Key West Tarpon-Bull Shark Tango

Another close call with a big Bull Shark

Yesterday was one of those good news, bad news stories but, one you never forget.
Early AM we missed the first three Tarpon that grabbed our quarter sized crabs on the flat
and that was it for the morning.
We had dozens of Tarpon swimming by, around and over us, many of our offerings were turned down so missing those three chances hurt....a lot.

At the top of the incoming tide it was all over, the Tarpon had melted off the flat and away with the falling Tide. We checked a few more spots and saw...zero

"Well Boys, lets take a ride" Ten miles later I pulled the skiff off plane and slid into the river "Hope" We saw Blue Runners crashing glass minnows, Turtles, Eagle Rays but no Tarpon!

Driving the push pole into the bottom and securing it, we watched more Blue Runners and minnows and waited.

Whats that, down the channel? More Bait? humm could be a Poon!

Its Tarpon!!! 4-5 rolled two hundred yards, headed twards us ! their moving in!

Quite a few fish in several schools closed in, we chucked plugs...no takes, crabs....no buyers.

Scotty cast at the schools with the fly rod and again no grabs %#*^!

Scott and Chriss and I stood waiting for the next head to rise when the silence

was interuped with Scott jumping, the fly line leaving the deck and a Tarpon about 125+
six feet in the air! What happened!? Scott had about 30 feet of fly line riding in the current
and out of no where, big boy sucks in the little black streamer........

Now were hooked up, backing- burning off the reel as the Tusker heads for Texas.
Down the river with one really pissed off Tarpon and three shocked simple fisherman!

Thats not the end.......half hour later we have the poon close in when, screaming, airborne
then across the flat with a hungry Bull Shark on this tail!

Scotty managed to break him off and save his hide......at the expence of my 12wt fly line.

Sometimes loser's are winners.......mike

Hammerhead Crashes Key West Tarpon Party

Biggest Hammerhead Shark I ever saw!

We were in major Tarpon, the Tarpon were in major panic when thundering across the sand
looking more like a runaway train than a fish and BANG CRASH!
Tarpon scattering 360 like a motorcycle gang running from the crime, some jumping, all shatting themselve's.
I have seen some big sharks in the 35 years I have been fishing in the tropic blue but,
this is the biggest Hammerhead I have ever seen!

My smaller flats skiff is 16 ft long and 6ft wide, this hammerhead was 3+ ft longer than the small planet we were standing on and wider, eye to eye maybe 7 ft.

When he blasted by us 100 ft away after the 60 Tarpon that went by, around and under our skiff at 40mph, his dorsal fin was maybe 30 inches out of the water.

This was a very very scary, wonderful creature but, he missed!

We didnt, earlier we hooked five Tarpon and wow what a day........mike