Tarpon Fishing Newsletters

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A look back at many seasons of fishing!

Tarpon Fishing Season 2006

Good News for the Keys: No Hurricanes

After several destructive hurricane season we were all holding our breath. The weather bureau was predicting another season of large storms. Thankfully, they were wrong and the Keys sailed through hurricane season without a single named storm. The local motels and businesses that suffered damage from Wilma's Flood in 2005 are now repaired and up and running. Everything is back to normal-including tarpon fishing which promises to be as outrageous as ever.

Hot Fishing for the McDonalds Tournament

The McDonalds tournament is a yearly charitable event that raises money for the Ronald McDonald house. I'm proud to say I've fished this tournament since the beginning. I've met a lot of really nice people in it but admit I am not a fan of tournament fishing. Rules: only fishing two lines, set fishing times, and no bridge passes cramp my style. This year was similar to the past. During the first two nights we hooked up plenty of fish but didn't have much luck getting them to the boat. By the last night we had only caught a couple of fish and were low in the rankings. With only a couple of hours left we started to get a lot of crab bites and were able to land four tarpon. This put us in a point tie with the first place boat. With only five minutes left we hooked up a fifth tarpon. We managed to fight him through the bridge and into the bay. After a long hard fight the tarpon worked us back to the bridge and broke us off. We ended up winning for the night and tied in tournament points. In that event, the time the fish is caught decides the winner - which knocked us out of first place. Still, it was a great tournament and a great night of fishing.

Tarpon Fishing Season 2005

The Year of the New Boat.

The first thing I have to say about this past season is "I love the new boat". The added space makes things so much more comfortable for everyone. Also, the new four stroke 225 Hp Suzik is another plus, its speed makes the long ride to our fishing spots so much shorter (small joke). The only problem with the new motor is that it runs so quietly sometimes we were at anchor with the motor running - we just couldn't hear it! Nothing like the old two stroke 185 Hp Johnson which was heard all the way to the dock. Another thing I don't miss about the old motor is all the smoke and fumes. This new Suzuki runs so clean - it's just great. Yup, I love the new boat!

Fishing was very good this past season. April had a lot of good early bites and May was also quite productive - as usual. But June, my favorite month to fish, hit a bit of a snag when the first tropical storm of the season rolled through. That was on June 9th. Now, we all know that hurricane season starts June 1st, but you just don't expect to see a tropical depression in the first week - it's unheard of! As it turned out, it was the beginning of one of the most active seasons in history. I have to hand it to the Hinz party. Steve and Karen were fishing during that period and we did have some rather nasty weather. However, we managed to get out and fish most of their trips. I guess those Colorado people don't scare easily. The storm hurt the fishing for about a week but luckily it came back strong and we had a great ending to the month of June.

Tarpon Fishing Season 2004

A Hurricane Season to Remember.

Now that the hurricane season is over there is time to look back and reflect; as bad as it was, it could have been much worse. The areas where these storms came ashore were devastated and it will be a long road back. Unlike areas further north, the Keys were spared most of the damage. Still, it will take a while for them to recover completely. We lost all our trees and were without electric (which means no ari conditioning or water) for 11 days. I have a new respect for those old times who lived here without those comforts that we all take for granted. They were certainly a tough group of people. Luckily, when the wind and rain died down our boats were still afloat and we are now getting ready for next year.

Looking back at the 2004 Season.

Once again at Bahia Honda the tarpon didn't disappoint. They still did their usual wild thing. We had a great season. It started off a bit windy in March and April. Never the less the fishing stayed strong through the endless wind of the early season. By May, it was calming down - the fishing was excellent and stayed that way through the end of June. My last trip was June 28. We caught four nice Tarpon and one Permit. Once again, the crab was the surprise bait of the season. They have always been a good bait in June and add a lot of fun to the fishing. In the past few years, however, it's been a surprise that crabs have been so successful in May. In fact they have converted some of my hard core mullet anglers to fish both mullet and crab. I've had anglers for the past 10 to 15 years who would fish nothing but mullet. These guys are now asking to have crab for bait - I guess you can teach an old dog new tricks.

A new Look at the dock.

After fishing my Biddison 22' for eight seasons it's time for a change. This coming season we will be fishing a 26ft Roablo center console with a T-top. The new boat will have a lot more room both fore and aft. This will make it possible to take out larger parties when necessary without being too crowded. Although it's never really that rough in Bahia Honda it will make what little chop we get in the channel easier to deal with. I'm looking forward to some exciting fishing chasing Tarpon in and out of the bridge on the new boat. A better ride with more room you can't go wrong.

Tarpon Fishing Season 2003

Let's talk bait.

Tarpon season 2003 is behind us and once again we had a great season with a lot of really exciting fishing. However, just as in past years the tarpon did manage to throw us a few curves. As most of you know, Mullet is the bait of choice in the early part of the season, changing to crabs and pinfish more towards June. This year crabs were the hot bait from beginning to end. That's not to say mullet weren't getting bites, they were, but the talk at the dock was how many bites were being made on those little crabs. For some reason that only tarpon know, crabs were the delicacy of 2003. As the season progressed demand for crabs increase dnad so of course did the price. But who cares? You just had to have them. Once again those pesky tarpon showed us when you think you have them figured out they have something new to teach you. Well no matter what the tarpon are looking for, when Alex and I leave the dock you can be sure that there will be plenty of mullet, pinfish and crabs on board.

Breaking in the new guy!

