Welcome to Jake Jordan's Fishing Adventures

Florida Keys Tarpon Fishing Report

June 17, 18, 2005

Greetings from Tarpon World:

            June 17, 2005: Danny Cline from Charleston West Virginia arrived for his annual week of fly fishing for Tarpon. We launched the skiff in the early evening for a few hours of night fishing near the 7 mile bridge. Danny hooked and jumped 5 Tarpon which weighed between 30 to 75 pounds, he landed one Tarpon of about 45 pounds. We put the skiff on the trailer and headed home after three hours of excellent Tarpon fishing.

            June 18, 2005: Today Danny Cline and I launched the skiff at Dolphin Marina at 10:00 AM and headed to the Oceanside flats neat Summerland Key. The sky was sunny with 90 degree air temperature and southwest wind at 12 knots. We had at least 15 shots each hour that we fished, but the fish were spooky and we had a hard time getting them to eat. Several times the POONS would swim up to the fly then turn off at the last minute, once a fish grabbed at the fly and missed it completely. At 3 PM a big female (130#) swam slowly at the boat, Danny made a great 60 foot cast and that big pig raced over and ate that “Tarpon Bunny” big time. She jumped 13 times, sometimes only getting half of her fat body out of the water, and then she ran off a couple hundred yards of backing. Forty-five minutes later I took hold of the leader and released this wonderful Silver King. Danny and I just sat there and laughed as this magnificent creature swam slowly away. More reports to follow!

Regards:

Jake

Florida Keys Tarpon Fishing Report

 June 15, 16, 2005

Greetings from Tarpon World:

            June 15, 2005: My friend Theodore Calvert from Cullman Al and I fished the giant schools of migrating Tarpon in the morning on the ocean side flats between Marathon and Bahia Honda Key. We saw several hundred Tarpon and Ted got to cast 30 or 40 times to one giant school that was packed tight and rolling on the surface. We tried several different flies but they would not eat our flies.

            We took a break during the mid day hot sun and started back at it in the early evening. Ted hooked and fought 4 Tarpon between 50 and 90 pounds during the next few hours. Two of the Tarpon broke us off on bridge pilings, one took the whole fly line and cut the backing, and the fourth spit the fly on the 4^th jump.

            June 16, 2005: Ted and I started fishing on the ocean side of Big Pine Key today, in dead calm sunny weather with air temperature of 100 degrees. We had steady Tarpon with more than 40 shots at cruising POONS; they were real spooky and would not eat. Mid day we took a siesta then started again at sundown when the temperature dropped to under 90 degrees. Ted's first Tarpon of the day, a fish of 90 pounds, ate his presentation and ripped off 100 yards, jumped 4 times, then swam around 3 bridge pilings, under a pillar, then jumped and broke the tippet. His second fish jumped five times, swam through the bridge, jumped several more times then swam up current into the Bridge and broke the tippet after 20 minutes. This was a 75 pound Silver King that fought like a giant.

            Ted was worn out so he asked me to cast to the next Tarpon, which rolled about 80 foot from the skiff. I cast the “POON BUG” to a spot 3 foot in front of the Tarpon; he ate it as the fly hit the water. I fought this Tarpon on the fly line without letting him take any line. After more than 20 jumps I grabbed the 30 pound Tarpon and released it unharmed.

            Ted is a fun angler to fish with; this was his first trip back to the Keys since the last century and we had a great time. Theodore jumped 7 Tarpon and caught that 130 pounder during his 4 days of fly fishing for Tarpon. I look foreword to fishing with him again in the next future. Danny Cline starts tomorrow.

Regards:

Jake

Florida Keys Tarpon Fishing Report

 June 12, 13, 14, 2005

Greetings from Tarpon World:

            June 12, 2005; Frank Aiello and Chris Shaxted from Chicago Joined me for the first day of Tarpon fly fishing after the tropical storm. The water was muddy and the wind was from the South at 15 knots with partly cloudy skies. We fished the Oceanside flats south of the seven mile bridge and saw several schools of Tarpon swim past. These conditions were fine for fishing however the muddy water made it hard to see the Tarpon unless they rolled which made it difficult to get good shots. We had a good time and it felt good to be back on the water.

            June 13, 2005; Theodore Calvert from Cullman Alabama returned to the fabulous Florida Keys For the first time in over 6 years to try his luck against the might Silver King. Ted is a great fly caster who is a pleasure to fish with and who loves to fish for Tarpon. We got to cast to several schools of rolling POONS in the morning however they where hard to feed in the 15 knot wind. Later in the evening Ted hooked a 110 pound red hot female which proceeded to jump 4 times and rip off 200 yards of backing before turning right around a lobster trap buoy and cutting off the backing as it jumped for the 5^th time. Ted's next Tarpon was near 130 pounds and fought for 45 minutes including 9 jumps before I grabbed the leader and released this beautiful fish. Next Ted asked me to cast and hook one, so, on my first cast I hooked a 100 pound Tarpon which jumped 3 times before I could put some slack in the line and get the fish to throw the hook. What a great day of Tarpon fishing.

            June 14, 2005; We fished the ocean side flats in front of Big Pine Key in partly cloud skies with 15 to 20 knot south east wind and poor visibility. The Tarpon came past but they were hard to get in front of for a good fly presentation. Ted made several good casts to fish however we never got a bite and left when it got too hot and rough. Tomorrow will be better.

Regards:

Jake

 Florida Keys Tarpon Fishing Report

 Tarpon Fishing Report

 June 6 & 7, 2005

Greetings from Tarpon World:

            June 6, 2005: My friend Randall Bryette from San Francisco and Australia is here in the Keys on Vacation for a few days. We fished for a few hours in the morning and had a few shots but could not get one of those Tarpon to eat a fly. I had a little engine problem so we came I at 10:00 AM and got the motor fixed. Randall is enjoying the Keys and has plans to fish with me for 3 days next year. We had a good time today.

            June 7, 2005: Louis De Pazos from Miami had watched a 1980s video featuring me with Jim and Kelly Watt catching Tarpon on fly. Louis is obsessed with fly fishing and wants to catch a 100 pounder on fly. He hooked and jumped a 100 pound plus Tarpon on his first cast, then proceeded to jump 3 more before noon. Louis was nervous and made several fish fighting mistakes or we would have landed at least two Tarpon. He is a fine young angler and I enjoyed our day fly fishing together. More Tarpon reports to follow.

Regards:

Jake

Florida Keys Tarpon Fishing Report

 June 4, 2005

Greetings from Tarpon World:

            June 4, 2005: Brian Yamamoto from Fairbanks Alaska fished with me for a few hours yesterday in the early afternoon in cloudy, rainy, windy conditions, and we only saw one Tarpon. This morning produced rain, clouds, and wind so we decided to do the evening Tarpon on fly deal. When we fish for these Tarpon at night with flies we are feeding them on the surface during their natural feeding period.

            Brian and I fished for 4 hours using my “Black POON Bug” on a floating line north of the 7 mile bridge. He jumped his first Tarpon 15 minutes after we launched the skiff and pulled the hook after 4 great jumps. 10 minutes later Brian hooked, fought and landed a red hot 60 pound Silver King, then jumped 3 more in the first 2 hours. During the 3^rd hour of fishing Brian hooked a 90 pound beauty which fought for 40 minutes before we released him 2 miles from where we hooked that fish.       

    Brian jumped a total of 8 Tarpon and released 2 during this four hour charter. This Tarpon fishing is really awesome! To quote Hannibal Smith of the “A-Team,” I love it when a plan comes together. Brian Yamamoto said” This is unbelievable fishing,” I agree! Wish you were here. More reports to follow!

Regards:

Jake

Florida Keys Tarpon Fishing Report

 May 31, June 1, 2005

Greetings from Tarpon World:

            May 31, 2005: Greg Hengle from Lake Shasta Ca Joined me for a few days of fly fishing for my Silver Kings. It was windy and cloudy in the morning and fishing was hard, we saw some Tarpon but only got one bite. Later in the early evening the fish turned on and Greg hooked and fought 5 Tarpon, several spit the hook, broke one off, we had one attacked by a big hammerhead , then a while later Greg caught a giant Tarpon of 130 pounds. This beautiful fish was Greg's first Tarpon over one hundred pounds.

            June 1, 2005: We woke up to rain and wind which lasted until four in the afternoon, then it got calm and the rain ended. Greg and I launched in the early evening and then we fished an area between Marathon and Big Pine Key. Greg hooked, jumped, and fought four Tarpon and a 30 inch Lady fish during our charter. Two of the Tarpon broke the 20 pound tippet on bridge pilings, one spit the hook after a twenty minute tug of war, and Greg landed the last Silver King, a 100 pounder, after a thirty-five minute battle. It began to rain so we called it a day and headed home.

            Greg jumped 9 Tarpon and landed 2 during his first two days here in the Keys even though we had cloudy, sometimes rainy weather. Today is his last day however it is storming now at 10:00 AM on June 3^rd 2005. Today the Tarpon and Hammerheads get a break and we catch up on our E-mail. More reports to follow.

Regards:

Jake

Florida Keys Tarpon Fishing Report

May 30, 2005

Greetings from Tarpon World:

            May 30, 2005: Keith Reed from Eagle River Alaska brought his sons Aaron and Keith T to the Keys in search of a Tarpon on a fly rod. During the first four hours we saw lots of cool stuff according to Aaron (11) like Leopard Rays, Porpoise, Jet Skis, and of course Tarpon. Keith cast the “Tarpon Bunny” to the first Tarpon that he ever saw and hooked a 60 pounder. That Tarpon went crazy and fought valiantly for 20 minutes until I released it at boat side.

            We dropped off Aaron and picked up Keith T for the afternoon session. Keith T (15) Hooked a Tarpon over 100 pounds, early in the session which towed the skiff for about a mile before I released this great fish. We jumped several more tarpon then Keith Senior hooked a 150 pound female which was the most powerful fish of the season for me. She fought for over an hour before I let her go beside the boat.

            Keith Reed and his two sons hit the lottery with one great day of Tarpon fishing. These three Alaskans had never seen a Tarpon before this trip, they left after jumping 7 Silver King and releasing three, two of them over 100 pounds. Life is good here in Tarpon World! More reports to follow.

Regards:

Jake

 Florida Keys Tarpon Fishing Report

Florida Keys Tarpon Fishing Report

 May 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 2005

Greetings from Tarpon World:

            May 22, 2005: John Reed and Gary Fredenhagen from Wisconsin arrived for 5 days of fly fishing for Tarpon. An uncommon west wind was blowing from 10 to 15 knots and the early fishing was slow. We took a break and started fishing again in the late evening, the bright almost full moon made it easy to see and we could see the Tarpon rolling. John jumped 2 Tarpon which both spit the hook, while Gary jumped two also however he did catch and release a 60 pounder before we called it a day.

            May 23, 2005: This morning Gary had 2 tarpon eat his fly but missed the hook set and both fish spit the fly back at us, John had a Tarpon come up and eat his fly but the tarpon was swimming at the boat leaving slack so the fly came out.

