| 2012 Florida Keys Fishing Reports |
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| Pam's 120 pound Tarpon on fly April 13, 2012 |
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Last Extreme Tarpon Report for 2012
June 13, 14 & 15, 2012
Greetings from Tarpon World:
June 13, 2012: Hot and calm, no wind at all, Charlie Brinton and I headed to Tarpon world at 9:00 PM to hunt the elusive Tarpon on fly. Water Temperature and air temperature were both 89 degrees, it was hot weather but slow fishing. We fished for four hours and Charlie hooked and jumped a total of 4 Tarpon on fly. The dead calm water makes it really hard to get a good hook set so all four fish spit the fly back at us after a couple of jumps and a long run, we had fun!
June 14, 2012: Emily and Michael Mauri from Pennsylvania and Germany are here on their honeymoon and decided to try their luck with the Tarpon on fly. Michael is a world class spey caster and instructor while Emily is the person who runs the office at "The Fly Fishing Show". We fished from 10:00 PM to 2:00 AM tonight, not many Tarpon, Emily hooked, Jumped, and fought a fish of over 100 pounds while Michael jumped a 70 pounder. Both anglers caught several Lady fish, we had fun.
June 15, 2012: Calm, hot, and few Tarpon, Emily was the first angler to jump a 60 pound male Tarpon, and then she caught several big Lady Fish. Michael hooked and fought a bit Female late in the evening bit pulled the hook after several Jumps. This nice couple have planned to come back next year, hopefully, we will have a little cooler weather at that time.
This was my last night of Tarpon fishing for this season, I will leave for North Carolina tomorrow morning and be home on Tuesday evening if all goes well. Tarpon fly fishing was pretty good this season but not as good as the last couple of years. We fished a total of 61 nights from 75 nights spent in the Keys, my clients jumped 315 Tarpon, they caught and released one hundred and one Tarpon on fly in 61 four hour charters. I am blessed to have this awesome Tarpon fly fishing and want to thank all of my friends & clients who share my passion to catch these awesome fish on fly. I am now taking reservations for my 2013 Tarpon season during April, May, and June of 2013, don't miss the action. L love this Job, Glad I am going home, stay tuned for more fly fishing reports to follow shortly.
Regards:
Jake
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Tarpon on Fly Report
Florida Keys
June, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12
Greetings from Tarpon World:
June 8, 2012: Fished alone for 2 hours tonight, I drifted along Cormorant bank from northwest to southeast, made 4 drifts and jumped 4 tarpon. I fought and released 3 Silver King between 60 and 120 pounds.
June 9, 2012: Ted and Brideie Elich from Durham NC fished with me tonight, the water temperature was 89 and the fishing was slow. Each angler jumped a tarpon while Brideie caught and released a 90 pound male that put on a great show by jumping 13 tomes before we made the release.
June 10, 2012; Bill and Charlie Brinton from northern CA are scheduled to fly fish for Tarpon with me for the next 4 nights. They were delayed and did not make it to the keys in time to fish tonight. I went out at 8:30 and fished for one hour and Jumped 2 Tarpon, of which I caught them both.
June 11, 2012: Bill, Charlie and I boarded "Fly Reel" at 7:30 PM and headed to Tarpon World, the wind was from the east at 10 - 15, with water and air temperature at 89 degrees. Fishing was very slow, we got 3 bites, missed the hook set on two, and Jumped one Tarpon. It seems like there are less and less Tarpon around every day, looks like the end of Tarpon season is coming soon.
June 12, 2012: Bill and Charlie Brinton met me at the marina at 8:30 tonight, we fished for 4 hours, in 89 degree water temperature with east wind at 10 knots. Both anglers hooked and jumped two Tarpon each. All four of the jumped fish were big females, two broke off one cut the line on the bridge, and the other spit the hook on the jump. We will be at it again tomorrow, stay tuned for more tarpon on fly reports. I love my job, wish you were here!
Regards:
Jake
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Extreme Tarpon on Fly
Florida Keys
June 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 2012
Greetings from Tarpon World:
June, 2, 2012: Tonight Robert and Elliot Pratt from North Carolina, joined me for their second night of fly fishing for Tarpon. Tonight both anglers jumped 2 tarpon with Robert releasing a Tarpon of 90 pounds. Both anglers had a good time and both caught their first Tarpon on fly.
