In 2004, a Miami friend of mine’s family were out on their porch giving out Halloween candy when a little black dachshund mix walked up and sat down with them. It was dirty, covered with fleas and had no collar. It didn’t seem like it wanted to leave so they fed it, washed it and let it stay inside the front yard fence. They figured that the owners would come looking for it, find it and claim it. After a few days, they realized they had adopted a new dog. They named her Lola. I was over their house frequently back then and I got to know Lola well. I noticed that of the three other rescues they had, she ran the roost. She was a balance of sweet and smart with feisty and tough. I fell in love with Lola instantly.

I was teaching middle school at the time. My summer break began that June. It’s nice to have summers off, but most people work 40 hours, so as a teacher you wind up spending a lot of weekdays by yourself. My friends knew how much I adored Lola and that I had a lot of time on my hands, so they let her come over for a play date. The play dates turned into sleepovers, which turned into days at a time. It got to the point where it killed me to bring her back. They had mercy on me. I became the proud owner of Lola and we became inseparable.

I’ve always spent as much time on the water as possible. On her first trip out, Lola took to the boat immediately. She was so excited and overtly happy to be there. When we were stopped she would sniff everything, run around and explore the boat. When we took off she would jump up next to me and put her head on my lap contently. Needless to say, I was thrilled about it. She was a bit scared of fishing rods at first, due to what I figured out was previous trauma regarding brooms. It didn’t take her too many trips to realize that the sound of a screaming reel meant incoming flapping, smelly fish to pounce on, bite and lick. Her fear turned to adoration. Sometimes you’d find her staring longingly at a rod and reel waiting for it to produce its magic. There have been many times since where if you take a lot of casts without hooking a fish, she’ll look at you and give you a frustrated yelp. Like, “Catch something already!”

Not long after becoming Lola’s dad, I traded teaching for captaining. Lola and I started spending 24/7 together. She came on almost all of my fishing trips and seemed to love every minute of them. If I didn’t take her for some reason (rough seas for example) she would wait anxiously by the door all day. Upon my return, she would give me the cold shoulder for a few hours. Just to be sure I knew what she thought of me leaving her home. Clients got to know and adore her. She became a fixture in lots of my many photos and Facebook posts. Once I even got a call from a client saying, “We’d like to know if Lola is free to go fishing on April 3rd? Oh, and if you’re free you can come too.”

When we are fishing, Lola is on point. When she hears the drag go out, her excitement boils over.  She jumps to and fro, runs over the where the angler is and will even give high-pitched yelps. As soon as the fish comes into the boat, she pounces. She leaps on top of it and starts growling and attacking. Basically she goes from sweet, loving companion to crazy attack pooch in 0.1 seconds. She reacts differently towards different species and has preferences and dislikes. Here are some examples:

Ladyfish: Her number one, all time favorite. She even knows one is on the line before we get it in the boat. She goes ballistic on them. The only fish that she will out-right eat. After she helps it along its way to fish heaven, she proceeds to eat it. She’ll hold it in her paws, start at the face and devour it from head to tail; literally. I’ve seen her devour a foot-long ladyfish, roll on her back and lay around fat and happy for an hour or more.

Trout, Jack, Snapper, Snook, Grouper, Pompano, Pinfish, Mahi, Tuna, etc.: They get a pounce, growls, a bite or two and more growls until they stop moving or taken away from her. At which point she returns to search for more action.

Redfish: For some reason they make her nervous and she avoids them. It might have to do with the low-pitch sound they emit from their throats. They get the name Red Drum from it  (not to be confused with “REDRUM” from the movie, The Shining).

Sharks and Cobia: She goes especially berserk over them. She will attack until they are either quickly released or put in the cooler. A shark is the only species she’s actually leaped from the boat after. She once jumped on top of one, swam after it and bit it repeatedly. Luckily it was a small one and in shallow water.

Lizardfish: She doesn’t like them. Neither do I for that matter.

Crabs: She will go to WAR with blue crabs. She becomes out-right apoplectic when they come on board. She and big blue crabs fight like a cobra and mongoose. She’s as fast as a mongoose could be, despite the scar on her ear from one slip-up. I always let the crabs go before she can hurt them.

Lobsters and Shrimp: Same as the crabs, but since they don’t have any means to defend themselves; I try to keep her away from them. She snuck one away from us one time. What I found afterwards looked like a lobster that had stepped on a land mine.

Mackerel, Bluefish and Wahoo: I keep her as far away from them as possible on account of their razor-sharp teeth and wicked speed (Much more so than sharks). I’d like to keep her from getting the nick-names; Tony Montana or Al Capone.

Salmon (Lake Michigan): She mostly licks them profusely and throws in a couple of growls for good measure.

Sailfish and Tarpon: She’s excited and interested, but gives them wider berth than other species.

Horse Flies and Mosquitoes: Catch, eat, catch, eat; very useful on the boat.

Bottle-nosed Dolphin: We come across pods of them very often in the backcountry and Flamingo. When I see them in the distance, I say, “Get em’ Lola!” She immediately jumps down from her spot next to me, runs to the bow and gets on point. Her head whips from side to side in a frantic search. When she locks on to them she begins to bark incessantly. Nine times out of ten, they zip over to us, get under the bow and swim along with us. They stare at her the whole time while she barks, yips and whines at them. It happens so often that I think some of the pods have gotten to know her. They seem to be as intrigued by her as she is by them. I know one thing; when she isn’t on-board; they are far less interested in the boat and hardly pay us any mind.

Lola won the lottery when she went from a street urchin to a sea dog for sure. I’d like to think that she has the best life a dog could have. On the other hand she has enriched my life and those who love her immeasurably. She has hundreds of fans all over the country and world who ask for her by name. One day that I’ll never forget was when I took a family out who had a daughter with very severe down’s-syndrome. They explained to me up front that the longest that they could possibly stay out was a couple of hours at most. From the moment we boarded the boat, the girl was completely entranced with Lola and she had her on her lap for the whole ride out to our first spot. When we started catch fish, Lola showed some interest, but not nearly as much as normal, instead focusing more on her new friend.

Somehow Lola knew this child deserved her attention. For the first and only time, Lola’s favorite past-time on the planet was suddenly trumped. SIX hours later we pulled back up to the dock. The little girl’s parents were beside themselves. With tears their eyes they explained that their daughter had never spent even half as much time remaining in one place and focusing on one thing in her life. Their gratitude was palpable. They hugged Lola, each other, me and Lola again. There wasn’t a dry eye on the dock. It was one most amazing things I’ve witnessed as a captain and I owe it all to Lola.

