I love Florida and I was very lucky growing up to be able to visit my grandparents several times in Nokomis, a beautiful town on the Gulf side. Being in Florida around Christmas time was always incredible, even on the 60-degree days my grandmother referred to as “cold.” Simply walking through the neighborhoods provided an opportunity for wildlife watching, whether for alligators or, in later years, wild hogs. As a kid, I thought Everglades National Park was one of the coolest places in the world, and my feelings for it have not changed as an adult, even after traveling all over the country.
Florida is also synonymous with fishing, both freshwater and saltwater. I fished with Chuck Leach (www.lakecharter.com) on Lake Tohopekaliga, in Kissimmee. Like many Florida lakes, Toho is immense and very shallow, so having an expert guide like Chuck who knows the best spots is imperative for a trophy hunt. We fished on a beautiful and clear 76-degree February day. My first fish of the day was an impressive 27.5-inch trophy largemouth bass, which is still my personal best. Several largemouth bass later, I caught another trophy, a 24.5-inch largemouth.
Even though I caught the trophy largemouth bass well before I learned of Florida’s Big Catch Angler Recognition Program, Florida graciously allowed me to submit them belatedly, so my February 2009 trophies were officially recognized in March 2014.
UPDATE FEBRUARY 2024: After an amazing and very successful trophy sturgeon trip in Idaho, I was left with four states in which to catch at least one trophy: Alaska; Hawaii; Maine; and Montana. My family wanted to go to Maine in the summer, so I decided to make my annual out-of-state trip in 2024 a very different type of fishing trip. I had long wanted to hunt a massive alligator with rod and reel and, after my usual tons of research, I found the perfect guide for it: Rick of Fla Gator Hunts (flagatorhunts.com).
The last two years I had left the usual 30-degree February weather of Virginia for the snow and ice in northern Nevada and then the sub-zero wind chills of northern Washington, so going to Florida during a 60-degree "cold spell" felt pretty fantastic. Alligators, a literal cold-blooded killer, didnt love the front though and were not on top water, but Rick knew where to find them.
My first gator, which Rick called my "practice" gator, was a 6-footer, every bit of an awesome fight in its own right. Fighting an alligator on rod and reel was even more exhilarating than I had hoped. The fight was hard and unpredictable, and I truly had no idea what was going to happen at any given point. I got the practice gator in and Rick was able to tape its mouth for pictures before letting it go. That's right: you can do catch and release fishing for alligator if you do it right! I thought that was pretty cool.
We then cruised the ponds and shoreline looking for a big one. Rick spotted a 10-footer cruising on one end of a pond, but he went under before we got there. I tried a few blind casts looking for him, before Rick signaled me that he was on the other end of the pond. I stalked him carefully and made a cast over him. He dove under the water but I made a quick jerk with the snatch hook and I had him on! This fight was noticeably harder than my practice gator. People ask how it compared to a big fish, and it's difficult to say. I was using 150-pound test, which is heavier than I used to catch my 900-pound bluefin tuna or any of my several hundred pound sturgeon. But despite that, I still had to fight like crazy, especially because hooked gators will head for underground roots to escape and, quite frankly, turning a massive apex predator when he's trying to do something else is difficult, to say the least.
The gator was only about 25 yards away when I hooked him, and the pond wasn't huge, yet it took me about half an hour to get him to the shore. At that point I had fought him almost to death, but still had to pull him up the bank. The scene would have been familiar to any parent: I am pulling with everything I've got, but the petulant child on the other end (in this case, the massive gator) has dug his feet into the sand and is not budging. This went on for quite a while before I finally got him up the bank. This magnificent gator measured 10 feet 2 inches and was estimated to be 270 pounds! A true trophy gator. The entire hunt was an unbelievable experience and I hope to be able to do it again one day!
UPDATE FEBRUARY 2025: 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!