            After a mid afternoon break we came out and fished the late evening under the full moon. Tonight the fish were eating good in some areas John hooked and jumped 3 Tarpon all headed for the bridge, two came unhooked and the other broke off around a bridge piling. Gary also jumped three POONS and finally landed and released one about 100 pounds.

            May 24, 2005: We fished all day today in a 15 knot wind still from the west, With fish moving but spooky I guess from the West wind. Both John and Gary had lots of shots at small groups of Tarpon on the ocean side flats near Big Pine Key, We had a tough time getting the fly in front of the Tarpons face as is necessary in these conditions. Finally at 5:00 PM I found a large school (Meat Ball) of happy Tarpon near Sunshine Key, they were tightly packed, rolling, with big smiles on their faces. Gary Fredenhagen made a 35 foot cast at the school of more than 300 Tarpon and watched his fly get inhaled by a 100 pound plus Silver King which jumped and spit the hook due to the high in the air fly rod. We got a great picture of that jump 20 feet from the skiff.

            May 25, 2005: We fished the flats near the seven mile bridge this morning beginning at 7:30 AM as Gary had to leave at 11:00 AM for the airport. We saw several large (Meat Ball) schools this morning and Gary got 2 to eat his fly from the first school. The first Gary missed the hook set, the second he jumped but the fish spit the hook due to slack in the fly line.

            During the Afternoon John and I fished hard but could not get these spooky fish to eat his fly.

            May 26, 2005: Today John and I started at 7:30 AM with west wind at 10 to 15 knots. We found several (Meat Ball) schools and saw several Tarpon caught however they would just not eat Johns fly. We saw over 1000 Tarpon today and John had at least fifty different casts at them, but they would not eat!

            John and Gary fished for 5 days jumped 13 Tarpon and landed two Silver Kings. This was hard fishing with the constant west wind and partial cloud cover. We had a great time fishing together; these guys are hard core fly fishermen. Tomorrow the wind is supposed to return to our normal southeast trade winds. Maybe the Tarpon will eat better today, I sure hope so!

Regards:

Jake

Florida Keys Tarpon Fishing Report

Tarpon Fishing Report

May 16, 17, 2005

Greetings from Tarpon Season:

            May 16, 2005: Richard and Alan Winig from Pennsylvania arrived in Marathon, jumped in my truck and we headed to the boat ramp. The sky was clear with an easterly wind at 10 to 15 knots and water temperature of 80 degrees. Although we started late in the day we did manage to hook two big Tarpon on fly today. Richard hooked the first silver King, a fish of about 110 pounds, which jumped 8 times and fought for 30 minutes before we took pictures of the fish and released her unharmed. Not long after we released Richard's Tarpon, Alan hooked a 100 pounder which jumped 3 times then ran under the skiff, jumped, broke the fly rod, then headed to Cuba. Alan fought this POON for another 10 minutes with half of a fly rod until the hook pulled and we got the front half of the rod back.

            May 17, 2005: Alan jumped the first Tarpon of the day, a great 70 pound male. He was so excited that he forgot to let go of the fly line when he set the hook so the 20 pound tippet broke. Later today Richard jumped 2 more Tarpon which where both big fish, but he could not stay connected. The wind was now blowing at 15 to 20 knots and Alan jumped 3 more fish, He finally caught the last fish of the day. This Tarpon was red hot and jumped 6 times before Alan reeled the leader through the tip top when I grabbed the leader and released that Tarpon.

            Alan and Richard Winig jumped a total of 8 Tarpon during these last two days, each angler caught and released one Silver King. I would say that Tarpon season is starting to really rock! Wish you were here!
Regards:

Florida Keys Tarpon Fishing Report

May 15, 2005

Greetings from the fabulous Florida Keys:

            May 15, 2005: Jon Ziarnik and I launched the skiff near Big Pine Key then headed to the ocean side flats. The wind was southeast at 10 to 15 knots with sunny skies and 85 degree air temperature. We saw 5 Tarpon in the morning with no good shots then we headed east to a light colored flat and began to see strings of Tarpon heading both east and west. A school of nearly 100 happy, west bound Tarpon approached the skiff and Jon made a perfect cast to a big female. That fish ate the fly then spit it out before Jon could come tight. He re cast and hooked a 100 pound Silver king which jumped 6 times and fought valiantly for 25 minutes until we released it at boat side. We saw over 150 Tarpon today and got 4 to eat the fly, if the weather holds the fishing will be great tomorrow and for the next month and a half. More reports to follow!

Regards:

Jake

Florida Keys Tarpon Fishing Report

May 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 2005

Greetings from Tarpon World:

            May 7, 2005: Steve Jacobs from Durango Colorado joined me for another partly cloudy windy day of fly fishing for the mighty Silver King. We launched at Dolphin Marina and fished some laid up Tarpon spots in the back country due to the East wind at 20 knots. After more than a dozen refusals, I found 3 laid up fish on a light color bottom bank out near the gulf. Steve made a perfect cast to the big female which gobbled the Bunny Strip and took off after 3 0r 4 jumps. Ten minutes into the battle the knot in Steve's leader which he tied slipped and broke off that beautiful 12 pound Tarpon. My good friend Steve Jacobs is now back home in Colorado practicing his Huffnaigel Knots preparing for our next Tarpon Adventure.

            May 8, 2005: Richard Christians and Tony Reinhardt, two fly fishing guides from Missoula Montana came to Marathon in search of Tarpon on the fly. We launched the boat in the lower keys at 8:00 am and ran to a basin in the back country near Big Pine Key. At 8:35 Richard cast his fly at the second Tarpon to swim past and hooked a 125 pound beauty. That Tarpon ran off over 200 yards of Backing then jumped and ran some more. After 10 minutes of battling that giant Richard's line went slack. When we got the line in we thought that the hook had pulled, but after inspection of the fly we found that the point had broken off of the hook.

            Tony made several great casts but the Tarpon would not eat his fly, then late in the day when we where ready to quit for the day, Richard said let me make a practice cast before we leave. As he climbed up on the deck here came a 100 Pound male straight at the boat. Richard made a great quick cast and that Tarpon sucked up that fly. 30 minutes later after the Tarpon had been caught we released him at boat side. A great start for Richard Christians Tarpon fishing trip.

            May 9, 2005: Rich and Tony met me at the ramp at 8:00 Am. We fished in 20 knot east wind in the lower keys with partly cloudy skies and water temperature of seventy-eight degrees. Tony made 8 or nine perfect casts with Richard doing the same. Several Tarpon followed the fly but none would eat. We saw over 100 Tarpon today however they where spooky and would not eat the fly.

            May 10, 2005: Tony Reinhardt and Richard Christians met me at the launch ramp in Marathon at 8:30 Am and we ran to the seven mile bridge Tarpon flats. We fished the ocean side flats from Marathon to Bahia Honda Key and saw 6 schools of Tarpon with near 100 fish in each school. The East wind at twenty knots made for hard fishing and the Tarpon where fast, deep, and not happy. The last school of the day where high and happy, Tony made a good cast and hooked a 100 pound monster near Money Key. We released that fish thirty minutes later under the seven mile bridge.

            May 11, 2005: Today we went back to the Oceanside flats looking for those schools of happy Tarpon. By noon One school had shown up and they would not eat a fly. We put the skiff on a trailer and drove to Big Pine Key where we fished in the back country for the next four hours. Both Richard and Tony had several good shots but the Tarpon would not eat our flies.

            These two young anglers from Missoula Montana where great guys, I look foreword to fishing with them next year. Hopefully we will have warmer water next may and the Tarpon will eat better for us. More reports to follow!

    I still have May 28, 29, 30, and June 7 available for Fly fishing for Tarpon. Anyone who wants to fish on these prime time dates please let me know soon!

Regards:

Jake

Florida Keys Tarpon Fishing Report

April, 30, May 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 2005

Greetings from the Fabulous Florida Keys:

            April 30, 2005: Jon Ziarnik from Cudjoe Key Joined me in 25 knot south winds with partly cloudy skies in pursuit of the elusive Silver King on fly. We fished for 4 hours saw a few Tarpon, had a few shots, and did not get any bites. The weather conditions and visibility where so poor that we decided to quit after a half day of fishing.

            May 1, 2005: I took Billy Coulliette and Dusty Byrd from Troutfitters in Coopers Landing Alaska for a day of Tarpon fishing on May Day the first official day of the giant schools of Tarpon in the keys. Late in the afternoon at the tide change we saw 6 schools of at least 100 POONS in each school. Billy made some great casts but the water was dead calm and the fish would not eat the fly.

            Late in the evening some of the Tarpon started to eat just before dark. Billy hooked and got 2 jumps from a 120 pounder that fell back on the leader and broke the tippet. Dusty hooked a 100 pound plus female shortly later and got a jump before threw Tarpon spit the hook and swam away. It will get better soon!

            May 2, 2005: Carlos Lamadrid and his wife Tess from Naples Florida Booked me for two evenings of fly fishing for Tarpon at night. We fished for 4 hours and Tess Landed her first Tarpon on fly a male about 80 pounds. Carlos jumped 2 releasing a nice male of about 75 pounds. Weather conditions where dead calm with lots of fish showing on the surface.

            May 3, 2005: Tess hooked a large Tarpon on a black POON bug which she fought for several miles over 45 minutes before pulling the hook. Fishing was slow for the rest of the evening. Carlos and Tess had a great time and I look foreword to fishing with them again.

            May 4, 2005: Billy Coulliette and Dusty Byrd fished tonight with my friend Captain Dave Wiley. Both jumped really big Tarpon on fly and Dusty fought her fish for almost an hour before loosing it to the bridge. Dave did a great job taking my friends fishing they had a great time.

            May 5, 2005: Bad weather no fishing!

            May 6, 2005: Steve Jacobs from Colorado fished the ocean side flats near Marathon with me today. We saw 9 schools of Tarpon each school had more than 100 Tarpon, which where rolling on the surface. The wind was north at 10 knots with cloudy skies and poor visibility, the water temperature was 80 degrees, and the fish poured through. Steve had 3 Tarpon eat his fly and jumped one off which looked to be about 100 pounds. Steve and I will try it again tomorrow morning. More reports to follow.

Regards:

Jake

Florida Keys Tarpon Fishing Report

April, 25, 26, 27, 2005

Greetings from the Florida Keys:

            April 25, 2005: Gary Walker from Texas showed up with his Sage Xi2, Tibor Gulfstream, and a tarpon taper fly line ready to do battle with the Keys Silver King. We fished the upper middle keys between duck key and long key Mostly on the ocean side with a north east wind. We did not see many Tarpon however we did see two Small strings of from 6 to 10 tarpon in front of duck key. Gary made two good casts and hooked 2 tarpon, (one out of each school) fought and released both fish that ate his fly. It is awesome when they eat the fly!