Captain Dave Perkins | Back Country Fishing, Fish tales | 04 11th, 2013 | 5 Comments »  

This article was contributed by Chris Ritter. He is a Miami born and raised, Harvard educated, architect and illustrator. He has a knack for designing highly functional, aesthetically pleasing, home improvement projects. He is also one of my best friends of almost 30 years and a great guy, with one of the sharpest minds and best wit of anyone I know. We have fished all over the hemisphere together including; Miami, Boston, The Everglades, Pensacola, Islamorada, Nicaragua, Key West, Costa Rica, Orlando and The Tortugas. He and his fiance’ live in a very nice apartment in Boston.

Now that I no longer fish, I am focused on displaying fishing rods (Okay, I fish now and then, but not nearly as much as I’d like to). I decided to make my own rod holders for our place instead of leaving a bunch of nice combos leaning in a corner “Sanford and Son style”. We are tight on space, but I had a nice 24″ wide space between the bed and closet to work with. This worked out pretty well though, as I managed to get 15 rods in there with the reels on. It helps to have a higher ceiling obviously.

I started off with some 1.5″ diameter copper tubing from Home Depot, cut it into 10″ sections. It comes out rough after cutting, so you’ve got to file it down and then smooth with a Dremmel so it doesn’t tear up your rod butts. Then drill some holes through the front and back, so you can fit screwdriver into tube to attach it to wood backing. File those down as well and file little notch for reel to rest in. Steel wool the outsides of the pipe. It gets them very shiny pretty quickly (about 15 seconds). Then spray them with a quick coat of polyurethane sealant. This keeps them from tarnishing.

Screw them into black painted wood backings, staggered vertically to fit the reels. Drill anchors into wall, then screw the wood backings into these. It looked pretty cool without the rods, like some kind of a pipe organ. Now I just need to get a bunch of matching reels and rods, so they can look pretty and never be used. The whole thing cost about $80. A fun little rewarding side project.

Captain Dave Perkins | Back Country Fishing, Fish tales, Fishing Globally, Offshore Fishing | 03 14th, 2013 | No Comments »  

I was recently lucky enough to take JT Kalnay and Dr. Al Brady into the Everglades National Park in pursuit of fish. It was one of the prettiest days of the year with perfect fishing conditions. They were thrilled to be back in the Everglades National Park. It’s always a special treat to fish with people who are so stoked to be there. The bite was hot, but that was just a bonus. Here is the blog he wrote on our day:

JT Kalnay

Fishing Florida Bay
Posted on February 26, 2013 by jtkalnay

After fishing the flat water in the backcountry around Florida Bay, I’ve decided I’m never going offshore again! Why? Not just because I get seasick on the ocean, but because of the magic and beauty of the backcountry water.
Al & I spent a nearly indescribable day fishing with Captain Dave Perkins (http://www.captaindaveperkins.net/) on Florida Bay.
We left the dock at 9:15 and were fishing for real fish (not for bait fish) by 9:30 and had fish in the boat by 9:45. We saw or caught sea trout, blue fish, jack, sheepshead, pinfish, and even one shark. We tried fishing the muds (areas disturbed by feeding fish) and we tried poling for redfish. This part of Florida is so beautiful that I would have gone on this trip even if we hadn’t taken the fishing rods.

Al’s Keeper Spotted Sea Trout

When you go offshore, you see the ocean. When you go in the backcountry, you see the mangroves, the birds in the mangroves, the clear water and the flora and fauna on the bottom of the clear water. If you get lucky, like we did, you may see porpoises. And, unlike our last couple of tries offshore, we came home both with supper and with our breakfasts…
I’ll be going out with Captain Dave again next year. It’ll be worth the ride just to visit this nearly idyllic piece of the planet again. Dave gets “it”, that it’s about being out in the back country that is the thing. I’d go out there again even if we didn’t catch any fish. But if you go with Dave, you’re likely to catch some fish.

I can highly recommend this place and this captain.

JT with Dinner

Captain Dave Perkins | Back Country Fishing, Fish tales | 03 10th, 2013 | No Comments »  

I met one of my best friends while attending the University of West Florida in Pensacola over 20 years ago. Parker and I were in a class together and had a mutual friend. When we figured out that we were both South Floridians with the same passion for fishing, the transition from classmates to best friends to roommates was rapid.  We shared an apartment for three years and fished every chance we got. We’ve since had countless fishing adventures together from Pensacola and The Tortugas to Canada and Costa Rica.

Having both spent countless family vacations in the Florida Keys growing up; we had developed a mutual love and near-infatuation with the island chain. Every college spring break we would make the 13 hour road trip and rent waterfront houses there. Little did we know at the time that a few years later we would both have homes in the Keys. And by complete coincidence, we wound up living 3 miles away from each other. He got a degree in business and became a fishing guide right out of college. I’m pretty sure that was his plan from the start.  I studied social science education and taught middle school for almost ten years before I gave into my obsession and followed his footsteps. Now we are both fortunate enough to do what we love for a living.

Most fishermen have at least one species of fish that has eluded them. The sawfish was one of mine. Captain Parker on the other hand had become somewhat of an aficionado on them; catching and releasing a few each season while shark fishing. The species that frequents the Florida Keys and Everglades National Park is the smalltooth sawfish. Shallows from the Carolinas to South America used to teem with them, however in the last hundred years or so, they were hunted for their bills (called rostrums), their fins and their meat and destroyed by fisherman who found them to be a nuisance when they tangled in their nets. In 1992 they were put on the Florida Endangered Species List and in 2003 they received Federal protection.

One morning last spring, I received a call from Captain Parker. He said, “A lot of the guys have been seeing saw-dogs this past week around Flamingo. A few have caught and released some beautiful ones. Keep your eyes out and you may see on.”  I said, “What do I do if I get one? “ “Hold on tight!” he said. “Seriously though, the chance of seeing one, let alone hooking one is slim. If you do get into one, do your best to reel it in and remove the hook as gently as you can just like you do a shark. I will tell you this though; without a big conventional rod, at least 100# leader and wire and an extra-strength hook you won’t have a chance.” We wished each other good luck fishing and hung up.

My customers showed up at my dock a few minutes later. We jumped on the boat, started her up and were on our way. They were a super-nice father and son from New Jersey named Ron and Anthony Iannacone. Fishing was good and we had gotten some nice trout in the boat. We were near Flamingo and decided to do some shark fishing. I staked up the boat on a flat near the edge of a channel and pitched out a half of a lady fish we had caught on one of my shark rods. For big fish I use heavy 20# spinning rods with the largest Shimano Baitrunner they Make. I have them loaded with 50# braid, to 100# leader, to 100# wire to and 8-0 circle hook. I am a big believer in ‘less rod more fight’. Meaning I’d rather be outclassed by a fish and have a good fight than pull a fish in easily on too big a ‘stick’. For that reason I use spinning reels as opposed to big conventional rods/reels like a lot of guides do.

