Highlights from the last 10 days

Mike Davidson, Ricci Connelly and Paul Harris had a couple of outstanding catches last week. These boys brought their own Fox Sport Fishing Trek rods with them from England and fished 4 trips with me and they also rented a boat and did some DIY fishing. They are all in the fishing tackle business and could not say enough about the Trek Travel rods. On their last 2 days with me we went way out in the backcountry to what we call the Spring Hole. Unfortunately the water was still cold and loaded with red seaweed. We made the best of it and spent the day fishing on the flats catching Seatrout and Redfish with Bonefish Trek and Rage ultralight rods fitted with Diablo 350s.

Paul Harris, Ricci Connelly and Mike Davidson brought
Fox Sport Fishing Trek rods with them from England
and caught a big Tarpon

Mike Davidson caught this Spotted Seatrout on the
Bonefish Trek Diablo 350 combo

Ricci Connelly caught a nice Redfish on a
Fox Rage rod fitted with a Diablo 350 spin reel

On day 2 we stayed close to home and Paul Harris released a Hammerhead Shark around 125 lbs. An hour later he hooked a huge bottom dweller that turned out to be a huge Sawfish. This battle lasted over 3 hours. Paul would not give up until he got a good look at the critter. Paul used his own 7 foot Tarpon Spin Trek rod. He had spooled 60lb braid onto which I tied a 20 foot top shot of 80lb mono and a 4 foot section of 100lb mono and a 5/0 circle hook.

Paul Harris brought his own Tarpon Trek Spin with him
and released this Hammerhead Shark

an hour after catching the Hammerhead
Paul Harris hooked a gigantic Sawfish

after a grueling 3 hour battle Paul Harris gets assistance from
wireman Ricci Connelly. The Tarpon Spin Trek rod took incredible pressure

I did not get any good still shots but will try
to include a short video of the Sawfish

I was amazed at the pressure the rod and the knots sustained. For the last hour with Paul gave it everything he had and wireman Ricci Connelly gingerly pulled on the trace every time we got close. Eventually we got the sea monster up for a good look with its saw breaking the surface. The 5/0 hook snapped in half at this point. I am not sure if I want to see anybody have that fight again. But the good news Paul was elated and said that fish made the whole trip worthwhile. AND the Tarpon Spin Trek rod is still totally intact. Nice going Paul.

April 3 and 4 Rick Lewis and sons Foster(14),Kevin(15), went fishing with me. Dad thought that half day sessions would be the way to go as the boys had not done a whole lot of fishing. The day before I had found an area teeming with Tarpon and after throwing the cast net and catching 25 mullet on my first toss I knew where we were headed.

Rick Lewis gets his  first Tarpon release using the
8 foot Sailfish Trek rod and Diablo 750 spinning reel

Tarpon caught by Rick Lewis

Rick and Kevin each got a big Tarpon and we jumped another off. 8 foot Sailfish Trek rods were used making it easy for the kids and Dad to clear the bow and the motor without breaking any lines. As the tide slowed down we moved to a channel hoping to get some small shark action. We were in for a surprise. 14 year old Foster got a bite and the line was peeling off towards the open ocean. Using a Tarpon Spincast Trek rod fitted with an EOS 30 trolling reel we gave chase. No matter what Foster did the fish would not come up and now we were a mile away from where we had hooked up. Luckily for us the fish swam over some sandy bottom in 10 feet of water and we got a good look. Another big Sawfish. We tried to lift it pulling on the trace till it finally broke. Another fish story.

Fourteen year old Foster Lewis spent an hour battling a
huge Sawfish with a Fox Tarpon Spincast rod and EOS 30 trolling reel

Foster gets a drink from Kevin during the epic Sawfish battle

Kevin's Tarpon about to go airborne

Kevin Lewis gets his 100lb Tarpon release

The next day Dad said the boys wanted action with light tackle so we headed into the backcountry and spent the morning catching Pompano, Seatrout, Ladyfish, Crevalle Jack and Mangrove Snapper. Bonefish Trek rod fitted with Diablo 350's were perfect for tossing jigs tipped with shrimp. The family can't wait till next year to come back again.

The same afternoon I headed back out for a sunset session with my good friends Debbie and Rich Riolo. The Tarpon were biting and giving us plenty of action but somehow getting away but Rich saved the day catching a fish just before sunset, Perfect.

Rich Riolo gets a sunset Tarpon catch

Saturday and Sunday April 6,7 Paul Magidson son Charley, friends Rob Udam and his son Cole fished with me. The boys wanted to catch some sharks so we headed to the backcountry. It was blowing from the north about 20 knots so we ducked in behind and island and caught enough Mangrove Snapper for a dinner at Lazy Days , one of our favourite restaurants that cooks your catch.

Cole Udam loved every minute he spent fishing on this trip

The wind came down some so we fished out around Sandy Key and nearby channels. After 2 hours only 3 sharks. Not the kind of action I had envisioned for the young anglers so we finished the day in what I call the Transition Zone where the Gulf meets the bay and had a blast catching big Ladyfish and Spanish Mackerel on Rage Ultralight rods and Bonefish Trek rod with the Diablo 350 spin reel. Its so great to have so many options here if one thing is not working there are plenty of other species to catch.

Charley Magidson used the 8 foot Sailfish Trek rod to catch his Tarpon

this Tarpon put on a show for Cole Udam

On Sunday it was blowing from the north east and had warmed up. On the way out a big school of mullet got in the way of my cast net and a Tarpon fishing we were going. By 10 am Charley Magidson (15) and keen angler Cole Udam(14) had each caught Tarpon over 100lbs. This was spectacular fishing as we were using live mullet and both Tarpon actually cleared the water as they inhaled the live mullet. I live for action like this. Both dads wanted to catch a Tarpon as well but not on this trip.

Fourteen year old Cole Udam used a
Tarpon Spincast Trek rod and EOS 30 reel to catch his Tarpon.

Charley Magidson catching his first ever Tarpon while Dad, Paul, watches

Captain Skip Nielsen