            April 26, 2005: Today I fished with Cody Gibson and Rex Thompson from Alaska in the lower keys. In the Morning we faced partly cloudy skies with 15 to 20 knot south wind and muddy water conditions. We found about a dozen laid up Tarpon in the morning hours but when the tide changed they where gone. Both Rex and Cody had several shots but the conditions where hard and the Tarpon where not wanting to eat the fly. We fished till 5 PM but could not find any Tarpon in the afternoon. It seems from talking to other guides up and down the Keys that the Tarpon where not happy and there where very few seen or hooked any place in the keys. Hope it gets better tomorrow!

            April 27, 2005: Rex Thompson and Cody Gibson joined me again today; we had cloudy calm weather this morning. Cody got food poisoning and had to come in about 11 AM. Rex and I went back out and fished until One PM when the wind came up and we called it a half day. A school of several dozen Tarpon swam by us at a flat in front of the 7 mile bridge; Rex got to cast at them several times however it was very hard due to the 100 percent glare in all directions. These two Alaskans are real good guys and a pleasure to fish with, I hope to fish with them again next year!

            I just received word that my client for the prime time Tarpon Dates of May 27, 28, 29, 30, had to cancel hid trip this year. These are prime dates in the middle of Tarpon season. If you want to catch Tarpon on a fly rod this is your big chance. Please contact me right away if you are interested in fishing on these dates?

Regards:

Jake

Florida Keys Tarpon Fishing Report

April, 20, 21, 22, 23, 2005

Greetings from Tarpon World:

            April 20, 2005: Tom Gravina and Bob Defilippis from NJ returned for another four days of Tarpon Fly Fishing. Last year these anglers slammed the giant Silver King for their best trip ever, this year fishing was harder.

            We fished the early shift in a basin near Big Pine Key in cloudy skies with a northeast wind at 15 knots and a water temperature of 74 degrees. We saw 12 Tarpon had 2 follows and got no bites.

            Bob, Tom and I took off for a few hours then started again that evening near Bahia Honda Key, the wind was blowing and it was cool but there where a few Tarpon around. Tom jumped the first silver king a Male about 70 pounds, then Doctor Bob hooked a big fish over 100 pounds which jumped several times and ran off a lot of backing before spitting the hook. Just as we where ready to leave Tarpon Tom Gravina hooked a fine Tarpon of over 120 pounds which he fought for 30 minutes and wound the leader into the tip top just as a Bull Shark appeared. Tom pointed the rod at the Silver King and popped the tippet so the Tarpon could escape to fight again another day.

            April 21, 2005: Tom, Bob, and I, Launched at Dolphin marina and headed west where we saw at least 30 Tarpon in the morning, they would not bite. We then headed up to an Ocean side spot above Big Pine Key where the fish came through in good numbers, Late that day Bob jumped 2 and Tom jumped one Tarpon, all where over 100 pounds. For some reason we could not keep the fish connected to the fly.

            April 22, 2005, Bob, Tom and I fished until 6:00 PM today in nice weather and had lots of shots at laid up Tarpon. The fish would follow the fly but we could not get one to eat the fly. Lots of good fishing with no bites!

            April 22, 2005: The 7 mile bridge run was today from 7 to 9 am so we headed across the bridge at 6:30. The first thing this morning we ran into hundreds of happy Tarpon floating on the surface. The Sky was parley cloudy with no wind, and the water was glassy with lots of glare. Before noon each angler had at least 40 casts at floating happy Tarpon, we changed to every fly in my boat and could not get a bite.  At 4:30 that evening we called it a day and headed to the dock without ever getting a bite.

            Dr. Bob Defilippis and Tom Gravina are very good anglers who come prepared to do battle with these monsters, they are both a pleasure to fish with even when the Tarpon are not cooperating! I look foreword to fishing with them again next year.

            Now you may think that Tarpon fishing with a fly rod looks easy on television. It is not easy ever, and sometimes it is quite hard. The difference between catching a Tarpon and not catching a Tarpon is being able to get a quick cast to a moving target 50 to 80 feet from the boat that is the size of a pie plate. This cast must land in exactly the right place at the right time and be ready to swim away from that tarpon immediately upon gently landing in front of that Tarpons face.

            For those anglers heading to the Keys to chase the elusive Silver King please practice your casting, it will surely make your trip more successful. More Tarpon reports to follow.

Regards:

Jake

Florida Keys Tarpon Fishing Report

April, 9, & 10, 2005

Greetings from the Keys:

            April 9, 2005: Jon Ziarnik from Cudjoe Key called me this morning and said “the weather is beautiful, let’s go fishing”? I launched the skiff at Cudjoe gardens marina at 10:30 AM and was at Jon’s dock at 11:00 AM. We headed out to a laid up Tarpon spot near there and saw 6 or 8 Poons lying on the bottom in muddy water. We where on top of most of the Poons before we got a shot, then finally we found a floater near the surface that ate the fly, 15 minutes later we released a 60 pound Silver King! After an hour or so with more several follows we moved to a spot with clean water and good visibility. Jon had 12 shots at Tarpon during the next 3 hours. He made several good casts which got the Tarpon to follow the fly only to see the boat just as they where ready to eat the fly. If the weather stays like this we will slay them tomorrow.

            April 10, 2005: Jon Ziarnik and I drove to Key West launched my skiff at 8:00 AM then we headed out to the Marquesas keys. The weather was great with calm seas and sunny skies, the water temperature was 77 degrees and there where no Permit to be found. We fished all day and saw 1 small Permit and two Tarpon, Jon did make a great cast to one of the Poons and landed a 90 pound Tarpon 30 minutes later. I made a bad call today as several other Captains fished here in the Marathon area where their clients caught plenty of Tarpon. Tomorrow will be better if this weather holds.

Regards:

Jake

Florida Keys Tarpon Fishing Report

April, 1, 3, 4, 5, & 6, 2005

Greetings from the Keys:

            April 1, 2005: Jon Ziarnik from Cudjoe Key fished with me under sunny blue skies with northeast wind at 15 and 74 degree water temperature. We fished the lower keys in the basins and back country near Bow Channel. We fished hard and saw only 13 tarpon all day. Late in the afternoon Jon made a perfect cast and had a 90 pound POON inhale the fly, run a short distance, jump, and spit the fly. Jon and I still have 8 days of fishing left in April and May.

            April 3, 2005: Jimmy Thompson from Chicago joined me for an evening of Tarpon fly fishing. We fished for 3 hours from sunset through 10:30 PM in Choppy to rough conditions. Jimmy hooked an 80 pound Tarpon on his first cast, caught that fish then caught one more about 100 pounds out of 5 jumped. There are lots of fish in the channels if the wind would die the fishing would be great.

            April 4, 2005: My friends Josh Hayes and Jason Rand from Coopers Landing Alaska fished with me for a day and a half in strong NE to E wind with partly cloudy skies. On the first day we saw at least 50 Tarpon and had over 30 shots at laid up Tarpon. Both Alaskan guides had a hard time relaxing and getting the fly in front of the POONS mouth. We had a few of the spooky tarpon follow but got no bites.

            April 5, 2005:  the wind was up to 25 knots and the water was cloudy with not many fish. The highlight was when Josh had a 100 pound plus Tarpon follow the fly to within 10 feet of the boat then see me and turn off. We had fun and these guys are coming again next year.

            April 6: 2005: Strong wind and partly cloudy skies made it hard for Jeff Beadman from San Francisco to cast his 12 weight Sage Xi2 to the 15 laid up Tarpon which I found in Shark Channel in the lower keys. Jeff jumped 2 POONS of which I grabbed the leader on one 120 pound Tarpon before loosing the fish to a broken tippet. If this wind would lay down and the sun stays out we will have good fishing real soon!

            During the last two days I received phone calls from two of my clients/friends, Tom Ackerman, and Mark Sodotti who both had to cancel their Tarpon dates do to personal matters. I am sorry that these fine anglers will miss Tarpon season this year and hope that they will be here next season.

            This opens up my prime time Tarpon schedule from now until April 14 (9, 10, 12, 13, 14.) I do have an angler who wishes to fish any two of these dates. Please if you want the opportunity to catch one of these monsters this is your shot. Let me know ASAP or you will miss this opportunity. More reports to follow shortly!

Regards:

Jake 

Florida Keys Tarpon Fishing Report

March 24, 2005

Greetings from Tarpon World:

            March 24, 2005: They Have Arrived Big Time!!!! Today I fished a half day charter with Jon Ziarnik from Cudjo Key, Florida. I had about an hour to kill while waiting for Jon so I went out to a basin one half mile in front of his house. I Jumped 2 Tarpon both over 100 pounds on two casts and was back to pick up Jon with in 45 minutes.

            Jon Ziarnik boarded my skiff at 12:00 noon and had his first Tarpon on the end of his fly line 10 feet in the air by 12:15. On Jon’s first five casts he had 5 tarpon eat his fly, Jumped 3 of them and caught one about 80 pounds.

            At 3:30 we started back to the dock after Jumping 5 Tarpon and releasing one. We are fishing early in the morning tomorrow, I am sure it will be good. Tarpon Season has started in the Keys, that's for sure!

            I will be fishing for Sailfish at Fins N’ Feathers in Guatemala from the 27^th to 31^st of March. Stay Tuned for fishing reports from The Sailfish School! I will be back Tarpon Fishing April First.

Regards:

Jake

Florida Keys Tarpon Fishing Report

Florida Keys Tarpon Fishing Report

March 15, and 16, 2005

Greetings from the Florida Keys:

            March 15, 2005: Curt Trout (Alaska Troutfitters in Coopers Landing Alaska) and his son Cameron are here in Marathon for some early season Fly Fishing for Tarpon. Last year at this time Curt landed a beautiful 130 pound Silver King on fly, this year Cameron chose a Tarpon trip for his high school graduation present from his dad. Today was calm with no sun and high white clouds causing lots of glare on the water. We did see about two dozen laid up POONS however they where hard to see in the glare and very spooky due to the glassy calm surface. Cameron made several good casts but the fish where too spooky although we had several follows none ate the fly. We have all week and Cam will catch one soon!

            March, 16, 2005: Today was sunny with south to southwest wind from 20 to 25 knots and muddy waters on many flats. We waited until 10:00 AM to go fishing and the water was real rough and muddy in most areas. I took Curt and Cameron into a large cove that was protected from the wind where we poled around for 5 hours looking for Tarpon. I found 5 laid up fish during that time and we wound up with some good shots. Finally on his last cast of the day Cameron made a perfect cast to an 80 pound Tarpon which turned and sucked in the fly. Cameron had too much slack in the line and when he finally came tight the Tarpon came out of the water and spit the hook. Tomorrow we will land a big Tarpon on Fly!

            When I got home I had received a call on my answering machine regarding a cancellation. I now have the following dates available for Tarpon fly fishing, the first person to contact me can reserve these dates. (March 23, 24, 25, April, 6, 7, 8, and April 24, and 25. The April dates should be prime Tarpon tides. Contact me ASAP if you are interested.