I put out two rods when I shark fish and usually use the front half of lady fish for bait. Then I’ll dice up the back half and one or two others and spread the pieces out as chum. Before I could grab my second rod we noticed several big fins darting around on the flat near us. “Great.” I thought, “Just what we need, a pod of dolphin around the boat to mess up our shark fishing.” Suddenly, I did a big double take as I realized they were not dolphin. What I saw resembled four enormous sharks, but something just didn’t look right about them. The color was off and instead of a dorsal and a tail; it almost looked like there were three fins in total. Suddenly it hit me. Sawfish!

There were four to six of them zipping around and under boat in two feet of water on the flats and in the deep channel. They resembled airplanes in the middle of an underwater dog fight. They looked to be from 12 to 15 feet long and they were awe-inspiring creatures! Ron had his video camera rolling and we were watching and filming when suddenly there was a boil near the back of the boat. We had been so transfixed by the aquatic acrobatics that we had forgotten all about the fishing!

The sawfish had not. With a crash and a huge spray of muddy water, one of them took off with our bait! My shark rod screamed like it was on fire! The rod was in the rod holder and bent to capacity. It was as if the hook was connected to a Volkswagen Bug instead of a fish and dumping out line at an alarming rate. I struggled to pull the push pole from the soft mud of the flat and stow it. I started the engine, put it in gear and started towards the direction of the fish. By moving forward, I was able to get enough slack so that I could pry the rod out the holder and hand it to Anthony. I strapped a fighting belt on him and we prepared for battle!

I had Anthony move as far forward in the cockpit as possible as I followed the fish with the boat. Had I not put the boat in gear and followed its movement, it would have already spooled the fishing reel by this point. “Keep the rod bent at all times and reel steady. When it takes line, just hold on and keep it tight. Don’t reel against the drag.” I said. We followed the fish 100 yards north and then a hundred yards south and then back again. It found the deep water of the channel and sounded, hugging the bottom and keeping true to its name of ‘mud marlin’. This was a serious animal and we were in the middle of the  fight of a lifetime. Definitely the biggest fish I’d ever hooked in this boat.

The Chase

We had had several close calls with channel markers and I had to pull some serious boat maneuvers to keep the fish from getting around a couple of them. Anthony was seventeen and a high school athlete. That was a good thing because an hour later he was still putting up a heck of an effort. We had finally gotten to the point where we were at a dead heat. The fish was under the boat. We didn’t have the power to lift him up and it didn’t have the strength to take much line. Something had to be done. I had to make a move.

I was going to have to ‘wire’ the fish. This is commonly performed when landing big marlin. It is done my grabbing the leader and wrapping it around your dominant arm (right in my case). You ‘get a wrap’ with the leader on your forearm,  lift up as high as you can, hold the line with your other hand, unwrap your right and then wrap it lower with your right arm again. All the while you keep lifting. The idea is to work your way down the leader to the fish. The downside is that if the fish makes a sudden, hard run and you can’t disengage, you can go in with it. There have been occurrences where mates have been taken overboard with 1000 pound billfish and never seen again.

This crossed my mind as I began to leader this monster mud marlin. “Step as far back as you can, lift  the rod up and whatever you do, hold on tight!” I wrapped my gloved right hand once around the leader and lifted. The fish shook its head fiercely, yanking my upper body from side to side with it. I applied firm pressure and lifted with as much force as I could. This thing was a monster! Slowly, but surely I inched it up. I lifted and wrapped, lifted and wrapped. Gradually we started seeing color. Suddenly it popped into view! I got chills. It was breathtakingly beautiful and enormous! It was at least 12 feet long ! As it broke the surface it jerked its head violently and rolled hard on its side.

It Appears

At that moment the line snapped in my hand. With a final explosive splash, the sawfish was released. I few great flicks of its massive tail and it was gone. “Wow!” said Anthony as he fell back into the front seat, exhausted. “Awesome! I think I got some great pix!” said Ron as he looked down at his camera. We had just taken part in a monumental battle. Anthony had done a great job fighting the fish of a lifetime for over an hour. I had driven the boat and leadered it up. Ron had done and fantastic job with the camera. Teamwork at its finest!  We took a moment to take it all in and regroup. Finally, I put the big rod in the rod holder and sat down.  I looked up at the rod and followed the leader down until I came to the hook. Or what was left of it. It had snapped it in half! Captain Parker’s words rang in my ears, “Extra-strength hook”.

A Distinctly Male Flamingo Sawfish

Final Roll

Captain Dave Perkins | Back Country Fishing, Fish tales | 02 28th, 2013 | 1 Comment »  

One of my favorite past times is catching shrimp. Not only are they my favorite food, they are a heck of a lot of fun to catch. Subsequently, several of my friends and I have the shrimp fever. There is no exact science to when they run, but it only happens in the winter months in the Florida Keys. They make the move from Florida Bay to the Atlantic through cuts at night on the falling tide. They tend to run on stronger tides and often during cold fronts. Sometimes they run for no apparent reason and other times they don’t when you think they should. It’s more of a game of hunches than an exact science.

If you put the time in, get lucky and get it right, you can do well. We use pole nets and submerged lights and catch the shrimp as they float by in the outgoing tide. Recreational fishermen are allowed one 5 gallon bucket per boat. That is a lot of shrimp. Cleaning and peeling them can be laborious, but it is definitely worth the effort. They are the tastiest shrimp you’ll ever eat. They couldn’t be fresher and they’re not ‘twice frozen’ as most grocery store shrimp are.

Big Cooler of Fresh Shrimp

A couple of years ago I posted a video of one of our hauls on YouTube. It has since received over 4,000 hits. Last week I got a call from a gentleman named Dean who had seen the video. He has a vacation home in the Keys, but had never heard of shrimping here. He said, “ We’ve been fishing, lobstering and even scalloping, but never shrimping. We have some friends coming in town from Minnesota and we’d love to give it a try and learn how it works. Would you take us?” I explained to him that you had to get out during the outgoing tide and that though the time of year and the moon were right, they may or may not run. He said they’d love to get out and give it a shot. I told him I’d call him in the morning and let him know what time to be at my place.

