King Mackerel, Tarpon & Snook!!!

Bow, Game, Great Lakes, Ice, Pan, Ocean/Sea, Trout
  • Advertisement

HB Store


User avatar
mrjbigfoot
Posts: 357
Joined: Fri Mar 05, 2010 2:06 pm
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MikeRTJohnson
Location: Central Ohio
Status: Offline

King Mackerel, Tarpon & Snook!!!

Unread postby mrjbigfoot » Sat Jun 11, 2016 1:02 pm

Went to Florida for a 10 day fishing trip with my son Chris & we had an absolute blast! I made up a bunch of my own rigs for Mackerel, Tarpon & Shark fishing & we got to do it all! Highlights of the trip were a big 38” King, a 150 lb. Tarpon (we went 3 for 4 on Tarpon), getting spooled by a monster Cow Nose Ray, catching a smaller one, along with some big Ladyfish, Spanish Mackerel & a ton of Snook! I didn’t get pictures of it all because I was busy fishing when the catching was good! LOL! Link to a slide show is at the bottom!
Highlights:
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image

Slideshow:
http://s37.photobucket.com/user/mikejba ... ida?sort=3

8-)


Buckshot20
500 Club
Posts: 1969
Joined: Tue Oct 06, 2015 10:02 am
Location: Central Florida
Status: Offline

Re: King Mackerel, Tarpon & Snook!!!

Unread postby Buckshot20 » Tue Jun 14, 2016 11:05 am

Excellent. Those tarpon are a blast.

[ Post made via Android ] Image
User avatar
Tufrthnails
500 Club
Posts: 3128
Joined: Sat Sep 12, 2015 7:40 pm
Location: Knee deep in FL Muck!
Status: Offline

Re: King Mackerel, Tarpon & Snook!!!

Unread postby Tufrthnails » Wed Jun 15, 2016 11:47 am

Outstanding. I'm glad you guys got on some fish. By far the best thing about living in Florida is the wide variety of fishing. I was down in Miami this weekend celebrating a buddies wife's b-day on a 35ft cabin cruiser (no I don't get to chill on $500k boats often). Watched a 5ft Barracuda cut threw the boats and people on the sandbar. It was funny to watch all the oblivious people as the cuda went from boat to boat.
Tuf- The below average hunting beast
User avatar
hunter_mike
Moderator
Posts: 8294
Joined: Wed Aug 15, 2012 3:24 pm
Location: south central WI
Status: Offline

Re: King Mackerel, Tarpon & Snook!!!

Unread postby hunter_mike » Wed Jun 15, 2016 12:19 pm

:clap: 8-)
“The master has failed more times than the beginner has even tried.”
User avatar
mrjbigfoot
Posts: 357
Joined: Fri Mar 05, 2010 2:06 pm
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MikeRTJohnson
Location: Central Ohio
Status: Offline

Re: King Mackerel, Tarpon & Snook!!!

Unread postby mrjbigfoot » Thu Jun 16, 2016 1:36 am

Tufrthnails wrote:Outstanding. I'm glad you guys got on some fish. By far the best thing about living in Florida is the wide variety of fishing. I was down in Miami this weekend celebrating a buddies wife's b-day on a 35ft cabin cruiser (no I don't get to chill on $500k boats often). Watched a 5ft Barracuda cut threw the boats and people on the sandbar. It was funny to watch all the oblivious people as the cuda went from boat to boat.


I've seen Barracuda off the pier where we caught the King Mack & was hoping to catch one but it was awesome when the King hit. I was using a homemade mackerel rig that I had strapped onto the pier rail & a 5' long 150 lb. test steel cable (downrigger cable) stinger rig that I'd made up with a 2/0 hook for the front & a 3/0 4x Treble for the stinger with a 14" live Ladyfish for bait. It was so awesome when it all worked! Had plenty of rod to, a nice Okuma 7' Pez Vela Rod with an Okuma Convector reel, spooled up with 80 lb. Power Pro braid & about 50 yards of 80 lb. mono on top.
User avatar
wmahunter
500 Club
Posts: 1268
Joined: Wed Jul 20, 2011 12:43 am
Location: West Central Florida
Status: Offline

Re: King Mackerel, Tarpon & Snook!!!

Unread postby wmahunter » Thu Jun 16, 2016 2:43 am

What is really fun is when your scuba diving and have one of those big baracuda's come by you.

That is chilling. There is no place to go.
User avatar
mrjbigfoot
Posts: 357
Joined: Fri Mar 05, 2010 2:06 pm
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MikeRTJohnson
Location: Central Ohio
Status: Offline

Re: King Mackerel, Tarpon & Snook!!!

Unread postby mrjbigfoot » Thu Jun 16, 2016 5:09 am

wmahunter wrote:What is really fun is when your scuba diving and have one of those big baracuda's come by you.

That is chilling. There is no place to go.


I bet! I've had great big ones swim by me while on a boat or pier & have always thought they were the Musky of the ocean! I've caught some nice sharks but never a cuda.
User avatar
UntouchableNess
500 Club
Posts: 2070
Joined: Tue Aug 16, 2011 9:28 am
Location: Eastern Iowa
Status: Offline

Re: King Mackerel, Tarpon & Snook!!!

Unread postby UntouchableNess » Thu Jun 16, 2016 8:02 am

Congrats on the awesome fishing trip. Going for tarpon is on my To Do list.
User avatar
mrjbigfoot
Posts: 357
Joined: Fri Mar 05, 2010 2:06 pm
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MikeRTJohnson
Location: Central Ohio
Status: Offline

Re: King Mackerel, Tarpon & Snook!!!

Unread postby mrjbigfoot » Fri Jun 17, 2016 1:24 am

UntouchableNess wrote:Congrats on the awesome fishing trip. Going for tarpon is on my To Do list.


I was fortunate to hook up with a guy, on Facebook, that was my next door neighbor growing up & best friends with my little brother. He has a nice boat, lives in St. Pete and just got his Captains license to start doing charters. Better yet, also hooked up with an old high school class mate that I was great friends with & he'd made great friends with the Captain & has made multiple trips with him so we put the whole deal together on FB & all I did was give him $100 for gas & his first mate a $50 tip for being there to help my son with his tarpon. And I gave Captain Chris a nice Malco stainless steel sheath knife that has one serrated side & one razor sharp side. I gather that a guided Tarpon trip is normally around $800.

I did a better/fuller version video edit that's 7 minutes & 15 seconds long that shows a lot more of the fight and up close at the boat!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7d7bmXGBLSo

8-)
User avatar
mrjbigfoot
Posts: 357
Joined: Fri Mar 05, 2010 2:06 pm
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MikeRTJohnson
Location: Central Ohio
Status: Offline

Re: King Mackerel, Tarpon & Snook!!!

Unread postby mrjbigfoot » Fri Jun 17, 2016 1:31 am

This was the knife I gave him, it's a commercial ductwork knife, not expensive ($14), Home Depot carries them in their HVAC section and they're awesome for cutting bait & salt water fishing. I cut up my son's King Mackerel into nice thick steaks using mine.

Image

8-)


  • Advertisement

Return to “Fishing chat”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 10 guests