Regards:

Jake

Florida Keys Tarpon Fishing Report

Florida Keys Fishing Report

November 27, 2004

Greetings from the Fabulous Florida Keys:

            Troy Letherman from Palmer Alaska joined Tom white and me for a few hours of fly fishing on the flats in the 7 mile bridge area. Troy is the editor and chief of “Fish Alaska Magazine" and a good fly fishing friend. He is here visiting with me before we head to The Peace and Plenty Bonefish Lodge in the Bahamas where Troy will attend “The Bonefish School" while doing research for an article.

            We had calm, hot, sunny weather with a water temperature of 78 degrees today. Tom and I took turns poling my skiff while Troy was on the bow as the angler. We saw a few sharks, some Barracuda, and several Permit without any luck. After a while  I was up in the front giving some casting instruction to Troy when I saw a shadow moving in the glare, I made a good 70 foot cast to what looked like a coral head with a shadow behind it and hooked up to a four pound Bonefish. After I landed, photographed, and released that Bonefish, Troy went back to work trying to catch another one.

            We will leave tomorrow morning for the Bahamas where Troy can hone his newly acquired skills and catch a bunch of Bonefish. I will send some fishing reports from The Bonefish School if I can get on line, otherwise you will hear from me when I get back home on December 5^th.  I hope that you all have a great week, more reports to follow!

Regards:

Jake

Florida Keys Fishing Report

October 22 through 25, 2004

Greetings from the Fabulous Florida Keys:

            My good friend and loyal client Mark Schifrin from Maryland and Argentina joined me for four days of fly fishing for Permit. Mark is an accomplished fly fisherman who has caught many species of fish on the fly rod. Several years ago Mark caught a nice Permit on fly fishing with me off of Boca Grand key which is located west of Key West. Unfortunately that fish escaped before we managed a “Lap Dance Picture” of Mark with his Permit.

            October 22: we fished the flats around Big Pine Key, where we had several good shots at large Bonefish and saw a couple of spooked Permit. Mark made it clear that we where fishing for Permit so I headed to the back country and searched the flats for the rest of the day. Mark had several hard shots but we did not get any bites. We did release a Barracuda which Mark caught on a fly.

            October 23: We left at 6:00 am and headed to the Marquesas Keys in the pursuit of the elusive Permit. The weather was good with some clouds and 10 knot NE wind, the air and water temperature was in the low 80s and the Permit where no where to be found. I saw several fleeing spooked fish however we didn't get many shots. We did manage to hook a large Black Tip Shark on a crab fly on 12 pound tippet. That shark put on one long, fast run, jumped and broke off. A slow day of Permit fishing.

            October 24: Back to the Marks looking for Permit. Mark made a great cast to a cruising Permit when we first arrived, that Perm turned on the fly and picked it up however before Mark set the hook the fish spit the fly back at us. We saw 9 Permit today and had several decent shots with no luck, the Permit where victorious again.

            October 25: Today Mark had to leave early so we stayed around Marathon and fished the flats around the Seven Mile Bridge. We saw six or seven Permit this morning and had several decent shots with the same results. The highlight of the trip for me was when a large Permit, (Close to 50 pounds) swam up onto the flat about one hundred yards from our skiff. I thought that it was a Shark until it turned sideways to us and showed that giant sickle tail.

    Mark made several good 50 to 60 foot casts to that Giant Permit, once the fish circled and looked for the fly, then swam off of the flat. That may be one of the largest permit that I have ever seen.

    Permit fishing with fly tackle is very hard to do; the angler must be patient and then make quick accurate casts to a spooky moving target that does not fool easily. Mark has the desire to catch these Permit and we will succeed one day I am sure, we had 4 great days together. More Reports to Follow!

Regards:

Jake

Florida Keys Bonefish Report

Florida Keys Fishing Report

July 25, 26, 2004

Greetings from the Fabulous Florida Keys:

            July 25, 2004: John Reed from Wisconsin brought his nephew Jimmy Reed to fish for Permit and Tarpon over his birthday.  John has fly fished with me several times in the past however this was Jimmies first time in the Keys or fishing the salt.  We started fishing the flats around the 7 Mile Bridge and ended up our day fishing down near Bahia Honda Key. During the morning while the tide was falling fast, Jimmy got to cast to at least 10 Permit on the flats but could not get one to eat. During the late afternoon we found a few Tarpon eating on the surface near the Bahia Honda Bridge.  Jimmy hooked his first Tarpon on fly, a fish of about 70 pounds which ripped off a bunch of backing, jumped twice then spit the fly back at us and gave us “The Fin”!

                July 26, 2004: John and Jimmy Reed joined me for an early morning Permit trip and the Permit where thick. We launched the skiff at 7:00 am and headed to the 7 Mile Bridge flats arriving at sunrise. The weather was hot, clear, and dead calm, and I could see Permit tailing and Tarpon rolling everywhere. Normally these fish are real spooky and difficult to get close enough to cast to, however this beautiful morning found Permit Tailing 30 feet from the boat. Jimmy hooked the first two Permit but pulled the hook on the hook set, then John made a 50 foot cast and hooked his first Permit ever. 20 minutes later as I grabbed the tail of this 15 pound Permit the leader broke and the fish swam off.  While John was re-rigging Jimmy missed another 2 large Permit by setting the hook to fast and hard. John caught his next Permit, a fish of about 12 pounds which I tailed and took pictures of. Jimmy not to be out done hooked a large permit on his very next cast. We chased that fish for several miles finally landing it for pictures; this was a nice Permit of 25 pounds, this was Jimmies Birthday fish. I looked at my watch and it was 9:30 AM, the sun was high and the Permit where gone. I think that we saw at least 100 permit during that several hours and they where hungry and not very spooky.  We saw a few more Permit on several other flats but no eaters, then the clouds moved in.

                We ran to the Sunshine Key flats at 11:00 AM to escape the clouds and to look for Tarpon on the white sand flats. During the next 3 hours we had at least 50 shots at Big Tarpon heading east on the sand. Both Jimmy and John made good casts too many of these Tarpon however they where real spooky and would not eat a fly. Sometimes when it is that hot (93 degree air and 89 degree water temperature, sunny and dead calm) Tarpon just will not eat a fly or anything else. 

                Tarpon season for me is now officially over; I want to thank John Reed and Jimmy Reed for spending these two wonderful days on the water with me. I also want to thank all of my loyal clients for joining me in the pursuit of Tarpon; hopefully next season will be the best ever. Today I am packing for Alaska; I will be leaving on Monday, August second.

Warmest Regards:

Jake Jordan

Florida Keys Tarpon Fishing Report

July 14, 15, 17, 18, 2004

Greetings from the Hot Florida Keys:

                July 14, 2004: Steve Jacobs from Durango CO fished on his second day in the Marquesas with dead calm, hot, weather with white sky and lots of glare on the water. We saw at least 50 Tarpon rolling all around us in the morning but the glare made it difficult to accurately cast to the fish which where very spooky due to the calm conditions. We had shots at several Permit but as usual with permit they spooked before the fly hit the water. On the way back to Key West we stopped at a white sand flat on the ocean side of Boca Grande Key and had shots at 40 to 50 spooky Tarpon with several follows but no bites.        

                July 15, 2004: Jim Warden from Naples FL joined Steve Jacobs and I for a day of fly fishing on the flats around Marathon. Again the weather was hot, calm, with lots of glare on the surface. We fished the flats around the 7 mile Bridge in the morning on the incoming tide and had shots at 9 Permit with no success.  While the Tide was changing around the Bridge we went out to a spot known as the “Shooting Gallery” where we had shots at about a dozen Tarpon which would not eat the fly! Back at the Bridge flats during the afternoon Steve caught a Jack Craville on fly and both anglers had shots at the spooky calm water Permit!

                As always it was a pleasure fishing with Steve and Jim, Steve did catch his largest ever Bonefish with me on this trip. Steve and Jim fished the following two days with Captain Lenny Moffo and each caught Tarpon and Steve had a Permit eat his fly but it came off. Permit fishing with fly equipment is very difficult and requires dedication and hard work to become a very good angler. I think these two anglers will become good Permit Anglers!

                July 17, 2004: Brian Demarco from Reno NV Visited the Keys for his first time this week. He had not planned to fly fish as he never caught a saltwater fish but he is a Trout fly fisherman. I convinced Brian to try fly fishing at night for Tarpon, so we headed out at midnight for a four hour charter. The Tarpon where feeding good and Brian Jumped five Silver Kings loosing four to Bridge pilings and Sharks, and releasing one at the side of the skiff which weighted near 100 Pounds! There are still some big Tarpon around.

                July 18, 2004: Ten year old Danny Dubek and his aunt booked me to take this young angler flats fishing for the day. What a pleasure it was to fish with this fine young man, who can cast a spinning rod   better than I can. This kid loves to fish; he stood on that front deck looking for the next fish all day in that 90 degree sun. Danny caught two Lemon Sharks up to 60 pounds and a Black Tip Shark near 100 pounds on 20# spinning tackle. He caught 8 Barracuda up to 20 pounds on tube lures, and Danny released two Permit on 12 pound tackle using live crabs, one weighted about 12 pounds and the other near 25 pounds. What a day of fishing we had this kid reminds me of myself when I was 10 years old.

                I will be fishing this weekend then I will start getting ready for my annual Alaskan Adventure. I will fly to Alaska on August 2nd, and I will return to the Keys on October 3^rd. I plan to send fishing reports from Alaska whenever I am able to get near a Internet connection, and I can be reached on my cell phone (305-872-6060) when I am within range of a tower.

                I am now accepting reservations for Bonefish, Permit charters for October, November and December. October and November particularly are known for the largest Bonefish and great Permit fishing. If you wish to get some prime dates please contact me shortly as I am filling up the good tides quickly.

                “The Bonefish School” at the Peace and Plenty Bonefish lodge, November 28^th through December 5^th still has a few openings. If you are planning to join me at our 17 annual Bonefish School Please contact me ASAP to confirm your reservation.

                For those of you traveling to Denver to The Fly Tackle Retailers Show September 17, 18, 19, 2004 I will be flying down from Alaska then returning to George Davis's Icy Bay Lodge for some Silvers on Dry Flies. I hope to see you at the Show!

    There is still time to join me for some great fishing in Alaska, If you have any interest please contact me and I will let you know where I will be and on what dates.

                As another Tarpon season winds down I would like to thank my many fine clients and friends who make this lifestyle work for me. I enjoyed fishing with you very much and hope that next years Tarpon season is even better than this!

Best Wishes:

Jake

Florida Keys Tarpon Fishing Report

July 13, 2004

                July 13, 2004: Steve Jacobs from Durango CO started his first of five days fly fishing here in the fabulous Florida Keys today. We fished between the east and west end of the Seven Mile Bridge from 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM and had a great day of fishing. A high pressure moved over the keys today, the wind  

Was southeast at under 10 knots, with Blue Skies and sunshine. Steve cast the fly to at least 25 tailing permit before noon of which 2 appeared to eat the fly but never came tight. He had several shots at tailing Bonefish and did manage to land his largest Bonefish ever on a fly!

