03-21-2002, 04:10 AM
Tarpon fishing this evening was the best it has been for the past week and a half. After arriving at Government Cut, we made a drift on the south side with no results. We watched numerous tarpon rolling in the main channel and moved to that location. On our second drift out the Cut, we hooked up and the fight was on. The strong out going tide pushed us and the fish out the Cut toward a green buoy where the fish cut us off on the chain holding it in place. The next drift has us hooked up again and after a 5 minute fight, the fish jumped close to the same buoy and threw the hook. Our third drift also hooked a tarpon and this time the fish ran under the boat and came to the surface resulting in the line cutting off under the boat. One of my four anglers began to feel the effects of the rougher water of the main channel, so we moved back to calmer water on the south side. After setting up the drift, I began to mark fish on the recorder and it didn't take long for a rod to bend over severely and the reel to start screaming. The 80# tarpon took us to the main channel where two anglers shared the experience of fighting their first tarpon. The fish was successfully released. To answer the question about tarpon fishing from yesterday's report, YES they have broken the hide and seek pattern and are staying in and feeding in the Government Cut area after dark.<br><br>Captain Dave Kostyo<br>Knot Nancy Fishing Charters<br>305 620-5896 Charter<br>305 732-2628 Beeper<br>www.rnfl.com/knotnancy<br>nkostyo@bellsouth.net<br><br>