The fight lasted about a half an hour before we finally brought it along the side of the boat to cut the line. That was a huge fish and it put up an amazing fight. It was really fun to see the huge fish jump and to marvel at the fact that a monster was at the other side of the line. We went back to the spot, and it was Davis's turn to reel one in. It didn't take long before we heard the reel scream and a Tarpon jump five feet in the air. We gave Davis the rod and he held on tight. Tarpon are really smart and they will cut the line on whatever they can. In order to make it easier to reel, we drove the boat in the direction the Tarpon was going. Davis reeled in and got the leader to touch the rod and the Tarpon to come up next to the boat. We were 2 for 2 on Tarpon! The fish was still on and took us all the way over to the bridge where it wrapped around a piling and cut Davis's line. When we went back, it was my turn to reel one in. It took a long time waiting for a Tarpon to bite. In the meantime, I had caught two big Mangrove Snappers and we had also caught a cool jack with live shrimp along the seawall. But as we were about to bring the jack over the side of the boat, a Barracuda darted in and snatched the jack! It came as fast as a bullet! There is a reason why I have always wanted to catch one of these amazing fighters. Only the head of the stunned jack remained. We looked down on it, and we saw the ravenous Barracuda stalking the head right under it. It swam right up and ate the rest of the jack, cutting the line off, too. One day, I would want to catch one of those. After a bit more waiting, a big tug had bent Taylor's rod and he gave it to me. I pulled in as hard as I could, and it was hard as a rock. I kept the rod up high to keep the tension on, because if I gave the line slack then I would have lost the fish. I had caught for about a minute before the giant Tarpon ran and pulled like a fright train into the rocks on the bottom and snapped the line. I had caught a Tarpon once on the Mucho K at the dock, and today was a nice reminder of how well Tarpon or "Silver Kings" fight. It was a fun day fishing Inshore Miami for Tarpon and I would definitely like to fish with Sam and Davis again.