Gator Creek Tarpon

Went out to give Elmo and Odie some windshield time with Karen and decided to try for some Gator Creek tarpon on the shallow grass flats.

We passed the causeway which was beginning to load up with early July 4th celebrants and headed towards the East Gator Creek entrance.

The water was almost a dead calm and it was beginning to rain, so I left the dogs in the truck along with Karen and decided to make a few casts across the flats to see if anything was in the area.

I started out with a bone and red colored XPS Slim Dog that was smeared up with some Pro-Cure Super Gel inshore formula.

After the 3rd or 4th cast, I hooked a small ladyfish that tossed the bait after the second jump.
I made several more fruitless casts before giving up on the bait.

I don't know who said fish were stupid, but they definitely know how to avoid a lure when it stings one of their kind, anyway, I switched to a Chug Bug and missed two more ladyfish that tossed the lure before finally landing the small one below.

 

It was all bloodied up so I kept it to chunk up for reds.

I finally switched over to a silver/black back Badonk-A-Donk topwater bait that I was meaning to try out.

I smeared up the lure with some Pro-Cure on the sides and on the first cast hooked a legitimate size sea trout that I immediately released.

A couple of casts in the same area produced another boil from a much larger fish.  I'm not sure if it was a red or a large sea trout, but it smashed the bait completely out of the water and then left it.

I kept trying for the fish but after a dozen or so casts I gave up and moved on up the road.

I never spotted a tarpon but I kept getting follow ups and hits on the lure until Karen decided we needed to head to the house.

Before I get back to work next week, I plan on trying the areas again closer to dusk to see if the fish will be more receptive.

The topwater bite pattern right now seems to be just after a thunderstorm when things clam down.   The fish become active during and right after the storms roll by.

Till next time,
Tight Lines.

Gator Creek Tarpon

Since I've been home this past week, I've noticed a lot of juvenile tarpon in the deeper shallows of Gator Creek.

This area is where I enjoy catching ladyfish for fun and occasionally for bait, but yesterday when I took Elmo and Odie out for a ride around the "swamp", I jumped one tarpon along the deeper shallows on a freshwater bass pattern Chug Bug, and a second one that was about 4 feet long that hit the Badonk-A-Donk below.

The ladyfish have been acting like they haven't had a meal in months.

When I first started casting the Chug Bug, I got a hit on every single cast until they finally wised up and stopped chasing the bait.

I managed to land 5 ladyfish that ranged from about 12" in length, to one that topped 24" in about a 20 minute period.  I lost more than I landed but since I released all of the fish, I really didn't care.

I enjoy topwater fishing, and these guys keep the action at a high level but when I hooked into the first tarpon, it really got the old muscle pumping.

The larger size tarpon hit in an area that I never expected to hold fish.  I'm keeping that place to myself but as soon as I'm finished with this post, I plan on visiting the location to see if I can get him to hit another topwater bait.

These guys are hard to hook on light tackle.  I use 10 pound test Cajun Red line with a 20 or 30 pound fluorocarbon leader on most of my topwater rods, and unless you really set the hooks, the fish usually shake off the plug.

Anyway, it's about 6:00 pm and I'm ready to head for the refuge to see if I can scarf up another Gator Creek tarpon.

Till next time, Tight Lines.