                During the Afternoon we decided to try for Tarpon on fly. Steve had at least 30 shots at between 80 and 100 Tarpon on the white sand bottom at the Sunshine Key flat. The fish where spooky due to the calm seas however we did have several Tarpon try to eat the fly but they missed it on the strike.

    It was fun and it is really neat to know that there are still lots of POONS on the flats!

Tomorrow we are going Permit fishing in the Marquises Keys! More reports to follow!

Regards:

Jake

Florida Keys Tarpon Fishing Report

July 1, 2, 3, 2004

Happy Fourth of July:

            July 1, 2004: Today I had a day off so Captain Tom White and I went out to the flats in front of Marathon for an hour of Tarpon fly fishing during the tide change. Tom took me to one of his favorite spots and sure enough we saw 4 large Tarpon swim across the white sand in less than an hour. I shot at one fish that turned away before reaching my fly, my next shot an eighty foot cast to two POONS was on the money and the small one about 70-80 pounds raced over and ate my fly. This great fish raced off 100 yards, jumped twice then charged the boat and spit the hook! Tom and I headed for a waterfront restaurant had lunch and took the rest of the day off!

                July 2, 2004: Richard Reamer and his friend Warren both from Wilmington NC joined me for two nights of cool, not crowded, full moon, night time, fly fishing for Tarpon. We fished an area near the 7 mile Bridge where my two anglers each caught a Tarpon on fly between 80 and 100 pounds and jumped a total of six POONS during their four hour charter. GREAT FISHING SO FAR THIS YEAR IN JULY!!

                July 3, 2004: Warren caught and released a red hot 60 pound male Poon and jumped 2 more. Richard jumped three but could not keep them on the hook long enough to catch one. Tarpon fishing is beginning to slow down but we are able to see plenty of fish and they are eating the flies real good.

                I feel strongly that with this 85 degree water temperature, the Tarpon fishing will remain productive through July and into early August. The Permit are showing up regularly on the flats, I am booked 12 days in July but still have a few prime dates available.

                I will travel to Alaska on August second and return to the fabulous Florida Keys October second. You will be receiving regular fishing reports from Alaska.

                I do have some prime time dates available during October for the Best large Bonefishing in the world, we call it “Roctober” because the big Bonefish ROCK! Permit fishing is also great in October and November. Call now to reserve your dates.

Regards:

Jake

Florida Keys Tarpon Fishing Report

 June 25, 26, 2004

Greetings from the Tropics:

            June 25, 2004: My Friend, Cherie Cincilla, photo editor for Outdoor Life Magazine, Arrived last night to spend two days with me in the Keys fly fishing for Tarpon. The air temperature was 96 degrees with no wind and partly cloudy skies. We fished the flats on the ocean side of the Seven Mile Bridge where we observed over 100 migrating Tarpon. Cherie had not fly fished for quite a while and she did required some instruction and practice. Most of the Tarpon which we saw were spooky and we did not get any bites from the more than 100 POONS that we saw today, although Cherie did manage to land a 3 foot long Shark, which was our only catch for the day!

                June 26, 2004: Today the wind came up to 18 knots from the Southeast with partly cloudy skies and 90 degree air temperature. Cherie got several good shots at Tarpon and we saw one nice permit, but no bites happened during the morning session. That evening we went out after it cooled down a little bit and Cherie jumped a 60 pound Tarpon. This awesome fish jumped three times and landed on the leader which broke the tippet and freed the Tarpon. I got a picture of her magic Tarpon (Check it out Below) while it was in the air before that long distance release. We had a great time fishing together Cherie is becoming a very good fly fisher! More reports to follow!

             Anyone wishing to join me for some Trout or Salmon Fly Fishing in Alaska should contact me soon as many of the destinations are selling out rapidly. I also have several spots left available at "The Bonefish School" at the Peace and Plenty Bonefish Lodge in Exuma in the Bahamas from November 28, to December 5, 2004. Please contact me if you have any interest?

Regards:

Jake

Florida Keys Tarpon Fishing Report

 June 20, 21, 22, 2004

Greetings from the Fabulous Florida Keys:

            June 20, 2004: Bill Thomas and Boyce Bradford from Memphis TN arrived for three days of a relaxing fishing vacation here in the Florida Keys. After meeting my clients I found that they where not fly fishermen so I re-rigged for some light tackle Tarpon fishing on 15 pound spinning tackle. Summer finally arrived with 95 to 100 degree air temperature with flat calm seas and blue skies. We saw a few Tarpon in the morning but could not get them to eat. That evening Bill hooked a Tarpon which jumped a few times and broke us off on a bridge piling.

                June 21, 2004, Bill Thomas hooked 2 large Tarpon which jumped several times and he got one about 110 pounds to within 30 feet of the boat when it surged under a bridge abutment and cut the line. Meanwhile Boyce fought two Tarpon, one monster of near 200 pounds jumped once then took 350 yards of line from the smoking spool, pulling 8 pounds of drag and breaking the knot at the bottom of the spool before I could get the motor running. Later Boyce landed a 30 pound Permit on a live crab.

                June 22, 2004: Today Bill only got one Tarpon to eat and it was a great fish of 90 pounds. We lost that Tarpon after a 20 minute Battle. Later each angler hooked two more Permit Boyce got one to the leader which was over 30 pounds and Bill Released one that I estimated at 40 pounds plus! This was incredible Permit fishing, the two Permit which we lost both where much larger than the 40 pounder that Bill landed.

                All in all after three days of light tackle fishing we Jumped and fought 6 Tarpon and released three of the five Giant Permit which we hooked! Lots of great fishing! More reports to follow.

Regards:

Jake 

Florida Keys Tarpon Fishing Report

 June 17, 18, 19, 2004

Greetings from Tarpon World:

            June 17, 2004: Antti Pirinen from Finland joined me for a day of fly fishing for Tarpon. The morning weather was cloudy with poor visibility and water spouts on the horizon, which made seeing the Tarpon very difficult. In the afternoon the weather cleared and the sun came out, we fished for three hours around the Pie Key flats. Antti had over 30 shots at large single and double Tarpon. A large female ate the chartreuse bunny fly and jumped twice then broke Antti’s Butt Section of his leader. That Tarpon was over 125 pounds and jumped less than 20 feet from the skiff, what a great Fish!

                June 18, 2004: John Biesiadecki from Sycamore IL is fly fishing for Tarpon for the first time. We started out fishing the flats in the Seven Mile Bridge area where we saw several schools of Tarpon with over 100 Tarpon in each school. After some coaching and a casting lesson with Johns new Sage 12 weight Xi2 with Tibor Gulf Stream Reel, we started to stalk some POONS. On his second cast to John hooked and jumped a 70 pound male Tarpon which promptly spit the fly back at us. Later that evening we Jumped and landed two Tarpon one sixty-five and one 90 pounder.

                June 19, 2004: Sunny skies and calm wind with air temperature over ninety degrees made the Tarpon spooky and hard to feed. John got to cast to over a dozen schools some with more than 100 Tarpon in a single school. We could not get any POONS to eat the fly and ended the day with no bites.

                As I was having dinner I got a message that the worms are hatching tonight! More reports to follow!

Regards:

Jake

Florida Keys Tarpon Fishing Report

 June 13, 14, 15, 16, 2004

Greetings from Tarpon Season:

            June 13, 2004: Chris Eckley and Damon Troyan from Cleveland OH joined me for four days of fly fishing for Tarpon. This was the first time that Chris and Damon ever fished for POONS. We had cloudy weather and thunder showers in the morning and saw no Tarpon. But during the evening trip Damon jumped 3 Tarpon and Chris Released one of the four Tarpon which he hooked. Chris's first fly caught Tarpon weighted about eighty pounds.

                June 14, 2004: We fished the ocean side flats of the 7 mile bridge where we saw at least 10 schools of Tarpon with between 30 and 200 fish per school. Both Damon and Chris had Tarpon eat their fly on great casts only to miss the hookup when setting the hook. Later near Bahia Honda Key Chris jumped 4 and landed two POONS, his largest over 100 pounds. Damon also hooked and jumped four fish and landed two with his largest over 110 pounds. We had a great day of Tarpon Fishing.

                June 15, 2004: We started on the ocean side flats near Big Pine Key where Chris had a bite from a single large female but again could not stay connected. By the end of our fishing day both anglers had jumped 3 POONS each, and Chris had landed a 60 pound male.

                June 16, 2004: We fished the Ocean side flats near the seven mile bridge where we saw over 1000 Tarpon which were very spooky and would not eat our fly.

                For the four days of fly fishing for Tarpon my two clients, Chris and Damon, Jumped 21 Tarpon and between them they released six! It seems that the fishing is just starting to get real good. We are seeing over a thousand Tarpon every day and they don't seem to be thinning out yet. Tarpon season is at its peak and may last through July! More reports to follow!

Regards:

Jake

Florida Keys Tarpon Fishing Report

 June 7, 11, 12, 2004

Greetings from Tarpon World:

                June 7, 2004: Jeff Asplundh from Middle Torch Key Florida Joined me for four hours of Tarpon fly fishing on the ocean side flats near Big Pine Key. We saw dozens of Tarpon and Jeff made several real good casts that were refused. Jeff did get two Tarpon to eat the Bunny Strip fly but both spit the hook on the initial strike. We had a great time and are planning several more trips in July.

                I finally took the next several days off to get caught up on my maintenance and some needed rest.

                June 11, 2004 Morning shift: Jon Ziarnik from Cudjoe Key Florida fly fished with me for four hours in hot sunny conditions. We fished to Laid up Tarpon and only saw a dozen fish during the whole trip. The highlight of the day was when Jon made a perfect 40 foot cast five feet in front of a very large laid up Tarpon. This 180 pound plus Tarpon surges up and sucked the fly off of the surface and ripped off 200 yards of backing in about 10 seconds. Jon Then this monster began doing long horizontal jumps clearing 20 feet per leap as she ripped off another 100 yards of backing before I got the motor running and followed her. Jon fought this monster Tarpon for 40 minutes and was within 30 feet of her when she surges, jumped again, and spit the hook while giving us the fin! My biggest Tarpon hooked this year!

                June 11, 2004 Evening Shift: Jeff Clarke from Tampa Florida Came to tangle with Tarpon on a fly for the first time, and he did exactly that! Jeff hooked his first Tarpon after about an hour of fishing, 15 minutes later he released a 60 pound Silver King. Jeff went on to Jump a total of six Tarpon this evening of which he landed and Released three with the largest being about 90 pounds, a great first day!

                June 12, 2004: Jeff Clarke and I fished another evening shift and the large Tarpon where out tonight. Jeff hooked 4 large Tarpon tonight and landed two both over 110 pounds. We had a great time fishing together, and Jeff’s final score was Jumped 10 Tarpon and released five during two sessions of fly fishing for Tarpon!