June 3, 2012: Bill Beaulby from Cheyenne, WY, and his friend Scott from Colorado began their four nights of fly fishing for Tarpon tonight. Neither one of them had ever fly fished for Tarpon, however both were decent fly casters. We began fishing at 12:30 AM with the air temperature at 84 degrees and the water temperature at 86 degrees, the wind was calm and the water was dead calm. Both anglers worked hard and each jumped two Tarpon, Bill caught a tarpon of 80 pounds.
June 4, 2012: Bill and Scott met me at the boat and we headed out to Tarpon world, the wind and seas were dead calm and fishing was hard. We jumped three Tarpon while each angler caught and released a Tarpon of over 100 pounds.
June 5, 2012: Tonight Bill Beaulby showed up alone at 1:30 AM, we fished until dawn in a south wind at 10 knots. Bill jumped six big Tarpon tonight, he caught and released 3 Tarpon on fly all of which were between 100 and 120 pounds. We had a great time, and look forward to even better fishing tomorrow.
June 6, 2012: Bill Beaulby from Cheyenne, WY and I fished from 2:45 AM to dawn tonight, the wind was from the south at 15, and the Tarpon were eating worms and shrimp. Bill got 10 bites, jumped 7 or 8, and caught 3 big Tarpon in less than 3 hours, Big Smiles all around! Bill and his family will be back next year for more of this Extreme Night Tarpon on Fly fishing!
June 7, 2012: Fished for 2 hours tonight with a friend (neighbor) who does not want his name in my report.We jumped 8 Tarpon tonight on 20 pound Tippet, my friend caught two and I released 4 of these awesome critters. I love my job, hope the fishing holds up for the next 10 nights, then I will be heading home on June 20. Stay tuned for more extreme fly fishing from Tarpon World!
Regards:
Jake
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| Extreme Tarpon on Fly, Night Tarpon Fly Fishing, June 2012 |
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Extreme Tarpon on Fly Report
May 27, 28, 30, 31, June 1, 2012
Greetings from Tarpon World:
May 27, 2012: Alan Dozier from Charlotte NC joined me with his son tonight to experience the awesome night time fly fishing for Tarpon here in the fabulous Florida Keys. The wind and seas were flat com, the water temperature was 89 degrees and as usual when the wind is still, the fishing was slow. Both anglers jumped a total of two big Tarpon and each angler caught and released a Tarpon in the 100 pound class on 20 pound tippet. We had lots of fun and they will be back next year.
May 28, 2012: Tonight with calm seas and calm wind the water temperature was 88.5 degrees and the fly fishing for big tarpon was slow at Tarpon world. Doug Andrews and Mine Norris from New Hampshire and Maine respectively, worked hard casting at feeding Tarpon during the four hour charter. When we were finished at 11:00 PM my two fly anglers had jumped a total of seven big Tarpon and both Doug and Mike released a Tarpon on fly, both were over 100 pounds.
May 30, 2012: My friend Bill Anderson from southern CA brought his son David who has been fishing with me since he was a very young child, and David's brother Roy to fly fish for Tarpon with me in Tarpon World for two nights.
The wind and seas were dead calm so the anglers had to sight cast to feeding tarpon which were feeding all around the boat. Tonight we missed several bites however Bill jumped several very large Tarpon while Roy Jumped and caught a 90 pound male Tarpon. It was fun fishing with my good friends on a beautiful evening.
May 31, 2012: Bill, David, and Roy joined me tonight with the same dead calm water with lots of seaweed in the water and 87 degree water temperature and lots of rain around us. Tonight David Jumped 2 Tarpon from three bites while Bill Anderson Jumped, hooked, fought, and caught a 80 pound Male Tarpon on fly. We had a good time, next year they will be here for 3 nights of extreme Tarpon on the Fly!
June 1, 2012: Tonight Robert and Elliott Pratt from Chapel Hill NC joined me for their first of two nights of fly fishing for Tarpon. The wind finally picked up and blew from the south at 15 knots and the water temp dropped to 86.5 degrees from the hard rain which fell all day. Elliott jumped 3 nice tarpon, he pulled the hook on two and broke one off, while Robert got two Tarpon in the air and caught one of them, a fish of about 100 pounds. The wind is blowing and it is raining as I write this report, I think fishing will be good tonight. Stay tuned for more fly fishing reports from Tarpon world, I love this job, wish you were here.