Dockside with Shrimp Haul

That night I checked the tide tables and even went out to the cut to check the tide to be sure. It began going out at 10:45 pm. The next day I called Dean and told him that if they would be okay showing up to my dock at 10:30 that night, we could go out. I pulled out my underwater lights, flashlights, spot lights, batteries and other gear and checked my nets. I also got my fishing gear ready so that we could fish while we were waiting, or in the event that they didn’t run. I gassed up my boat and got everything ready for the night’s trip.

When they got to my dock we loaded up and headed out. I was a beautiful evening. The temperature was very pleasant and there was a nice breeze. The moon was one night from full and it cast distinct shadows on the deck of the boat.  We did a reconnaissance trip through the entire cut, probing the dark water with a spot light. I circled back to a spot that seemed to have the strongest current and an up-welling.  There was also a lot of fish activity with splashes, busts and hundreds of mullet. We even saw a nice-sized tarpon.

The current was just beginning to trickle out. I aimed the boat into it, picked a spot and dropped the anchor. After we came tight I set up the spare battery and plugged in and put out my underwater lights. It was time to wait for the current and the shrimp. In the mean time I started setting my clients up with rods. I had a live shrimp on one, a live pilchard on another and on two of them I had Gulp Crayfish with 3/8 ounce yellow jig heads. I had two people using the artificials, casting from the bow of the boat and two with live bait drifting them in the stern. Meanwhile there were constant noises on the surface of the water from bait schooling and moving and an occasional crashing as a predator busted bait.

The anglers using the Gulp baits soon began catching ladyfish, jacks and snapper. For the most part the live shrimp were being picked off of the hook and the pilchard was getting no attention at all. I changed those rigs so that everyone was using artificial. The shrimp had not started to run, but there was steady fishing action. I was constantly unhooking fish and occasionally replacing worn out bait. At one point a porpoise came under and near the boat. He was darting around, occasionally exhaling loudly and crashing mullet. The bite slowed down some while it was in the area, but it was neat to see it having a good time doing its thing.

The porpoise wandered off after a while and the bite began to pick back up. One of the guys on the boat, Brian, seemed to really have the knack and was catching fish one after the other. I was in the stern of the boat unhooking his fish and chatting with him. He and his wife Joyce had just climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro and he was telling me about it. He was popping his jig in the current. Suddenly he had a huge hit on his rod and the line began screaming out at an alarming rate. Brian kept the tip up and steady pressure, but we both knew that he was into a very big fish and we were in for a heck of a fight.

He was fishing with a Star 6-12 lb rod and a Shimano 4000. The line was 20lb Fireline braid with a 20lb fluorocarbon leader. We were definitely outclassed by whatever it was on the end of that line. The fish made lightning fast, power house runs down current. I thought that any minute it was going to get into the mangroves that lined both sides of the cut. Brian had settled into a rhythm of pumping the rod slowly up and then reeling steadily down. Unfortunately, it seemed that all of the line he would gain would be taken back out in the fish’s locomotive runs.  At one point I said, “Just so you know, there’s a very good chance that we’re going to lose this fish. Do your best to keep it in the center of the channel if you can.”

Suddenly the fish did an about-face started to swim right at us. Brian reeled as fast as he could as the fish came to and then past us. It seemed to get another burst of energy as it now headed into the current. Brian held on for dear life as the runs became increasingly powerful and fast. We were about a hundred yards from the bay side mouth of the cut and I realized that the fish was making a dash for open water. I had no choice but to give chase. This was no easy task in a current, at night, in a 26 foot boat, with four lights in the water and four long shrimp nets in the rod holders.

I climbed the tuna tower, started the boat, asked Brian to work his way to the bow of the boat while Dean pulled the anchor. We began following the fish up the channel while my angler reeled for all that he was worth. By moonlight it was difficult to see the rod tip. At one point I went too far forward and the line became slack. Everyone aboard thought the fish had gotten off, but I said “Keep reeling, keep reeling!” Thankfully the line came tight and the fish was still there. After a minute or so I turned on my spot light and aimed it into the water. The fish lit up like a road sign and it was ENORMOUS.

“Keep it tight, I’m coming down!” I said, as I raced down the tower ladder. I grabbed a shrimp net as he pulled the fish closer. “This is going to destroy the net, but we don’t have a choice.”  I put the net under the fish, grabbed it by both rims, hauled it in and laid it on the deck. It was a behemoth permit! The biggest I had ever seen caught in my 20 years of targeting them. We stood in amazement and just stared. It was beautiful! I lifted the fish out of the net, unhooked it and picked it up. I had Brian and Joyce pose for a few photos with it. As soon as they were taken, I brought the fish to the side of the boat; kissed it on the nose, put it overboard and began to revive it. It wasn’t necessary. It kicked its tail viciously, splashed water all over me and was gone. What a fish!

Boated Behemoth Permit

We were all elated after such an exciting fight and catch. Everyone was especially pleased when I explained what a trophy fish we had just landed. The pictures had come out well and we were happy. The shrimp however, had still not run. We had yet to see even one. The porpoise had returned and it was getting late so we decided to pack it in. We pulled in the lights, stowed our gear and headed home. The shrimp had not made an appearance this time, but we got to enjoy a spectacular evening on the water and come face to face with the fish of a lifetime.

Permit of a Lifetime

Captain Dave Perkins | Back Country Fishing, Fish tales | 01 29th, 2013 | No Comments »  

Me Fishing for Redfish with Dad at 3

My father and I have been fishing in South Florida together for as long as I can remember.  His father fished with him from an early age as well. Their front yard was the beach in Tela, Honduras. Some of my father’s favorite memories were when they used to wake up, grab their rods, walk down the beach and spend a couple hours in the early morning snook fishing. Often they’d catch beautiful, trophy snook surfcasting with homemade bucktail jigs. Upon bringing the fish home, their cook would clean the fish and put it in the ice box. Father and son would wash up and head off to work/school.  That night’s family meal was fresh snook prepared to perfection for them. (It was a rough life, right Dad?)

My Dad’s Childhood Front Yard in Tela, Honduras

I was born and raised in Miami. There were a lot of opportunities to fish in South Florida and my father took me every chance he could. I made friends at school and in the neighborhood and some of their dads had raised them fishing as well. My father’s father had left Honduras and retired to Sarasota by then. He still loved to fish and sometimes I was lucky enough to fish with him. He was one of the best fishermen I ever knew. Every year on his birthday he would walk from his house down to the water and catch a snook. Even into his late 80s.

