Now that we’re making our summer home up here in West Florida,
I’m lucky to be living just a half hour boat ride to the famous
tarpon Mecca of Boca Grande Pass. Separating the two islands of
Cayo Costa and Gasparilla, dedicated anglers know this mile wide
spot and its history well. Along with Islamorada and the Lower
Keys, Boca Grande helped kick the sport into the national
spotlight several decades ago and is currently the home to the
most high dollar tarpon tournaments on the water.
Tarpon fishing in Boca Grande Pass couldn’t be more different
than how we do it on Vieques. For starters, the Pass, as locals
call it, is very deep. It drops down to almost seventy feet and
has a swiftly running current caused by the tides being squeezed
between Gasparilla and Cayo Costa. The tarpon occasionally feed
off the surface but they mostly hang near the bottom of the
water column. Hooking them is done by dropping heavily weighted
lead jigs down to their level. On the right day it’s possible to
hook half a dozen fish in a few hours. It helps to have a big
skiff with a powerful engine to hold position while racing with
the current.
During the season when the fish are running thick, the Pass is
simply a madhouse. On a tournament weekend the Pass can be
choked with nearly a hundred boats literally bouncing off of
each other while fighting their fish. Every command, cheer, or
threat is shouted at full volume on and between the boats in
order to compete with engines revving constantly in and out of
gear. It’s basically NASCAR on the water, with teams decked out
in identical outfits covered with sponsor patches, and their
$50,000 to $100,000 boats painted to match. Loosing the wrong
fish on Tournament Day can be the equivalent of loosing a year’s
pay, let alone the steep entry fee. From a distance it looks
like a lot of expensive, stressful fun, and I want nothing to do
with it.
Tarpon are one of the greatest species that swims and if I was
given one last day to fish, they’re what I’d choose to target.
But for my money, big tarpon on heavy tackle aren’t very much
fun. The hook-up and first couple jumps are really outrageous,
but then it quickly becomes an endurance test. After two hours
of pulling a heavy weight in the hot sun, a broken line is as
entertaining as getting a swift kick in the groin.
As far as I’m concerned the best way to experience all that
tarpon have to offer is by hooking them on a fly rod in shallow
water. This is how we catch the majority of them on Vieques and
how I prefer to catch any tarpon. Just before we headed for the
States, the island’s north shore from Mosquito Pier to Green
Beach was really producing some nice fish. Many were what I’d
consider babies of under ten pounds, but quite a few were either
mid-size females or full grown males up to fifty pounds. The
really clear water just east of Punta Arenas held several
schools of this size during early June.
The best thing about these small to medium tarpon on Vieques is
how quick they are to eat almost any fly placed in front of
them. This is the main difference between our island and a
fishery like the Keys or Boca Grande Pass. Seeing a single boat
on the Vieques flats is unusual, and when you do it’s often a
local cast netting bait, not fishing for tarpon. The complete
absence of fishing pressure makes Vieques tarpon the most angler
friendly in the world. When I find a school of rolling fish on a
calm morning, I know I’m going to get a hook into one of them.
This is something I couldn’t always say during my years up in
Key West.
Despite our cooperative tarpon, Vieques is never going to be
compared to the Keys or the Pass. We simply don’t have the
numbers of fish or the predictability. Vieques tarpon show up
when the feel like it and leave just as quickly. Throw in the
fact that there are only three captains on the island to charter
for them you have nothing to build a $100,000 tournament around,
which is fine with me. I was never much of a competitive angler
anyway. My only first place victory in over a dozen Florida
tournaments I fished & netted me a t-shirt. That’s a pretty far
cry from the giant checks and new boats handed out at the Boca
Grande championship. But it was a nice t-shirt and I still wear
it every now and then.
Someone is going to make $100,000 catching tarpon up here in
West Florida on the right day, but it won’t be me. I’ll make a
lot less than that doing the same thing on Vieques next year
without all the noise, stress, and swearing. Fair trade.
Capt. Gregg McKee,
WildFly Charters