Former Capt. Dave Dillon of the 101st Airborne Division has been fishing with us for twelve years. At a resent reunion of his Viet Name unit in Key West Dave go talking to his guys about his tarpon fishing experiences in the Florida Keys. This year when Dave and Vickie came for their annual tarpon fishing vacation they brought former Sgt. Mike Finnegan and his wife Mary Pat along with them. The Finnegans made the trip all the way from Chicago, IL. Mike was fishing with Capt. Alex on the new boat, the Mullet Man. With the luck of the Irish, they hooked into a 125 lb tarpon early in the trip. They battled the tarpon in and out of the bridge for an hour and a half when finally, with Mike's tank on empty, they lost the fish to a pulled hook. They did get to fight several other fish to make it a great trip. According to Mike it was the best fishing experience he has had and the most exhausting. We sure would like to thank Dave and Vickie for telling their friends about us. We're glad we were able to show them a great time.

Tarpon Fishing Season 2002

Hot fishing during a hot spring.

I don't have to tell anyone that in 2002 we had an extremely warm winter and spring - especially in the east. It goes without saying that the weather has a major effect on fishing. Although the Tarpon fishing was quite good, it was not your average season. First of all the fishing seemed to start early - with the migratory tarpon arriving in great numbers. In fact, we had some very exciting fishing in April. The month of May proved to be awesome - which is typical. As June approached we saw the biggest indicator of an early season - The Poloma worm hatch. This is a big event in the Tarpon season - Sort of like a Thanksgiving meal for tarpon. The worm hatch, which usually occurs in June around the full moon came about three weeks early - probably due to warmer water temperatures. Typically this marks the beginning of the end of the tarpon migration. This took the edge off the late June fishing, which I feel is some of our best Tarpon fishing. I guess mother nature has her plan and we just have to work with it.

Something New a the Dock!

As many of you know, Captain Alex Regan has been running fishing charters on a T-Craft the Outcast. Alex will be back again this year, but will be running a different boat. Capt. Jim Hunter, owner of the Mullet Man retired this past season. We have acquired his boat for our anglers and also many of his anglers. So, the old T craft will be replaced with a 25 ft. Parker powered by a 200 hp. Yamaha. We know you will like the change.

Tarpon Fishing Season 2001

As the new season approaches we are all looking forward to some great tarpon fishing. If the trends of the past few years continue, I don't think we will be disappointed. In the last few years we have seen an increase in the number of tarpon in the Florida Keys.

There are two factors that contribute to this. First is the tarpon kill tag law which has slowed the killing of these great fish. The other factor is the net ban on mullet that went into effect a few years ago. Mullet are at the bottom of the food chain and the large increase in their numbers has certainly helped to increase the number of any fish who eat them - including tarpon.

Shark, Shark, Shark, and the old conch remedies.

We are all aware of the large number of shark attacks and sightings along the Florida coast as well as the entire east coast of the U.S. The most common sharks seen are bull and hammerhead sharks. For those of you who have fished at Bahia Honda in late April or early May, this is not much of a surprise. During this part of the season the bull and hammerhead are looking for tarpon to eat. This past season was one of the worst. It seems like no one could get a tarpon to the boat without having 3 or 4 bull sharks jump the fish - often right next to the boat. In early May, after several weeks of heavy shark attacks, the old Conch tale of how to get rid of sharks surfaced again. As the story goes catch a shark, gut him, tie him to a bridge and all the other sharks will leave. After a very busy week of fishing (with many shark attacks) a couple fo anglers hooked into a shark. After a long fight they got it to the boat. Having heard the old conch tale they decided to try it. Well, you should not laugh at those old tales because after they tied the dead shark to the bridge the change was dramatic. In the morning you could not get a tarpon to the boat without it being eaten by a shark. By afternoon there were no shark attacks - and it was many weeks before we saw another shark.

I know it sounds like an old wives tale, but I guess the old Conchs know a thing or two about fishing after all.

Tarpon Fishing Season 2000

It's that time of year when we get ready for the upcoming season. I've been busy working on the boat and motor making sure they are ready for a long hard season of heavy duty tarpon fishing.

Yes, as the winter settles in it is the time to get busy preparing for the new season. In addition to the boat and motor, all the rods and reels need to be serviced. The reels have been taken apart, cleaned and lubricated with any worn parts replaced. When the fishing starts there will be very little time for broken equipment, so we try to anticipate any problems before they occur. One positive side effect of this work is that it sure does get me fire up to begin the new tarpon season. Hope to see you this April, May or June. I can't wait.

Tarpon season 2000 looking back.

Every Tarpon season has it's own characteristics. This past 2000 season was no different. As I look back two events stand out in my mind. The first was the number of big fish that showed up last year. I heard the same thing many times from the other captains at Bahia Honda "Did you see the size of that Tarpon?" Yeah, I heard it a lot and saw it quite often. What is a big Tarpon? In my mind from 130 lb. and up are 'big fish'. Last season we fought many that were 150 lb. plus, and at least three over 175 lb. Let's all hope that this is a trend of the future. The Florida kill tag law ahs been in effect about 10 years maybe it's starting to pay off.

The second event was the annual Poloma worm hatch. The typical hatch is in June on the outgoing tide with a full moon. This year it was on an incoming tide with a new moon.  There was a large hatch of worms. The worms, which swim toward the ocean, began to stack up in the tide. This led to a huge amount of Tarpon on the surface eating the worms. In all my years I have never seen so many fish on the surface at one time. It was quite a site to have hundreds of Tarpon swimming around the boat. We even got them to eat a few crabs. It was a night to remember and a lesson. Just when you think you have seen it all there is always something new to see. That certainly holds true with tarpon fishing.

Currently booking for the upcoming season. 

Email: captbourbon@embarqmail.com