Day 5 Frank's Birthday Week in the Keys

Fishin' in the morning and fishin' in the evening was the plan for Wednesday.

Rich, Bob, Frank and I hopped on the boat Wednesday morning with the hopes of getting a few fish in the box.  For such a big ocean and such a popular area of the Keys, there were surprisingly few boats on the water.  The more fish for us!

But nothing!  Zip, zero, zilch! 

We got back to the dock, got things cleaned up and even had time for a little nap before our tarpon night fishing adventure was going to begin.  Little did we know what an adventure we would have when Frank and Bob met Capt. Bruce in the parking lot of Bass Pro and signed up all 5 of us for a 4 hour night fishing trip on a 24' boat.

Toby and I readied provisions, we all donned bug spray and had jackets at the ready.  It was supposed to be a beautiful night - on the water at sunset and a full moon.  Sounded just about perfect. 

We met Capt. Bruce at the dock at 6:00pm.  He had just returned from an earlier trip and hadn't had time to clean the boat.  (Oh what's a few fish bits gonna hurt?)  So we started to load our things and selves in the boat. 

There was surprisingly a good bit of room for all of us to maneuver but we found a spot and enjoyed the ride through the mangroves to where we were going to set up shop for the tarpon.

After about a 20 minute ride (with no cushions on the seats), we reached an area by one of the bridges.  There were several other boats but it wasn't too crowded.  Capt. Bruce promised a beautiful sunset and tarpon, which would most likely appear after the sun went down and moon came up.  But, there were at least 2 other boats that caught a tarpon while it was still daylight. 

We noshed, sipped, and floated along while watching the beautiful sunset. 

Sunset on the Bay:

Capt. Bruce kept promising we'd get a bite.  And since he delivered on the sunset, we kept the faith.  But nothing.  I held the rod just like he told me for so long I thought my wrist was going to break!  He also told us "a minute a pound" which meant if we caught a 100 pound tarpon we'd be fighting for and hour and 40 minutes.

The sun set, we put on our jackets and waited patiently for the moon to come up.  It was beautiful!!

Finally, about 15 minutes after the full moon had risen high in the sky, Frank got a bite!  The line zing-zing-zinged and he held on!  We all got in our places (and out of Frank's way) so he would have plenty of room to work. 

He did an awesome job and eventually the tarpon came to the boat (but not before jumping or gulping some air a few times)!   Click here for video. 

It was about a 110 pound tarpon and Frank fought it for nearly 40 minutes!  (Capt Bruce must give those time/pound estimates to amateur fishermen.) 

It was definitely a Happy Birthday Fish for Frank.  :o)

(And it was an "adventure" with Captain Bruce alright.....reminiscent of our fishing trip in Panama.  Don't think we'll be fishing with him again and I don't think the guys will hire a captain without a recommendation from now on.)