Regards
Jake
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| Jumping Large Tarpon on fly, May 2012, Vessel Fly Reel. Tarpon World, Florida Keys |
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Keys Tarpon & Worm Report
May 20, 21, 22, 23, 2012
Greetings from Tarpon World and the worm Hatch:
May 20, 2012: Larry Lack and his friend Andy, both from Marin County CA joined me to cast flies at Tarpon between 1:00 AM and 5:00 AM tonight. The wind was dead calm so these guys had to cast and strip the fly all night, the water and air temperature was 85 degrees with high humidity and dead calm seas. Larry and Andy jumped a total of 5 big tarpon between them and caught 2 both over 100 pounds. These guys gas fun, and plan to come back next year.
May 21, 2012: Phil Goldstein from Eagle River Alaska brought his girl friend along for a 4 hour extreme Tarpon on fly charter aboard "Fly Reel" with me tonight. The wind was calm, seas calm, 85.5 water temperature, with high humidity and calm seas. Phil learned to cast from my friend Tony Weaver at one of tony's fly casting schools in Alaska. Lots of Tarpon around, looking for a worm hatch tomorrow night, Phil jumped 9 tarpon tonight and released 3 big female POONS all over 110 pounds. We had lots of fun, Phil is hooked on Tarpon Fly fishing.
May 22, 2012: Tonight I was taking a night off, so I joined my friend Captain Lenny Moffo at the Square Grouper restaurant on Cudjoe Key, had a great meal and was driving home to Marathon. I got a call from Captain Bruce Chard who was towing his skiff with his truck and was right behind me, "worms are going off, Jakester, pull into the park and go with us"? At 7:15, we launched Bruce's skiff and the three of us headed to the worm bar. Bruce jumped 4 or 5, his client Rob jumped at least 6, and I hooked 5 all on 1 inch palolo worm flies. We hook, jump, and then tighten up on the drag to get the fish off, after that you bend the #6 hook back from straight to hook shape and re cast at another Tarpon. Rob, Bruce and I were back at the dock 1 hour and 30 minutes later after jumping 16 fish.
May 23, 2012; I left the dock aboard "Fly Reel" at 6:30 PM alone and headed to the worm hatch, I jumped 7 Tarpon on fly before the phone rang at 7:35 and I did a live fishing report from the worm hatch on "Got Fish, Got Rum" radio show. I was home by 9:00 to watch the Boston / Philadelphia Basketball game. The worm hatch may last one more minor hatch tomorrow and then every one waits until next year, or maybe on the full moon in June? In any event, I love my job, wish you were here, stay tuned for more Tarpon on fly reports to follow.
I will be flying to Alaska to fly fish for big Silver Salmon at Icy Bay Lodge, www.icybaylodge.com between September 16 and 22 this fall. Icy bay lodge is a small well equipped fly fishing lodge which is in the wilderness along the gulf coast of Alaska 65 miles north west of Yakutat . I believe this is one of the best wilderness lodges in Alaska and it has awesome Silver Salmon on top water fly action. The lodge is owned by my friend Pete Grim and only takes 10 total clients in 5 cabins each week. The cost including air taxi from and to Yakutat is $5,400 per week per person including 5 1/2 days fly fishing, 6 nights lodging, and all meals along with air taxi. I think that there is room for 4 more anglers during the week that I plan to be there, I have convinced Pete to offer a $500 dollar discount per person for my friends who come to fish during the week that I will be there. If you are interested contact either Roy Halpin (Lodge Manager) at: 386.643.2884, sandhillmarketing@gmail.com, or Pete Grimm, (Owner of Icy Bay Lodge) at: (303) 807-5657, grimmvpete@gmail.com. Let them know that you are interested in fishing with me and would like the $500 discount. I have to go to bed, maybe more worms tomorrow
Jake Jordan's Fishing Adventures
PO Box 500937
Marathon, FL, 33050
305-872-6060
www.jakejordan.com
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| Night Time Jumping Tarpon on Fly, |
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Keys Tarpon on Fly Report
May, 16, 17, 18, 19, 2012
Greetings from Tarpon World:
May 16, 2012: Beth and Rick Watkins from Orlando and Duck Key Florida joined me tonight at 10:30 PM for a four hour adventure in Tarpon World. The wind was calm to 5 knots, the seas were calm to a light chop, the Silver King were eating shrimp and crabs on the surface. Tonight we fished in Silver Slough, at the northwest end of cormorant bank, and we could hear the Tarpon feeding, on the surface, all around the boat in 85.2 degree water temperature. Both Beth and Rick are pretty good anglers, we jumped and fought a total of 6 Tarpon tonight, with each angler getting the release on a fish around 100 pounds. We had lots of fun and will do it again in a couple of days.
