Page 166 - South Mississippi Living - September, 2018

SPORTS & OUTDOORS fight to the fin-ish
166 SOUTH MISSISSIPPI Living • September 2018 FOR MORE REFLECTIONS OF THE GULF COAST >> www.smliving.net
Capt. Nicky Harvell uses his skill and experience to bring in a silver king.
Frank Wilem is CEO of The Wilem Group which produces television shows including Find Your Outdoors (formerly Gulf South Outdoors.) Info on air times and channels may be found on their website at www. gulfsouthoutdoors.com.
story by Frank Wilem photos courtesy of Caitlin Corso
story by Frank Wilem photos courtesy of alksdjl
The torpedo-shaped body bursts from the water and hangs for an instant a full-body-length above the surface. Half-dollar-sized silver scales gleam in the sunlight. Furiously shaking its head with huge mouth agape, the tarpon struggles to dislodge the hook. Wisely, the angler bows before it. As the tarpon plunges beneath the surface, he knows the fight has just begun.
The summertime Mississippi waters hold plenty of tarpon. The flash of their silver bellies can
be seen as they roll in the waters south of the barrier islands. The Goose Point Tarpon Club, built on Cat Island in 1928 only to be consumed by fire three years later, evidences the fact that tarpon were once a popular game fish on the Mississippi coast. However, my efforts and those of many of my friends when fishing for tarpon have produced plenty of frustration but few fish.
fish can fight while struggling with my first 90-pound specimen on light tackle.
Tarpon, otherwise known as
the silver king, are considered the undisputed king of the flats. I’ve often seen them gliding
over coral reefs while diving the keys or lurking in the harbors of Key West where I had my first personal encounter. On this trip, the guide located tarpon on his depth finder in a deep hole in the main channel. I gained a healthy appreciation for how hard these
My next match-up was in
the upper Florida Keys off Islamorada, considered by some to be the Sport fishing Capital of the World. It was on one of our Man Trip Expeditions scheduled for late April during the tarpon’s migration through the keys. I had the good fortune to fish with Capt. Chuck Brodzki, one of the best Keys guides. His game plan was to drift while free lining small, live, blue crabs on the outgoing tide at night.
It was already dark when we left the dock with two anglers and Capt. Chuck on his 18-foot Maverick flats boat. We took position just north of one of the bridges down from Islamorada. It wasn’t long before it became clear Chuck knew his stuff — we were hooked up. Capt. Chuck navigated while one of us fought