Over the years I’ve accumulated some really great father-son fishing clients. I especially enjoy taking these trips because they are such a great setting for bonding and I get to be part of some very special moments that will be cherished for life. One of my favorite pairs is Mark Charley and his 12 year old son, Michael. I have been taking them out several times a year for four years now. We haven’t missed Michael’s birthday rain or shine. They have a have a great relationship and the love between them is palpable. Mark has mastered the balance between stern, respected and revered father with buddy, best friend and confidant. From what I’ve seen, those types of relationships don’t just happen. They take a lot of hard work, love and discipline.

Flat-calm Day with the Charleys

Humorous banter has always been one of my favorite dynamics of any relationship, but I think it is especially important between family members. Mine is no exception and neither is the Charley’s. They are a lot of fun to be around. As with most father and sons, there is a healthy level of competitiveness there. Like many anglers, they keep track of who’s caught the most fish and who is “winning” at any given moment. I do it myself with some of my fishing buds. (And completely avoid it with others)

One morning a year or so ago, Michael showed up to the boat with a list of fish and corresponding numbers. At first I thought it was a projection of that day’s catch and I was horrified.  I’m a big believer of Murphy’s Law. You should never brag about fish that you’re ‘going’ to catch. It’s a sure way to get skunked.  It turns out that it was not a projection, but a fish point tallying system (I was okay with that). He had just taken our fishing to another level.

Each fish is assigned specified points. The more desirable or hard to catch the species, the more points it is assigned. Some fish have three point assignments; under legal sized, legal or slot sized and over slot sized. An example would be the redfish. A redfish has to be at least 18” to keep. It also must be less than 27” to keep. That means a “slot” redfish must be between 18” and 27” to take home and eat. So in Michael’s point system any redfish caught earns 2 points. A redfish between 18” and 27” earns 3 points and a redfish over 27” earns 4 points.

A catch means pulling the fish to the boat, out of the water or reeling the leader up the rod tip. Jumping a fish off or having it spit your hook out of its mouth while it is airborne does not count as a catch. (Sorry Michael) There are also species that actually count against an angler. They are considered undesirable or “garbage” fish. They are the lizard fish, catfish, boxfish or toadfish. Each one is worth -1 point. The angler may take their time reeling in these fish in an attempt to lose them, but once it is at the boat, out of the water or the leader is in the rod tip, the point is deducted.

We had a blast on our most recent outing this past week. The competition was fierce, but friendly. We were neck and neck for a while, but slowly but surely Mark pulled away with the lead and would not be caught.  The day’s end tally had Mark with 72 points, Michael with 48 points and Captain Dave with 30 points. The categories counted were trout, over 18” trout, jack, lady fish, over slot redfish, bluefish, snapper, pinfish, lizardfish and catfish. We had a break off of a snook and a shark which count for nothing, but are worth mentioning. Aside from the fish caught were a lot of laughs, a gorgeous glass-calm day, pod after pod of beautiful playing, feeding and mating porpoise, a big shark, a dozen tailing redfish, a loggerhead turtle and we even ran into a couple of good friends out on the water. Overall it was an awesome day and we all went home winners!

Michael Charley’s 3 Point Redfish

Michael’s Fish Tally Chart

Trout:                                                    1 point

Trout over 18 inches:                      2 points

Redfish:                                               2 points

Slot Redfish (18”-27”):                   3 points

Redfish over slot:                             4 points

Snook:                                                  2 points

Slot Snook (28”-33”):                      3 points

Over Slot Snook                                4 points

Shark                                                     3 points

Shark over 6 ft                                   4 points

Ladyfish:                                              1 point

Jack:                                                      1 point

Snapper:                                              1 point

Legal-sized Snapper:                      2 points

Tarpon:                                                 2 points

Tarpon over 40 lbs:                         3 points

Tarpon over 80 lbs:                          4 points

Pinfish:                                                   1 point

Pompano:                                           2 points

Permit:                                                 4 points

Mackerel:                                            2 points

Sheepshead                                       2 points

Flounder                                              2 points

Bluefish:                                              2 points

Black Drum:                                        2 points

Blue Runner:                                      1 point

Bonefish:                                             4 points

Triple Tail:                                            2 points

Barracuda:                                          1 point

Silver Trout:                                        1 point

Cobia:                                                   4 points

Legal Cobia (+33”):                          5 points

Goliath Grouper:                              3 points

Other Grouper Species:                3 points

Sand Perch:                                        1 point

Sawfish:                                               10 points

Lizardfish:                                            -1 point

Catfish:                                                 -1 point

Boxfish:                                                 -1 point

Toadfish:                                             -1 point

Pufferfish:                                          -1 point

My Great Friend Gainey Fishing for Sailfish. He likes to remind me that he was only 2 (not 3) in this picture.

Captain Dave Perkins | Back Country Fishing, Fish tales | 01 24th, 2013 | 2 Comments »  

I love South Florida. I was born and raised here and I will most probably die here. For a long time however, I looked for an opportunity to leave the heat, humidity and bugs of the summer and live somewhere different for a few months of the year. I considered Maine, Vancouver, Alaska and Colorado and a few other places. An opportunity came up to go to Chicago. I’ve always loved it when I visited a great friend from childhood there, so I jumped on it.

I spent my first summer in Chicago and enjoyed it immensely. The city is fantastic. There is always so much to do, it’s clean, well run and easy to get around. Not only are the people super-nice, they are so happy to get a dose of warm weather and long days that they are literally euphoric for four months of the year. While there is no ocean, there are awesome beaches on the beautiful body of water that is Lake Michigan.

In the fall of the first months I was in Chicago my parents came for a visit. One late afternoon we brought my dog Lola to the dog beach on Lake Michigan. It faces Belmont Harbor and it is a very beautiful place to be. While she frolicked with other dogs, we relaxed and enjoyed the view. The sun was setting, the air was crisp and the water was slick-calm. Suddenly we noticed fish rolling right in front of us and they were BIG! As the sun fell lower in the sky the activity increased. Fish were jumping, smashing the surface and rolling all over the place. At one point my dog even barked at them. After a few good leaps, there was no mistaking it. These were salmon! Some of them were at least fifteen pounds! I was amazed.

I had been in the Midwest for four months and that was the longest that I had ever gone, by far, without fishing. I was missing it! I couldn’t wait to get back to South Florida and take my first cast. I jumped back into it with gusto upon my return south. I had a spectacular season of fishing and guiding. I put a lot of people on a lot of great fish and for me that’s what it’s all about. As spring turned into summer and I got ready to head to the mid-west, I vowed to find out the Chicago fishing scoop as soon as I could. It wouldn’t be long before I got the chance.