May 17, 2012: Tom and Joe Seagrave from North Carolina are here for two nights of Fly Fishing for the great Silver King, they picked good dates for their trip. We boarded "Fly Reel" at 11:15 PM in dead calm seas with no wind and 85.4 degree water temperature with 84 degree air temperature and 98 percent humidity. Due to the fact that the wind is dead calm, my anglers are required to make many casts in excess of 60 feet, both Tommy and Joe are hard core fly anglers and were up to the task. Joe caught the first Tarpon a male of 90 pounds, then both anglers jumped and fought a couple, loosing a fly line to a bridge piling after that big female towed my boat over two miles. Tommy then leadered a nice female Silver King in the 110 pound class to top off this good night of Tarpon fly fishing, we jumped six big Tarpon and released one for each angler.
May 18, 2012: Twelve midnight, Joe and Tommy Seagrave, are armed with 12 weight TFO BVK fly rods, Mako #9550 fly reels, RIO 12 weight Tarpon Taper fly lines, 20 pound class tippet, and the magical, POON BUG, as we leave the dock and head out to Tarpon World. The air and water temperature are 85 degrees, the wind is calm, the water looks like the surface of a mirror except for the Tarpon exploding on the surface eating crabs, shrimp, and worms! Soon their diet changes as Tom and Joe begin to present the "POON BUGS" to the feeding Silver King. Tonight we Jumped and fought a total of 13 Tarpon with each angler catching at least one for pictures, we lost several to barnacles on bridge pilings as these were all really big fish. Jumped 13, caught 3 was the final score, these guys are already booked for next season in Tarpon World!
May 19, 2012: It was raining most of the day today, when Beth and Rick Watkins arrived at "FLY REEL" the wind was coming from the northeast at 10 to 15 knots and there was lightning both to our south (Cuba) and our North (Everglades). We arrived at "Tarpon Cut" at 12:45 PM, where Beth made a great presentation to a hungry female Tarpon, that fish ate the Poon Bug, and we were off to the races. Fifteen minutes later Beth wound the leader inside of the rod tip, we took some pictures and let that magnificent Tarpon swim away with a smile on its face. Just then the sky turned black, lightning was flashing all around us, so we headed to the dock and just beat the storm to the truck. Tonight we only got one bite in less than an hour, and we only caught one Tarpon, and we are all smiling and very HAPPY! Beth and Rick will be back soon for more fun in Tarpon World!
Stay tuned for more reports from Tarpon world to follow, I love my job, wish you were here! I am sold out for this season, remember to book your dates for 2013 early, the Tarpon and Captain Jake will be here in Tarpon World.
Regards:
Jake
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Extreme Tarpon on Fly Report
May 15, 2012
Greetings from Tarpon World:
May 15, 2012: Chuck Furimsky, (owner of "The Fly Fishing Shows") fished with me tonight for his third and final charter of this year's Tarpon season. We hit the water at 9:30 PM with 84 degree air temperature and 85.4 degree water temperature with calm wind and calm seas. Lots of Tarpon moved from the ocean today and they were eating good tonight. Chuck was equipped with my "TFO" TiCr 12 weight fly rod, a "Mako" #9550 fly reel, loaded with a "RIO" WF-12-F fly line, 20 pound tippet, and one of my secret "POON BUG" flies.
