This is what happens when you bring a Green (Not tired) Tarpon on board the boat with Treble hooks still in his mouth. The morning started out as one of those days that you can only describe as Epic! There were hundreds of tarpon rolling around everywhere. No other boats in sight to ruin our experience. So we proceeded to throw our Rapala plugs in as many directions as possible. With no exaggerating I can honestly say we would hook up every 2-3 casts.
After about an hour of playing with these beasts we decided to try to get one up on the boat for a frame able picture. The fish we chose was the average sized tarpon that day. (80 Pounds) Well the fish rolled over on its side and appeared to be ready for me to bring him aboard. That particular day I didn't have a lip gaff on the boat and grabbed him in the mouth with my hands. I stretched him across the bow of the boat and just then he began to go crazy. Over and Over he proceeded to beat the boat and myself up with his massive tail. I tried to control him by latching on to his mouth tighter. Well before I knew it I tried to just let go and let him do his own thing. Well to my dismay he had somehow wiggled that huge treble hook through my glove and into the palm of my right hand. I honestly didn't feel it. Probably because of the adrenalin from all the excitement.
All I knew is I didn't volunteer to be strapped into that saddle. After a whole lot of straddling and fighting we managed to cut this thick hook in half so I was release from the fish. I managed to get the plug out and we safely released this fish. Well after that we managed to fish for a little bit longer and jumped a few more fish. But the hook was buried too deep and I couldn't get the bleeding to stop so we decided to head back to the ramp. We still were grinning from ear to ear from what we just experienced and even after all the pain Tarpon fishing is one of my favorite things to do in the entire world! Now I just have a greater appreciation for these Silver Kings.
