Florida: Tarpon and Peacock Bass

Another beautiful tarpon.

My first trophy peacock bass, 18" and 3 pounds

My second trophy peacock, 18" and 3.4 pounds

Dennis' video editing skills are on par with his tarpon fishing skills.

After catching a trophy striper in Maine (my 47th state with at least one trophy), I decided to address a big hole on my fishing resume:  tarpon.  The closest I had come to landing a tarpon was getting a decent one to the leader before a massive bull shark attacked it and cut the line.  I wanted to change that, so I booked a trip with a man who catches more trophy tarpon in a week during the season than most people even dream to see in a lifetime, Dennis Crowley (flatbottomcharters.com).

Fishing for tarpon with Dennis was a surreal experience.  While waiting for the right conditions for the giants, Dennis wanted me to warm up with some smaller fish.  Very soon into our trip, I had landed my first tarpon, a 50-pounder.  The jumps were both thrilling and nerve-racking as I bowed the rod repeatedly to the Silver King.  Dennis is a great coach and I felt pretty amazing after officially catching a tarpon.  But the night was just getting started.  I got another, slightly smaller one shortly after, and then the conditions got right for the big ones.

Ft. Lauderdale fishing is almost too wild to describe.  Chesapeake Bay fishing involves mostly dodging other fishing boats and the occasional container ship.  Ft. Lauderdale had those plus jet skis plus water taxis plus cruise ships plus, of course, party boats.  Dennis was able to expertly navigate this pandemonium and get us in the perfect spot for trophies.  And boy did they show up.

The tarpon biting in Dennis' spot were spectacular.  The first one I had on spit the hook while jumping clear out of the water and was honestly comparable in size to the white sturgeon I caught in Idaho and Oregon.  I was sad that I missed my opportunity at the fish of a lifetime... until his bigger buddy showed up.  This fish felt like I had hooked into a freight train.  It's just pulling the boat like we're nothing and I'm struggling to gain on it inch by inch.  It's jumping; I'm freaking out; Dennis and I are both swearing; the people in the boats around us are hooting and hollering.  It was a scene.  After a long fight, I finally had the giant boatside.  It was over EIGHT FEET long and at least 200 pounds!  I couldn't believe it.  Dennis couldn't believe it.  The drunk guys watching couldn't believe it.  A fish that big probably doesn't get caught very much, so I'm sure he couldn't believe it either.  It was the best.

Afterward, I assumed Dennis and I were just going to sit around and relax and talk about that fish.  But I was wrong.  Dennis went right back to the spot and we got bit again almost immediately.  Another spit hook, though my arms were somewhat thankful for the rest.  And then another tarpon, this time a 100-pounder that is honestly a trophy in its own right but that had the misfortune of following one of the greatest fish of my entire life.

In general, I try not to be too obnoxious when discussing my fishing accomplishments, but I feel like I talk about my massive tarpon with everyone, whether they ask or not.  Every single time I can work it into a conversation, I do.  Every time people bring up the Miami area, I talk about this fish.  Hell, I talk about this fish when people only bring up Florida.  It was truly the fish of a lifetime.  A big thank you to Dennis for not just filling the hole in my fishing resume, but for making tarpon the centerpiece of that resume.

Another trophy that I hoped to add to my resume was peacock bass, and I was thrilled to find a trophy peacock bass expert just a short drive north of where I caught my trophy tarpon.  Skip Stina has been fishing Lake Ida and the surrounding area for trophy peacock bass for years, and he immediately delivered with some quality fish.  I caught dozens of peacock bass, including a 17+ incher [18" is the trophy minimum], before landing an 18-inch, 3-pound trophy!  I followed that up with a slightly bigger 18-inch, 3.4-pound trophy!  Peacock bass joins largemouth bass, carp, and my 10-foot, 2-inch gator as my Florida freshwater trophies.  The action was almost non-stop and Lake Ida is beautiful.  A perfect end to an amazing, trophy-filled Florida trip!