When I’m in the Windy City I work as in real estate. The week I started with my new company they had a happy hour and of course I went. Who knew that this evening would change life as I knew it in Chicago for good? I was speaking to a coworker and telling him about my life in South Florida when a guy popped into our conversation and said, “You’re a fishing guide?” His name was Boris. He was about my age, from South Florida, had the gift of gab and one of the worst cases of fishing fever I’ve ever seen. He devoured my fishing stories and my iPhone pictures like fat kid does cake.

After a bit he said. “We catch some nice fish up here too you know.” He pulled out his phone and what I saw blew me away! There was picture after picture of beautiful, monster fish! There were king salmon, Chinook salmon, brown trout, steel head and rainbow trout. The likes of which I had never seen and all of them were caught from land! We exchanged numbers and he said, “I’ll send you a list of what you’ll need up here. In a couple of weeks the fish will be moving in.

A few days later we got together and made a trip to the Bass Pro Shop (In Indiana) and stocked up on a rod, reel, line, a landing net and tackle. Afterward we stopped in to our local bar for a few beers. Boris explained that as the weather got cooler and the fish moved into the harbors to spawn, techniques and tackle would change. It was also possible and very productive to fish at night. Despite being early in the season, he had already fished several nights since I had met him, but had yet to catch one.

The following week I had a particularly stressful day at work. I called Boris and he said, “Do you see what a nice day it is? I blew off work this morning. Take a break and meet me out here!” I loaded my fishing rod and my dog onto my bicycle and made the fifteen minute ride to the harbor to meet him. It was one of those days out that make you glad to be alive. It was 65 degrees, there was zero humidity and not a cloud in the sky. You simply cannot beat Chicago weather in September.

I rode my bike out onto the lake, jumped off and let my dog out of her basket to explore the seawall. Boris was in “excited fishing mode”. He was casting non-stop, extolling the weather and explaining why the conditions looked favorable to catch that day. He is one of the most positive fishermen I’ve ever known and the vibe is contagious. I find that it’s true in life and true in fishing. He gave me a half ounce gold and orange/gold KO Wobbler spoon and I got to casting. Fishing from shore in Chicago we use Shimano 4000 sized spinning reels, 7-9 foot, 10-15lb rods with 20lb braid and 30lb fluorocarbon leaders. ½ ounce spoons will cast very far with braided line.

I was reeling steady, raising the tip and then stopping at 90 degrees and then letting it drop for a few seconds. Then I’d reel steady again as I raised my rod tip and then let it drop again. Boris had said he had seen a couple of fish rolling. Sure enough, I saw one pop up just at the edge of my casting range. I threw for all I was worth and let it sink. Wham! I felt a smash on my rod. I set the hook and the fish screamed out line. I could not believe it! Here I was in Chicago on my second try at fishing Lake Michigan hooked up to what I could only assume was a king salmon. I was ecstatic!

The fish made some great runs out and then parallel to the shore. Just when we thought it’d be ready to net, it’d race off to the left and then shoot off to the right. I’d walk with it on each run while Boris followed with the net. We were very impressed with this fish. Finally, he got his chance, made a great shot with the landing net and hoisted the fish on to the sea wall. We could not have been happier! A jogger had stopped to watch the fight and he was almost as excited as we were. He took pictures for us, congratulated us and went on his way.

It was about an 8 pound king salmon. We put it on the stringer and fished for a while longer. Unfortunately, we both had to get back to work. Boris was nice enough to give me, my fish and Lola a ride home so I locked up my bike and left it there. I cleaned my fish, showered and headed to work. I had caught my first Chicago king salmon and I was on cloud nine! I walked into work with a smile on my face. I had a feeling that it was going to be a good fishing season on Lake Michigan. It turns out I couldn’t have been more right.

Boris’ First King Salmon of the Season

Lola’s a Fan

The Photo that Hooked Me: Boris’ Winter Coho Salmon

Cesar’s Rainbow Trout

Fall Steelhead

Wilmarie’s First King Salmon

Geoff’s First Chicago King Salmon

Cesar Casting at Horseshoe Harbor

Boris’ Beautiful Steelhead

Late Season King Salmon

Barbra’s First King Salmon

Golden Drum (In the Redfish Family)

Another Break from Work

King Salmon Bag

Fresh Cedar Planked Grilled Dill Salmon

Captain Dave Perkins | Fish tales, Fishing Globally | 01 17th, 2013 | 2 Comments »  

The guys I grew up and am still friends with are all avid anglers. As far back as junior high school, we used to skip class and go fishing. We’d load our gear on the
back of our bikes and spend the day at our favorite spots around South Miami.
We’d be sure to cover up with hats and sunscreen so as not to come home with
telltale tans that would get us caught and grounded.

A couple of years ago one of these same buddies told me had never landed a sailfish. We decided to take a day off and remedy this “immediately if not sooner”
(an expression we commonly use as a joke). We woke up early, got our gear
together and headed out. It was a nice day with just the type of peaked chop
that sailfish commonly feed in. This gives them the advantage of being able to
sneak up, cut across the wave crests and crash into their prey. We stopped at a
spot we knew and were able to use chum and Sabiki rigs (six tiny lures in a
row) and procure an assortment of great baits. In this case, we caught big
pilchards, cigar minnows and a few goggle-eyes.

The way we fish is for sailfish is relatively simple. We stop the boat between 80 and
160 feet of water, shut the engine down, turn sideways and put out a sea
anchor. This is a large canvas sock tied off to the bow which catches the water
and slows the boat’s drift speed. The breeze was out of the east, which would blow us from deep to shallow, so we put out our sea anchor and began our drift in about 160 feet of water.

Our spread consisted of two baits on the surface, one mid-water and two near the
bottom. We took our places near our rods and started our vigil. We didn’t have
to wait long before the surface line nearest me popped off of the copper wire.
When sail-fishing, it’s necessary to leave the bail open and the line held in
place with a piece of wire. This referred to as “putting it in the
copper”. It allows the fish to approach the bait, swat it with its bill,
grab it and eat it while still on the hook. Otherwise the fish will knock your
bait off of the hook and eat it, but you will miss your shot at catching it.

I closed the bail, came tight on the fish and off it ran. It did not jump at all, but
sounded and began circling the boat. That is typical behavior of a tuna. True
to form, it was a black fin tuna in the ten pound range. Not the billfish we
were shooting for, but great table fare none the less. I cut a small slit just
behind the gills and ‘bled it’ over the side of the boat. This is done with
tunas because they are very bloody fish and to remove some of the lactic acid
that has built up in the meat during the fight. Lactic acid degrades the
quality of the meat. I washed it off and put it deep into the ice in the
cooler. We were glad to have some dinner in the boat.