More Reports to follow!

Regards:

Jake

Florida Keys Tarpon Fishing Report

 June 4, 5, 6, 2004

Greetings from the Florida Keys:

                Shauna and Jeremy Howell from Wasilla Alaska joined me for 3 beautiful hot days of Tarpon fishing. Summer finally got here, with sunny days, low south east wind, and 90 degree temperatures. Thousands of POONS hit the ocean side of the middle keys for the Palalo Worm hatch, which took place on Friday night June 4^th.

                Jeremy cast to hundreds of Tarpon and the final score at the end of three days Tarpon fishing was 7 Tarpon in the air and 3 landed to the boat. Jeremy's largest Tarpon landed was about 100 pounds. We had a great time and they will return next year for more Silver King Action!

                I am glad that the worms are over for another season, now the good Tarpon fishing starts!

Regards:

Jake

Florida Keys Tarpon Fishing Report

May 31, June 1, 2, 3, 2004

Greetings from Tarpon World:

            May 31, 2004,  Danny Cline from West Virginia Fished this beautiful day, number four, of his seven day Tarpon trip. The sky was blue without a cloud, southeast winds at 5 to 10 knots with air temperature at 85 degrees. Today we Saw over 500 Tarpon cruising happily down the ocean side flats of the 7 mile bridge area. Danny hooked, jumped, fought for 45 minutes, and released the first Tarpon that he cast to. It was a beautiful 100 pound female that fought and jumped valiantly. We had 2 more POONS eat the Tarpon Bunny Fly, both spit the hook after a jump. Great day of Tarpon Fishing!

                June 1, 2004: Danny and I fished between the 7 mile bridge and Big Pine Key and had a great day. After seeing hundreds of fish heading west in the morning but they wouldn't bite. We finally started getting them to eat this evening. When we quit and headed home, Danny had jumped ten Tarpon and released three. The smallest was 60 pounds and the largest released Tarpon weighted about 100 pounds.

                June 2, 2004: We fished between Bow Channel and the Bahia Honda Bridge, and saw lots of Tarpon. Danny got dozens of casts but we could not get these spooky Tarpon to eat the fly today!

                June 3, 2004: I left Marathon at 6:00 AM to fish with Danny Cline in the Marquesas Keys. We arrive in the Marquesas at 9:00 AM and began fly fishing for permit. We saw 5 Permit on the flats before noon; Danny made several good presentations but the Permit where finicky. Danny did manage to get a 40 pound Tarpon to eat the Permit Crab Fly on 12 pound tippet.

                Danny Cline and I had a great week of fly fishing, He Jumped a total of 30 Tarpon and released eight! More reports to follow!

Regards:

Jake

Florida Keys Tarpon Fishing Report

May 28, 29, 30, 2004

Greetings from Tarpon Land:

            May 28, 2004: Long time client and friend Danny Cline from West Virginia started his seven days of fly fishing for Tarpon. We have beautiful weather with south east wind blowing at five to 10 knots and sunshine. We started on the ocean side flats west of Bahia Honda at 10:30 AM, where we had steady shots at Tarpon for 4 hours. The fish where a little spooky but Danny managed to get one to eat the Bunny fly on a perfect cast, only to spit it after the bite. Later that day we saw a few worms in the water and the fishing got real hot. Danny wound up jumping 8 POONS and he landed 2 both over 100 pounds.

                May 29, 2004: Same great weather with no clouds in the sky, Spooky fish in the bright sun but they eat well in the evening. On his Birthday Danny wound up jumping five Silver King, he caught and released one fish of about 110 pounds. Happy Birthday Danny!

                May 30, 2004: Same sunny weather with 10 to 15 knot south wind. We fished in the back country today and found about 30 laid up fish. The water is warm and crystal clear and the Tarpon are hard to feed during the heat of the day. I think the Tarpon are getting ready for the worm hatch on Wednesday night. Danny jumped six fish but had a tough time keeping connected to the Tarpon. He did manage to release one nice POON over 100 pounds. The last fish to be hooked fought for 45 minutes and appeared to be wearing out when it got a second wind after towing my skiff over two miles. She jumped 3 more times and ripped off 250 yards of backing against 6 pounds of drag and cut off the fly line on a bridge piling. I estimated this large female Tarpon to be over 150 pounds!

Regards:

Jake

Florida Keys Tarpon Fishing Report

May 25, 26, 27, 2004

Tarpon Season Continues:

            May 25, 2004: Mike McGovney junior and senior (Owners of World Wide Anglers Outfitters in Anchorage Alaska) met me at 10:00 AM for our second day of Tarpon Fishing. Sunny calm weather with 85 degree air temperature made for a beautiful day on the ocean side flats of the lower Keys. We had steady Tarpon in small strings moving up and down the flat it was hard to get them to eat a fly. Fishing slowed in the afternoon and picked up around 7:00 PM. Mike senior hooked and jumped two Tarpon but one fell on the leader and broke off while the other spit the hook after several jumps. Mike junior Hooked and landed a 100 pound Tarpon, then 30 minutes later just before dark, He hooked a 110 plus pound monster and fought it for 55 minutes, landed it, took pictures, then we released this awesome Tarpon!

                May 26, 2004: Same weather but the Tarpon where really spooky, Mike junior jumped one nice Tarpon and the guys let me cast to a big POON which I jumped one time and made a long distance release! Some Worms began to show up!

                May 27, 2004: Sunny and warm with southeast breeze at 10 knots is the perfect weather for Tarpon Fishing. This morning we fished the back country for laid up fish and had two Tarpon eat the fly but both spit the hook on the first jump, The afternoon was slow, but this evening the POONS really turned on. Mike McGovney senior jumped 4 Tarpon and landed a beauty of about 100 pounds. Mike junior jumped 5 Silver King, and landed four with his largest landed Tarpon weighting about 130 pounds. What a great way to finish a Fishing adventure! More reports to follow!

Regards:

Jake

Florida Keys Tarpon Fishing Report

May 21, 22, 23, 24, 2004

Greetings from Tarpon Season:

            May 21, 2004: My dear friend Frank Moore and his lovely wife Jeanie from Oregon joined me for their first trip to The Fabulous, windy, Florida Keys for a day of Tarpon fishing with a fly rod. Unfortunately the wind was still blowing at 25 plus knots and the Tarpon where hard to find. We did manage to find a few including a beautiful 100 plus pounder which followed Franks fly for a few seconds before spotting us and turning away. Frank and Jeanie had a great time and promise to visit me next year when the wind is a little less strong and the POONS are more plentiful.

                May 22, 2004: My friend Jerry Gibbs (Fishing Editor from Outdoor Life Magazine) from Maine came to Tarpon world for a vacation and to take some pictures for his collection. We fished late in the afternoon but the strong wind continued and fishing was tough. Jerry was the camera man and I was the angler casting at passing Tarpon with no guide on the tower. I managed to get 3 tarpon to strike the fly of which two spit the hook right away and the third, a large fish of over 110 pounds ate it good for and stayed connected. I fought this large fish from a dead boat without ever starting the engine or following the fish. After 15 minutes, 6 jumps, and that Tarpon being 250 yards into my backing I began to tire her out. Ten minutes later I was on the fly line 50 feet from the Tarpon when she tangled the line around a lobster trap line and broke me off!

                May 23, 2004: Jerry fished today with the wind all the way down to 18 knots and the sun shining bright with no clouds. Today we saw a school of 70 Tarpon a few minutes after we started to fish and Jerry got lots of shots as I poled along with this happy school of Tarpon. They would not eat my normal fly so we tried my large black Tarpon Bug and Jerry hooked and Jumped a 90 pounder on the first cast. Unfortunately that beautiful Tarpon spit the hook after several minutes. Jerry had several more Tarpon attack the fly that day but we did not land a POON!

                May 24, 2004: Mike McGovney junior and senior (Owners of World Wide Anglers Outfitters in Anchorage Alaska) are back with me for four days of Tarpon fishing.  The wind is down to 10-15 knots and we saw hundreds of migrating Tarpon on the ocean side of the keys. Today we went back to the traditional Tarpon Bunny Fly and Mike Junior hooked a 110 pound Tarpon on his first cast with that fly. He fought that fish for 30 minutes and we thought we had her when she surged and broke the 20 pound tippet. E did have several other bites but could not stay hooked up. Today we will land some POONS!

                Tarpon season is truly here and I think the large numbers of Tarpon will last through July. I still have a few scattered Prime Tarpon Dates available as I have had a few cancellations. If you wish to catch one of these lovely Silver Kings please contact me to take advantage of the late season. Available Dates: June 9 and 10, June 17, June 23 and 24 (Morning), July 1^st, July 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, and maybe July 16, 17, 18 (may be taken I am waiting to hear from client).

Florida Keys Tarpon Fishing Report

May 17, 18, 19, 20, 2004

Greetings From Tarpon Season:

            May, 17, 2004: John Reed from Franklin Wisconsin arrived in the Keys for four days of fly fishing for Tarpon. We fished in the early morning and the bite was red hot, John hooked and jumped 6 Tarpon between and released 4 between 50 and 90 pounds before noon. In the afternoon it was cloudy and we got one fish to follow the fly with no eaters.

                May, 18, 2004: The daytime fishing was slow due to the 20 knot wind and cloudy skies. We got some shots but could not get any to eat the fly. That evening Johns friend Gary Fredenhagen from Boulder Junction WI joined us and we found some evening Tarpon. The two anglers jumped a total of 5 POONS and we got one 60 pounder to the boat for pictures and a release.

                May 19, 2004: Produced some red hot strikes wit John and Gary Jumping 11 Tarpon in about five hours. Gary landed 3 up to 100 pounds while John Landed and released 3 with his Largest over 110 pounds.

                May 20, 2004: Weather was cloudy and windy but we managed to get a few good shots at large Tarpon on the Oceanside flats in front of Big Pine Key. Although we didn't land any fish we had a great day on the flats.

                All in all Gary and John jumped 22 Tarpon and released 11 Silver King during there four days of fly fishing for Tarpon. They already booked for next year. I enjoyed fishing with these fine Anglers! More reports to follow!

Regards:

Jake

Florida Keys Tarpon Fishing Report

May 11, 12, 13, 2004

Greetings from the Windy Florida Keys:

            May: 11, 2004:     The wind is howling at 20 knots and gusty with small craft advisories in effect on all Keys waters. Don Butler and I fished in the lee of a small island in the lower keys in the late evening where we saw hundreds of Tarpon move from the reef into this protected area with clear water and lots of bait. About an hour before sunset Don hooked his first Tarpon of the day, this 120 + pound beauty jumped a dozen times before landing on the leader and breaking the 20 pound test tippet. Four hours later we quit after Don had jumped eight Tarpon and Released two Silver Kings both over 100 pounds!

