Page 167 - South Mississippi Living - September, 2018

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September 2018 • SOUTH MISSISSIPPI Living 167
Fun fact: Tarpons have half-dollar-sized silver scales.
a fish and the other manned the spotlight. One key tactic in fighting tarpon is to “bow to the silver king.” This entails lowering the rod and pointing it at the airborne fish to give them slack and avoid breaking the line or having them throw the hook from their bony mouth. Watching the fish’s aerial display in the beam from our light is an image I’ll never forget.
I had the “good fortune” to be the angler for the last of five fish we caught that first night. The 110-pound fish proceeded to tow our flats boat through the bridge and another two miles while I kept it bowed up for over an hour. By the time we finally released it, the sun was up, the fish was done, and so was I.
On a recent trip to Destin, my daughter, Brittany,
joined Capt Nicky Harvell, a Charter Team member of our television show Find Your Outdoors. He has been charter-fishing for redfish and tarpon for over a decade. Nicky’s approach is to run along the beach until he spots fish in the shallows. He then maneuvers ahead of them where he free lines a live cigar minor back toward the fish. Once he feels the bait behaving nervously, it’s not long before a decisive jerk begins the fight.
After watching Nicky catch one, it was Britt’s turn to bow to the silver king as she caught her very first tarpon, checking an item off of her bucket list in the process. Before it was time to head back to the dock, Britt had caught her second and together they had hooked eight and released three. They found the tarpon and a lot of fun along the way.
Brittany Wilem showing off her very first tarpon.