Chuck hooked, fought, and jumped, a total of 5 tarpon tonight on my poon bug, He wound two Tarpon (both over 100 pounds) to the surface for pictures. After 3 nights (12 hours) of Tarpon fly fishing Chuck had jumped 18 Tarpon while catching and releasing 7 of which 6 were between 100 and 125 pounds.
If anyone wants to catch a few nice Tarpon on fly this season, I have an opening on May 19, and May 22, other than those dates I am sold out for this Tarpon season.
It is now time for anyone who is interested in fly fishing for Albies during October and November in North Carolina to contact me for available Dates. I still have some dates available fro Sailfish schools during December of 2012, along with January, February, March of 2013, book your dates now if you are planning to join me as I will be sold out soon. By the way, I love this Job, wish you were here, stay tuned for more reports. Oh yea, Check with me on Alaska dates, there is room for a few more fly anglers to join me this September at Icy Bay Lodge for big Silvers on fly, along with Giant Rainbows at Troutfitters.
Regards:
Jake
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| Chuck Furimsky Big Tarpon on Fly, Vessel Fly Reel, Captain Jake Jordan, May 14, 2012 |
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Keys Extreme Tarpon on Fly Report
May 12, 13, 14, 2012
Greetings from Tarpon Season:
May 12, 2012: Tonight I had a night off, went to tarpon world at sun down, fished for 2 1/2 hours, hooked and jumped 5 Tarpon on fly, caught and released 4 of them. All were big Tarpon, I never started the engine while I was fighting these Tarpon. Mako Fly Reels, Rio Fly Lines, TFO BW MD rods, all kick Tarpon Butt!
May 13, 2012: Tonight, my friend Chuck Furimsky ( owner of "The Fly Fishing Show"), and Randi Swisher (President of " AFFTA" and "The Fly Tackle Dealers Show") joined me to fly fish for Tarpon. We headed out at 8:00 PM, just before sunset, I gave Randi a quick explanation about what to expect and how to present the fly along with how to fight these awesome monsters. Randy and Chuck made their first cast, and within one minute Randy jumped a 75 pound Tarpon, which spit the hook. Ten minutes later Chuck jumped his first of the night, and it went on like this for three and a half hours. At 11:30 when we came in, Randi and Chuck had jumped and fought 12 Tarpon from more than 20 bites, the light south wind made it hard to keep them on, and we lost several as they towed the boat near a bridge and got the line onto the barnacles and broke off. Chuck landed a Tarpon of about one hundred pounds. Steady action all night, jumped 12, caught one, all smiles.
May 14, 2012: Tonight the wind was calm until 9:00 at which time it began to blow at 10 knots from the east, water temperature was 84.5 degrees. Chuck Furimsky was my angler tonight, he hooked 4 big Tarpon between 80 and 120 pounds, three were over 100 pounds. Chuck was exhausted after the four battles which lasted at least 30 minutes each. We will be back out there tonight, stay tuned for more reports from Tarpon World! I love my Job, wish you were here.
Regards:
Jake
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| Chuck Furimsky Big Tarpon on Fly, Vessel Fly Reel, Captain Jake Jordan, May 14, 2012 |
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Keys Tarpon on Fly Report
May, 5, 6, 7, 11, 2012
Greetings from Tarpon World:
May 5, 2012: Tonight Ron Boyd from Texas joined me and we began fishing at 1:00 AM, we fished hard until 5:00 AM and Ron jumped 7 Tarpon on fly. As we headed back to the dock with a big smile on our faces, Ron told me how much he enjoyed catching those two nice Tarpon on fly tonight. Ron is a good angler, we had lots of fun accomplishing his goal of catching his first Tarpon on fly.
May 6, 2012: Tonight Andrew Wyatt and I fished from 1:30 to 5:30 AM fro Tarpon on fly, the wind was from the south at less than 5 knots and it was hard to keep the fish on the hook. Andrew hooked, fought, Jumped, and lost all 5 big Tarpon which he hooked. The moon was bright and full, the water temperature was 83.8 degrees, and the seas were calm. It is really hard to get a good hook-up when the wind is blowing from the south, because the fish are heading straight to the boat when they eat the fly, making it hard to get a solid hook set. Andrew and I had a great time, he will be back in the future.