I re-baited the hook, casted it back out and waited for our next opportunity. A
few minutes later, the line on the top water rod nearest to my buddy popped off
of the copper and began ripping off of the reel. He gave it a few seconds to
run, closed the bail and came tight on the line. It started screaming line off
of the reel like a rocket. This was followed by a huge explosion and splash as
a beautiful sailfish broke the surface repeatedly.

We were stoked, but focused on making the “hook up” turn into a
“catch”. In the fishing world, that is achieved by physically
touching the heavier line near the hook known as the leader. The best way to
“catch” a big fish on a spinning rod is to put the angler on the bow
of the boat and slowly follow the fish with the engine in gear. This avoids
having too much line taken off of the spool. It’s also better for the fish, as
it shortens the fight, thereby reducing the stress on it. I ran around the boat
and reeled in all of our baits, pulled the sea anchor, started the engine and
began the pursuit.

The sailfish was average sized for the Atlantic species, but it fought like a
champion. It made several runs, cuts, turns and some more spectacular jumps. I
followed the fish with the boat, putting it in and out of gear as the situation
warranted. My buddy had the angling experience to play it perfectly and after
about 20 minutes or so, he had the fish alongside the boat.

A couple of high fives and photos later we began the task of reviving the sailfish.
This is done by holding the fish in the water by the base of the bill and idling
forward slowly. By moving the fish forward through the water, you increase the
oxygen going into the gills. After a few minutes, the fish will begin moving,
wagging its tail and biting on your hand as you hold it. This is when you know its
okay to release the fish.

Unfortunately in this case, the fish was not responding like it should have. After taking turns holding the bill and driving the boat for quite some time, we realized
that the sailfish was in real trouble. Passionate anglers learn to respect the
fish that they catch, especially ones who put up a great fight. That combined
with the fact that this was my friend’s first billfish, made him decide to take
more extreme measures. He found a dive mask, grabbed the fish by the bill and
jumped overboard with it.

We idled along while my friend held onto the sail’s bill with one hand and the bow-rail of my boat with the other. As we cruised along I noticed that according the
gps, we were coming back into the area where we had landed the tuna in about
160 feet of water. I was thinking that it was good because we would be able to
start our next drift from this spot again. Other implications didn’t cross my
mind at the time.

Suddenly my friend, who is one of the most fearless guys I’ve ever known, let out a yell and began walking on the water in an attempt to get into the boat. The trouble
was that he refused to let go of the fish in the process. He was stuck flailing
on the bow-rail, half in and half out of the water. He was screaming, “Get
us in the boat!!! Get us in the boat!!!” He was holding onto that sailfish
as if it was his first born.

It didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out what was causing my friend distress. I looked down and could see the tail of the fish dangling between his flailing feet and a huge dark shape directly underneath. Instead of trying to get them both out awkwardly, I grabbed the sailfish by the bill, leaned back and fell back into the boat with it on top of me. My friend came flying in over the side and we found ourselves in a tangled mess on the bow of the boat.

“Shark! Shark! A big f*#@ing bull shark!” he gasped. “That thing was HUGE! I can’t believe you pulled the fish in and not me!” I just shook my head and said, “It
wanted the sailfish! I thought I’d just take it out of the equation. Did you
consider just giving it to him?” His response was, “No way man!”

He told me that while he was in the water with the fish, he felt like something was watching him. He looked down to see a ten foot, 500 pound bull shark coming right for him. It was agitated and ‘lit up’ with its pectorals and dorsal fin pointing straight out in an attack posture. There’s no way to know how long the shark had been watching the action and following the sailfish. Possibly it had been in the area since we bled the tuna. The blood in the water probably hadn’t helped the situation one way or another.

As we feared, the sailfish did not survive the ordeal. We were really bummed out, but we figured that since it did die, we’d at least make use of it. We ended up taking it home and having the meat smoked. It came out excellent and we had plenty to share with friends and family. Not what we wanted, but at least the fish did not go to waste.

After the ordeal, we cleaned up the boat, got ourselves together and put out more lines. We wound up having a stellar day. We caught two more nice tuna, a big kingfish and a sizable mutton snapper. On our final drift we caught another sailfish. This one was released happy and healthy to fight another day.

Another sailfish, shark and story…

Captain Dave Perkins | Fish tales, Offshore Fishing | 04 17th, 2012 | No Comments »  

While fishing the edge of the reef with friends and family I had quite an interesting situation occur. We were easing along in about 120 feet of water looking to do some fishing. It was a perfect morning. The winds were light, there wasn’t a cloud in the sky and the water was a perfect aqua blue color. There was a steady current and it was obvious from the conditions that the Gulf Stream was in close to the edge.

I was looking at the depth finder trying to find some holding mutton snapper to drop some deep jigs (heavy lead feathers) with fresh ballyhoo plugs down to. Spring is a good time to target mutton snapper.  I love fishing for them because they pull hard, they are gorgeous fish to boat and photograph, and they make for some tasty dinner.

Suddenly my Garmin depth finder showed that we were in 2 feet of water. It wasn’t just a momentarily blip, but it actually showed hard, steady bottom two feet underneath us. I get as frustrated as anyone when my electronics (especially new and well-maintained equipment) act up. I gave it the old fix-all side slap. Nothing changed. I turned it off and then on again. The screen came up and I waited for it to begin scrolling. There it was  holding steady at two feet again.  Now I was simply frustrated. I knew for a fact that we were  in over a hundred feet of water!

I exhaled loudly, stepped away from the screen and gazed overboard. Suddenly I saw that we were about to run aground! “What the hell is going on?” I exclaimed. “How can we be so shallow?” I asked to no one in particular. Everyone onboard peered down to see what on earth I could possibly be talking about.

Suddenly the “ground” started easing out from under us and it was covered in spots! It was a thirty-foot whale shark! It was an amazing sight to behold. It was longer and wider than the boat, and breathtakingly beautiful. It came up next to us, stuck its face up out the water and just hovered there.

My sister grabbed my camera and started snapping pictures while we watched this amazing creature to see what it was going to do next. She asked, “Are those sharks down there under it?” My friend Gainey, who is an experienced angler, grabbed a mask and stuck his head over the side into the water to take a closer look at what my sister had seen.

“Those are cobia!” he exclaimed.  Cobia are a highly sought after sport fish. They do indeed look like sharks. ”There are two of them. They must go sixty or seventy pounds!” he exclaimed as he shook the water out of his ears and threw down the mask. He began busying himself with rigging a rod that could handle those massive fish.

Meanwhile the whale shark had come behind my boat and began to scratch its head and back on the skeg and propeller of my outboard engine. (I had taken the boat out of gear) It was rubbing itself so thoroughly that my vessel was lifting up in the water and side-to-side a bit.  At this point I was totally enamored by this amazing creature and flabbergasted by it’s behavior.