                I took some pictures but the wind and rough weather made it difficult to maneuver the boat, land the Tarpon and take the pictures! We are headed out now to battle the 25 knot never ending wind!

                May 12, 2004: Same old 25 knot wind, we tried to go in thee morning but it was cloudy and very rough, hard to see any Tarpon that might show up. We did the same evening thing as last night and found a nice pod of fish. Don Butler jumped 5 Tarpon this evening, he landed two. His first landed fish was about 110 pounds and the last Tarpon of the trip weighted about fifty pounds. This 50 pound Tarpon jumped at least 20 times and came to the boat in about 12 minutes! The third Tarpon that ate Dons fly was a MONSTER female of over 180 pounds. She jumped 6 feet out of the water 30 feet from the boat, and then jumped halfway out so we could see her gigantic size. This beautiful Silver King then proceeded to rip off 250 yards of backing, jumped again and spit the fly back at us!

Wow, What A GREAT FISH!!!!!!!!!!

                May 13, 2004: Again Don and I headed out at Sunset, into 25 knot east wind and rough seas. The wind increased to 30 knots and swung to the northeast, became cooler and rough with small craft warnings being issued. My Friend Don Butler has been around boats his whole life and is a life ling angler. When I say that these conditions where very hard I am being generous it was scary!

                We fished for 4 hours and got two Tarpon to eat the fly, the first spit the hook on the take and the other Tarpon was a 90 pound beauty. When this Silver king attacked the fly it went crazy, jumped 4 times then charged the boat. Within 5 minutes Don had wound the rod tip to within 3 feet of the Tarpons mouth. He was lifting real hard when this monster exploded out of the water like a missal, an attempted to jump into the skiff.  As this fishes head which was higher in the air than mine came towards me I reached by reaching our my hand and shoving the Tarpons body so it landed in the water instead of in my lap.  I did manage to knock a scale from this Tarpon for a souvenir for Don. After we released this magnificent Tarpon Don and I just sat and laughed while reminiscing over this unbelievable experience.

                Don left today May 14, 2004 after releasing 6 Tarpon while jumping 19, he will return in July to continue his quest for the most incredible fly fishing species in the world! I can’t wait to fish with my friend Don Butler the next time! More reports to follow!

Best Regards:

Jake

Florida Keys Tarpon Fishing Report

May 8, 9, 10, 2004

Greetings from Tarpon Land:

                April 8, 2004: Jon Ziarnik and I fished all day in 20 knot east winds with partly cloudy skies. The water temperature is falling again and the Tarpon are few and far between. We did see about a dozen Tarpon and had two Good shots at laid up POONS but the wind was just too strong to get a good presentation.

                April 9, 2004: Jon and I went out for an hour but the wind was stronger than the day before. We took the day off!

                April 10, 2004: The weather was bad and Jon did not fish today! Maybe when we fish in June it will be easier!

                Don Butler from Westport Connecticut arrived at five PM and we decided to try it in the evening as the wind dropped to 15 knots. We Fly Fished for 4 hours and Jumped 5 Tarpon of which Don landed and released a beautiful Tarpon of 90 pounds.

                It sure was nice to hook a Tarpon again! Hopefully this weather will improve soon.

Best Regards:

Jake

Florida Keys Tarpon Fishing Report

May 4, 5, 6, 7, 2004

Greetings Fellow Tarpon Anglers and Friends:

            George Fisher from Chicago fished with me for one day after Steve Loves dad had a major heart attack and had to cancel. Bad luck for Steve and good luck for George who was in the Keys with his family and could not find an available guide to take him Tarpon fishing.

                May 4, 2004: Mr. George Fisher from Chicago IL got his dream of fly fishing for Tarpon. He called around for guides and finally got my name from another guide who new I had been canceled for the day. We started at 9:00 am and by noon George had had a dozen shots and he had jumped 3 Tarpon catching a Baby about 10 pounds.  In the afternoon it got calm, sunny and hot with Tarpon showing up everywhere we looked. George Hooked a 100 plus pound beauty on the Oceanside of Big Pine Key and it took us out to sea. One hour and twenty minutes, and lots of jumps later, I lip gaffed this big Tarpon and we took a picture before releasing her unharmed. George already is scheduled for 4 days next Tarpon Season!

                May 5, 2004: Steve Love’s Dad is OK and they are doing tests in Baptist Hospital in Miami. Steve fished with me today with 20 – 25 knot northeast wind, with sunny skies. He had 20 plus shots at laid up Tarpon in the lee of some of our lower Keys. Although Steve made several good casts in these hard conditions only one Tarpon attempted to eat the fly. Steve set the hook but the Tarpon had missed the fly completely. Steve has rescheduled to come back later in June for hopefully some better weather and Tarpon Fishing!

                May 6, 2004: Jon Ziarnik (Now) from Cudjoe Key FL started his 5 days of Tarpon fly fishing with northeast wind at 20 knots and lots of clouds. We fished for six hours and saw less than a dozen Tarpon. The skiff was on top of them sometimes before Jon could get a cast off. We had several make able casts at rolling Tarpon but did not hook up. Finally we quit at 2 PM after the clouds closed off the visibility completely!

                May 7, 2004: Jon Ziarnik and I headed out in 25 knot wind with a small craft advisory in place. We fished for a couple hours in heavy seas and saw 2 Tarpon before heading to the ramp and home for a maintenance day on my equipment!

                This is the hardest weather during Tarpon season in over 15 years. There are lots of Tarpon around but they cant get on the flats until the wind drops down and the water calms down! More reports to follow!

Warmest Regards:

Jake

Florida Keys Tarpon Fishing Report

April 30, May 1, 2, 3, 2004

Greetings from Tarpon World:

            Carlos Lamadrid from Naples Florida, Richard Park, Chuck Patchin, and Tom Shipley from Portland Oregon Joined Captain Dave Wiley and I for a Tarpon Fly Fishing Adventure. I do not have the results of the anglers that fished with Dave but they where similar to our catches.

                April 30, 2004: Carlos Lamadril and Tom Shipley fished with me on the 30^th, with Carlos hooking the first Tarpon. The wind was east at 20 knots but the Tarpon were eating violently, fighting hard and jumping high. By the end of the trip Tom and Carlos had jumped 12 Tarpon releasing two, one about 50 pounds and an eighty pound beauty.

                May 1, 2004: Richard Park and Chuck Patchin Were ready to do battle with the wind still blowing at 15 knots from the Southeast and gusty. Chuck jumped two Tarpon but lost them both before fighting them to the boat. Richard reeled a 70 pound Silver King to the leader for me to release when a Bull Shark charges the Tarpon. Fortunately Richard broke the Tippet and the Tarpon escaped to fight again!

                May 2, 2004: Tom Shipley and Richard Park jumped 11 Tarpon, Richard released 3 Tarpon up to 75 pounds and Tom caught two with the largest around 100 pounds. We had a calmer night and the fish bit well!

                May 3, 2004: Carlos Lamadrid and Chuck Patchin fished with me on this final Tarpon charter of there fishing Adventure. Both anglers jumped at least 5 Tarpon with Chuck Releasing two with his largest over 90 Pounds. Carlos changed from his anti-reverse reel and used my Ross Canyon Big Game Fly Reel. This worked great with Carlos releasing several small Tarpon then finishing his Tarpon Fishing Adventure by releasing a 100 pound beauty.

                The wind slid down but we fished the final night in the pouring down Rain! Captain Dave and I had great time fishing with these anglers and look foreword to them joining us during next Tarpon season!

Regards:

Florida Keys Tarpon Fishing Report

April 28, 29, 2004

Tarpon Season Continues:

            April 28, 2004: Tom Gravina and Bob Defilippis are learning fast here at “The Tarpon School”. First thing in the morning Tom had a 130 pound female Tarpon turn and eat the fly only to miss it completely. This fish was big and was swimming slowly on the surface over a white sand bottom, what a sight! Later in the day with the wind blowing from the east at 20 knots, the action began. During a four hour period Tom hooked and jumped 5 Tarpon, releasing 3 of them between 50 and 90 pounds. Meanwhile Bob jumped 4 and released two with the largest one about 80 pounds.

                I am really glad that Tarpon season has finally kicked into high gear; it would be nice if this wind would lie down for more than one day.

                April 29, 2004: “Tarpon Tom Gravina” and “Silver King Bob Defilippis” from the “North Jersey Tarpon Fly Fishing Club” Slammed the “POONS” this afternoon and evening. To top off their 4 day Tarpon fishing adventures we fought 20 knot warm east winds and small craft advisories to find the mother load. First off Tom caught a baby Tarpon of 10 pounds then Bob and Tom rotated to “Hook, Jump and Fight 12 more Tarpon”. When we finished Tom had landed 3 Tarpon up to 110 pounds and Bob Released the last of his 2 which was over 120 pounds. These guys left the fabulous Florida Keys with sore muscles, bruised egos, and a new respect for large fish on a fly rod. Both Tom and Bob are “Big Time Graduates of THE TARPON SCHOOL” and are now accomplished anglers and knowledgeable fish fighters! Stay tuned for more from Tarpon World!

Regards:

Jake

Florida Keys Tarpon Fishing Report

April 25, 26, 27, 2004

Greetings from Tarpon Season:

            April 25, 2004: My friend Jeff Asplundh from Middle Torch Key: Joined me for 4 hours of late evening Tarpon fishing. We watched a beautiful sunset then got two Tarpon to eat the fly. Jeff who is a very food fly angler, whipped up on both fish catching and releasing one of 80 pounds and the second one of about 50 pounds. I think Tarpon season has finally started.

                April 26, 2004: Tom Gravina and Bob Defilippis from New Jersey, started there four days of fly fishing for Tarpon with sunny skies, 85 degree air temperature, southeast wind at 15 knots, and 78 degree water temperature. First cast of the morning Tom cast to a 120 plus female which ate the fly and jumped 3 feet out of the water before spitting the fly and giving us the fin! We had 25 or so more shots in the morning but they got spooky and would not eat.

                We took a break and started again later in the afternoon. Bob fought 2 Tarpon but lost both, Tom wound up catching a 55 pound red hot male Tarpon!

                April 27, 2004: Bob Defilippis started things of first thing in the morning by making a perfect cast to a 100 pound Tarpon which gobbled the Bunny Strip fly and gave us a great show. After a 35 minute battle I put the fish in the skiff for pictures then revived her and watched her swim off.

                Fishing slowed for the next few hours but when it turned on WOW!  Tom wound up jumping 5 Tarpon and Releasing two, one 80 pounds and one about 50 pounds, Bob Jumped a total of 7 Tarpon and Released five more for a total of 6 released POONS for Bob!

                Both Bob Defilippis and Tom Gravina have learned much regarding catching Tarpon on the fly. There is no way to learn how to catch large fish on light tippet on a fly rod except to experience it first hand!

                I have had several Cancellations of Prime Time Tarpon Dates in June: The available Dates are: June, 9, 10,  June, 18-19-20, and June, 21, 22, 23, 2004. Please contact me if you want to catch some of these Monster POONS!

