Feel the Tarpon Burn

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Tarpon battle scars. Photo By: Louis Cahill

The first step in landing a big tarpon is getting a really good hook set.

If your hook fails to penetrate the hard boney mouth of the tarpon, it almost always will be spit out after the first or second jump. My previous trip to the Florida Keys I experienced just that, walking away with a 0-2 record, all because my hook-sets were piss poor. I wasn’t hitting them hard enough after the eat, and I made a pledge after that trip, that the next time I got a big tarpon to eat, I’d focus 100% solely on making sure my hook set was absolutely perfect. Believe me when I say, it’s humiliating as hell having a guide stare you down after you blow a hook-set. It makes you want to go find a hole to crawl off into.

When Capt. Bruce Chard put me on the biggest tarpon of my life during my latest trip, I set the hook hard and held onto the fly line as long as I could. Come hell or high water, I was going to get that hook completely buried in the tarpons mouth. Low and behold, I accomplished just that, and I ended up landing that mighty tarpon, but I got this nice fly line burn in the process. It was all worth it in the end though, because for the next two weeks as the bilsters healed, I was reminded of my victorious catch everytime I looked down at my hand.

Keep it Reel,

Kent Klewein
Gink & Gasoline
www.ginkandgasoline.com
hookups@ginkandgasoline.com
 
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5 thoughts on “Feel the Tarpon Burn

  1. Got to love a good battle scar! Those realized at the end of a successful tussle yield smiles for weeks and those that result in a LDR haunt you and drive you to correct that grave mishap…

    • Louis,

      Ha Haaaa! I’m going to start using that phrase from now on. I’d say I was sorry to hear that, but I’m still a little jealous that I wasn’ on that last trip with you.

      Kent

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