I was in the back of the boat as close to the whale shark as I could get. I reached down and began to pet and scratch the big fish on its head. It seemed to be as intrigued by me as I was by it. It abandoned my engine and popped its head up behind the boat like a pet dog seeking its master’s affection. It stared right into my eyes as I pet and scratched its head. My sister took my camera, which was waterproof, stuck it in the water and began trying to take underwater shots of our new friend.

Gainey began pitching a deep jig with a whole fresh ballyhoo attached to the swimming cobia.  I love cobia. They are another one of my favorite fish to catch. I have to admit that I was much more interested in the whale shark and enjoying our ‘moment’ with it than in fishing in that instance. The cobia pursued the jig halfheartedly and one even nipped the back of the ballyhoo, but it was pretty clear that they were more concerned with following their host whale shark than eating our lure and bait.

Finally the whale shark began flicking its tail and started easing away from us. We followed for a bit while Gainey took a few more casts at the cobia. The beautiful creature began lazily swimming down into the depths. Deeper and deeper it dropped. It showed clearly on my ‘functioning’ depth finder (We were in 130 feet of water) for a while until finally it swam out of range.

It was an amazing experience that none of us are ever going to forget. We lamented not hooking the cobia of course, but we were far from disappointed. It was another great day of many. Another “fix” for our mutual addictions to the ocean, fishing and getting out on the water. 

 If you look closely near the center of the bottom photo you can see one of the cobia following the whale shark.

Captain Dave Perkins | Fish tales, Offshore Fishing | 04 29th, 2010 | 1 Comment »  

I was fishing Flamingo with angler Hernan Cortes and his cousin Tony Carnot in one of Flamingo’s many productive shallow water bights on an absolutely gorgeous day recently. We were poling in 8 inches of water when I saw a large shiny tail fin flick and twitter on the surface heading in our general direction. I started poling as quickly as I quietly could towards the tailing fish.

The tail belonged to a massive tarpon that was cruising slowly up into the bight foraging for food along the way. We were poling to cast for redfish so my anglers had light rods and reels with 15# test braid, 30# fluorocarbon leaders and shallow running lures. As we eased closer, we saw that the top tail fin was almost a foot long! It was a monster of a fish!  It was translucent silver and it flashed in the bright sun as it flicked back and forth as it hunted nose down along on the bottom.

Leaping 100# Tarpon on Trout Rod

Our hearts were pounding in our chests as it got closer and closer and we eased into casting range. Tony and Hernan began taking casts and running their baits in front of this gorgeous creature trying to entice it to bite. They made several beautiful casts at the fish, but it either didn’t notice the lures in the dirty water or wasn’t interested. The fish was moving into the wind and it was slowly out pacing us as I pushed us along in the shallow mud bottom. It was just about out of casting range and now and directly up wind of us.

“This is your last shot!” I whispered, as Hernan took one final cast at the departing fish. The cast was perfectly placed. Landing just in front of the fish and trailing right in front of its face. The water ERUPTED with an explosion of water as the massive fish slammed the lure and took off with a crash towards the mouth of the bight. It began greyhounding in the shallow water at a tremendous speed. I didn’t think we had a prayer of catching this fish as it smoked the drag and dumped line from the small reel!

We had to give it a shot though! I lowered the engine so the prop was barely in the water and fired it up. “Hold on!” I yelled and I eased it in to gear. We started moving forward in pursuit of the fish while Hernan held on for dear life. At this point there were only a few precious feet of backing left on the spool!

We couldn’t go very fast at all because the water was so shallow and the engine was trimmed up so high, but we were beginning to move at a slow but steady clip in pursuit of the fish. We chased it as it began making its way across the shallow bight. We’d gain line for a while and then the frantic tarpon would take off again till the silver at the end of the spool showed several times.

After about a half hour (which seemed like a lifetime) we started getting a bit more line back and we got into a bit of a rhythm with the fish. Suddenly it changed tactics and shot directly towards the boat. I knew we were in trouble because in that shallow and muddy bottom we had almost no maneuverability. The fish bulleted behind the boat and took the line under the engine. With a loud “Pop” sound that every fisherman dreads, the line broke. We were heart-broken!

At this point we needed a break from the intensity of hunting the shallows, so I decided to take us over to a nice productive bay to do some drift fishing for trout. I put out my sea anchor, turned the wheel and we began drifting. We started casting leaded jig heads hooked with Gulp shrimp tails and popping them off the bottom. We casted the jigs and relaxed in the boat as we talked and lamented the one that got away.

The trout, ladyfish and jack bite was steady and fun. I was hoping to catch a couple of ladyfish that were small enough to use for live bait at our next spot. Hernan hooked into a nice little ladyfish about ten inches long and it jumped and somersaulted on the starboard side of the boat as he reeled it in. “That’s a perfect bait size!” I said. “Try to get in into the boat before it gets off.” The three of us were watching as the ladyfish leaped frantically out of the water near the transom of the boat.

From behind and under it came a monster hundred pound tarpon! It launched itself into the air in pursuit of the ladyfish. It smashed it with the force of a freight train! The ladyfish flew twenty feet up and over the boat! The tarpon however, was hooked! I screamed “Take it to the front of the boat!” as I started the boat and ran forward to yank the sea anchor out of the water. I could hear the line screaming from the reel and I could see that Hernan was already down well into the backing on the spool.

I hooked a sharp right and followed the fish at a steady clip. It was leaping and crashing and ripping line furiously from the reel. The shallow water that had cost us the last big fish did not hamper us this time as the depth was about four feet. We wanted that fish! Left and right and forward I motored after that tarpon. I could hear Tony’s expensive looking Leica camera clicking as he photographed the fight. He was concentrating on trying to get pictures of the fish while it was airborne.

Hernan was focused on reeling and trying to gain as much line as he could. We would gain on the fish for a while and then watch in frustration as it ripped all the line he had gained out of the reel again. Finally, after about an hour (and about four miles) of chasing the fish, we had it by the leader and boat-side. We released the tarpon to fight another day.  Hernan was exhausted, but elated. Tony claimed to have gotten some beautiful pictures. I was happy for my anglers and thrilled at the chance to have gotten a little bit of redemption. We had been totally out-classed by that beautiful tarpon, but we refused to be beaten.

Check out this video of the shallow water tarpon fight:

Tarpon in Shallow Water That Got Away

Captain Dave Perkins | Back Country Fishing, Fish tales | 03 29th, 2010 | 1 Comment »