Regards:

Jake

Florida Keys Tarpon Fishing Report

April 21, 22, 23, 2004

 Hi from the windy Florida Keys:

                April 21, 2004: Mr. Greg Hengle from Mt Shasta CA Joined me for his first of three days of fly fishing for Tarpon. The wind blew from the Northeast at 20 plus knots and increased in the afternoon. Water temperature in the back country was still under 70 degrees and Tarpon where scarce. We wound up on the ocean side in some protected basins where the water temp reached 75 degrees.  We saw about 2 dozen Tarpon and Greg had about 15 casts at Tarpon with several following the fly and turning off at the last minute. With this wind it is very difficult to slow or stop the boat on hard bottom so the fly has a chance to be worked by the angler.

                April 22, 2004: Today the wind increased and the fishing was slower, we searched at least 6 real good locations and found one or two fish total on each flat. We quit early with hopes that the weather would improve tomorrow. Several follows but still no bites, Greg's presentations and casting in the wind got better.

                April 23, 2004: The wind switched to Southeast and the Temperature reached 85 degrees with water temperature reaching 77 degrees. We started early in the morning which turned out to be a good move. Greg hooked a 50 pound plus Tarpon and fought it for 15 minutes before it got tangled in an object and broke the 20 pound tippet. He jumped one larger fish which spit the hook and had several real big fish follow the fly then turn away.

                This weather has the few Tarpon which are on the flats bunched up in several small areas which are getting hit hard by all of the guides which know where they are. Consequently they are spooky and more difficult to catch than usual. The wind is down to 15 from the Southeast and the water is warming rapidly today, The Tarpon fishing is going to get real good real soon. I think that it will last into late July! More to Follow!

Regards:

Jake

Florida Keys Fishing Report

April 17, 18, 19, 20, 2004

Greetings from the Florida Keys:

                April 17, 2004: Doctor Richard Blake from Orlando Florida Canceled due to 30 knot winds and cold water!

                April 18, 19, 20, 2004: Michael Thompson from San Francisco CA Arrived in marathon for his annual three days of fly fishing for Tarpon. The weather is still bad for this sport, 20 to 35 knot northeast wind, 70 to 73 degree water temperature, partly sunny with cool wind. During the 3 days of hunting for laid up Tarpon we saw over 60 fish and had over 20 realistic shots with several follows. Finally during the last 2 hours on the 20^th we got 3 different Tarpon to eat the fly. The first jumped and spit the hook, the second a Tarpon of 100 pounds got our fly line tied around a lobster trap and broke the tippet. The last Tarpon of the day was a small 50 pound male which fought valiantly until Michael finally brought him to the skiff for a night time release.

                The wind is still blowing strong but it is supposed to warm up which will hopefully warm this cold water soon!

Regards:

Jake

Florida Keys Fishing Report

April 14, 15, 16, 2004

Greetings from Wind World:

            April 14, 2004: Steve Jacobs from Durango CO joined me for some fly fishing for Tarpon, The weather is not very good, northwest wind at 30+ knots, partly cloudy, high temperature 71 degrees. We fished ½ day and only saw one Tarpon as it blew out from under my skiff. Jim Worden from Naples FL will join Steve and I tomorrow, hopefully the weather improves soon!

                April 15, 2004: Jim Worden and Steve Jacobs joined me for a half day of hunting for Tarpon in 15 knot cold northwest wind with sunny skies. Fishing was very hard and we quit after not seeing any sign of Tarpon. We went back out Thursday night in an attempt to catch these good clients a Tarpon on fly. Jim Worden got the first Tarpon after a 25 minute Battle he landed an 80 pound beauty! Then it was Steve Jacobs turn, he hooked a 100 pounder and fought that Tarpon for 30 minutes until he had subdued that fish and wound the rod tip to within a foot of the Tarpons mouth. As I attempted to release Steve's fish a large shark came out of nowhere and chased the Poon under the boat causing Steve to break his 12 weight flyrod! Later Jim fought another Tarpon near the boat when the Poon surged and Jim's Albright knot from his backing to his fly line failed. We lost the Tarpon and Jim's fly line. A great evening of Tarpon fishing!

                April 16, 2004: Steve, Jim, and I started at 10:00 am after the sun warmed the water temperature up to 72 degrees. The wind blew out of the Northeast all day at 15 to 20 and gusty but the sky was crystal clear and sunny. By 4:00 PM when we quit for the day we had seen at least 2 dozen Tarpon and 4 Permit. We had several good shots at large POONS but with the hard conditions we did not connect. We had a great day and will try again tomorrow. I hope that this weather settles down soon!

Regards:

Jake

Florida Keys Fishing Report

April 12, 2004

Greetings from Tarpon World:

            April 12, 2004: Thunder, lightning, sixty knot wind, and the strongest rain I have ever seen started at 12:10 AM. By noon it cleared up and the sun shone through the hazy clouds with south east wind at 15 to20 knots. At one PM Jon Ziarnik and I left the ramp at Cudjo Gardens Marina. I poled that skiff until five PM and we only saw 8 Tarpon. The Good news is that Jon made a good back cast to a laid up female. We watched her pursue the Bunny Strip, open her giant bucket mouth, and inhale the fly. This 130 pound plus Tarpon (my largest this season) ripped off 200 yards of backing in 8 seconds, while jumping 3 times then she charged the boat. On the next jump after changing directions again she opened the hook straight and swam off free, (A long distance release)! We quit at 5:30 PM!

                At 7:00 PM I launched the skiff again with Dave Van Zelst aboard.  Dave hooked his first Tarpon at 7:30 and proceeded to jump 7 Tarpon between 50 and 110 pounds in the next several hours. The final score reads like this: 3 fish lost to the bridge pilings, 1 Tarpon spit the fly after 3 jumps, and Tarpon Dave reeled 3 POONS to the boat for release. Fishing is heating up here in the Fabulous Florida Keys!

Regards:

Jake

Florida Keys Fishing Report

April 6, 7, 9, 10, 2004

Greetings from the Fabulous Florida Keys:

            April 6, 2004: I took Gino Pellegrino out for several hours in the early morning. Gino hooked 2 Tarpon and caught both, one about 40 pounds, and the final Tarpon of his trip went about 65 pounds. Gino had a great 3 day trip and landed a total of three POONS!

                April 6, 2004: Jon Ziarnik from Cudjo Key and Denver joined me for his first of nine scheduled Tarpon days for 2004.  We fished the ocean side where we saw plenty of Tarpon and had Two eat the fly. Both fish stuck their head out of the water but did not stay on and we wound up not catching any Tarpon today.

                April 7, 2004: Today was cloudy and the fishing was hard. We quit at a half day after only seeing 4 Tarpon. The weather got worse and visibility became awful! Jon and I start again on Monday, April 12^th!

                April 9, 2004: My friend Captain Bruce Chard and I went out for three hours Friday afternoon. We Jumped 5 Tarpon and landed 3 between 60 and 100 pounds. It was fun to pull hard on a Tarpon as an angler, I landed a 60 pounder in 5 ½ minutes on 20 pound tippet!

                April 10, 2004: Dave Van Zelst from Chicago IL joined me for one day of Fly Fishing for Tarpon. Dave is a seasoned fly angler and a good friend of Tarpon Tom Zanoni. The water was flat calm with gray skies and haze, and the tarpon where everywhere. They where rolling all around us but they where very spooky. Dave made a good 60 foot cast to the face of a floating 85 pound Tarpon and that POON sucked in that bunny Strip fly. Forty five minutes later “Tarpon Dave Van Zelst “fought that magnificent fish to the boat where I released it unharmed. We had several more Tarpon eat the fly with one 125 pounder hooked up and jumped three times before spiting the fly! Dave and I will fish again later this week

Happy Easter to all!

Jake

Florida Keys Fishing Report

April 4, 5, 2004

Greetings from Tarpon Season:

                Dino Pellegrino from Phoenixville PA joined me for two days of Fly Fishing for Tarpon. This was Dino's first time fly fishing for the mighty Silver King!

                April 4 2004: began with Northwest wind at 15 knots, partial sunshine, 75 degree air temperature, and 71 degree water temperature. We fished hard for 8 hours and saw a total of 4 Tarpon, one of which ate the fly only to have the angler set the hook late and miss the fish. A very hard day at the office, but I had time to work with Dino and get him casting much better.

                April 5 , 2005: By noon the weather changed and the wind was east at 5 to 10, air temperature 81 degrees with sunshine, and water temp at 76 degrees. We saw 18 fish  in the afternoon and Dino got about 10 shots. On the first bite Dino pulled the flu out of the fishes mouth as the fish jumped. The next fish Dino cast to was a 90 pound male which attacked the fly, and jumped 21 times during the next 45 minutes before Dino Reeled the Tarpon to the side of the skiff where I released Dino’s first Fly Caught Tarpon. What a great day for this angler, we are going out again this evening! More reports to follow!

Jake 

Florida Keys Fishing Report

March 15, 16, 17, 2004

Greetings from Tarpon Land:

            Larry and Mike Janes (Father and College Student Son) from South Bloomington IL came to the Florida Keys for the second year in a row for spring break. Larry wanted to catch a Tarpon on fly while Mikes goal was a large shark!

                March 15^th 2004; South East wind at 30 knots with clouds and a 70 degree water temperature made fishing tough. I poled all of the normal (laid up) Tarpon spots and never saw a fish. We did see one Permit but the up wind shot made it impossible, we quit after 5 hours.

                March 16, 2004; Clouds and wind continued in the morning until 4 PM, We took the day off until the wind died. We did the night Tarpon thing from 8 PM until midnight. Mike Junior got 2 Tarpon Bites but could not keep them on. Fishing was poor but the water was calm and clearing up from muddy to better visibility and the water temp came up to 73 degrees.

                March 17, 2004; Sunshine and north wind starting at 5 knots and ending near 15 knots was what we had to work with. We looked for Tarpon with no success so at 11 AM we went looking for Permit. Mike Caught and released, several Black Tip Sharks, a 100 pound Lemon Shark, A large Nurse Shark, and had a dozen other shots at Sharks. We where fishing in the back country north of the lower Keys (Sawyer Johnson Keys) and all of a sudden there where Permit everywhere. Mike had a 25 pounder eat a crab but pulled the hook on a (Trout Hook set). We saw at least a dozen happy large Permit but never again got a cast in front of one.

                Larry and mike had a great time and will be back to the Keys to try again for Tarpon hopefully when the water is a little warmer. There are lots of Tarpon around but until we get some calm warm weather they will remain tough. Sorry for no pictures but the batteries where dead in my digital camera. When Larry gets his pictures developed he will send me a picture of Mikes 100 pound plus Lemon Shark.

                Tomorrow, on my Birthday March 18^th, I start fishing with Tarpon Tom Zanoni from Glenview IL. Hopefully the POONS start to show better, more reports to follow.

Regards:

Jake