May 7, 2012: Bob Clay and his friend Ron, both from Martha's Vineyard joined me to fly fish for Tarpon between 2:30 and 6:30 AM. The wind was from the south at 5 knots and the water temperature was 84 degrees, the moon was full. These guys Jumped a total of 9 Tarpon on fly, however we only got two fish close to the boat, one broke us off on a bridge piling, another spit the hook 3 foot from the release, and another tarpon cut the backing on barnacles and we lost the fly line and the Tarpon. Bob and Ron had lots of fun and have booked for next year.
May 11, 2012: Tonight a friend of mine who is a live bait Tarpon guide here in the Florida Keys, it was his daughters birthday and neither one of them had ever fished with a fly rod. We fished fro 2 hours, each of them jumped two Tarpon and each leadered (released) a tarpon on fly over 90 pounds. We had a great time and were in buy 9:30 PM. I love this Job, wish you were here, More Reports to follow soon.
Regards:
Jake
Jake Jordan's Fishing Adventures
PO Box 500937
Marathon, FL, 33050
305-872-6060
www.jakejordan.com
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Extreme Night Tarpon on Fly Report
May 3 & 4, 2012
Greetings from Tarpon World:
May 3, 2012: Tonight the wind is blowing 15 to 20 knots from the south east, the water is still the color of split pea soup, however it is clearing up with each tide change. I had dinner with my clients at the Barracuda Grill (Great Meal as usual) and my guys decided to take the night off after not getting a bite last night, and they were heading to Mexico to fish for a week the next day.
I couldn't sleep so I headed to Pelican Bank in Tarpon world at 12:30 AM to see if the Tarpon came back from the reef? (Bingo) I made 3 drifts on the north east flat where I jumped a total of 4 big Tarpon, I leadered 3 and pulled the hook on the fourth fish. These fish were between 80 and 110 pounds, I was home in bed by 3:30 AM with a big grin on my face.
May 4, 2012: Ron Boyd, from Fort Worth Texas, came to the Keys to try for his first Tarpon on fly. We met up and headed out aboard "FLY REEL" at 12 midnight, the wind is down to 15 knots and the seas are less than 2 foot and the water temperature is up to 80 degrees. The water is clearing up and the fish have moved back into Tarpon world.
Ron jumped 5 Tarpon on fly and fought a big female (125+ pounds) for 35 minutes before taking pictures and releasing that awesome Silver King on 20 # tippet. Ron has caught a lot of big fish and he has shot lots of big animals including elephant. He had a really big smile on his face after releasing this monster Tarpon in that fly rod..
Ron and I will be out there in Tarpon world again tonight, I love my Job, wish you were here. Stay tuned for more reports to follow.
Good Fishing:
Jake
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| Ron Boyd's Big Tarpon on fly, May 2012, Vessel "Fly Reel", Captain Jake Jordan |
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Extreme Tarpon Fly Fishing Report
April 30, May 1 and May 2
Greetings from WIND world:
April 30, 2012: Emerson Cannon from Pennsylvania, and Smoot Carter from Virginia and Harkers Island NC, are here to fly fish for Tarpon with me during the next 4 nights. Last year they fished mid May (May 10, 11, 12, 13, 14) for 5 nights during which time they jumped 53 tarpon while they caught and released 18 Tarpon and one Bluefish on fly. The weather was good and the fishing very good for these anglers during 2011.
This year the wind had been blowing hard for a week before these guys arrived, tonight we began fishing at 8:00 PM, the rain was strong and the wind was blowing at 29 to 31 knots all night. The team hooked, Jumped, and fought, 10 Tarpon, Smoot caught two of them while Emerson caught 1 fish about 100 pounds. Emerson, who is famous for catching rare fish, did catch a 24 inch lady fish on a 12 weight TFO Tarpon fly rod.
May 1, 2012: Emerson, Smoot, and I arrived at Tarpon World tonight at 9:00 PM to rough seas with 25 knot east wind and a weak current. The water was dirty, (like split pea soup) with lots of seaweed. We covered lots of areas where the Tarpon are usually abundant, there were very few fish. My anglers jumped a total of 3 Tarpon and several lady fish on fly, Smoot released a really nice female while Emerson hooked and fought a really big (150+ pound) female which jumped several times really close to the boat., this was the biggest Tarpon that I saw this season.
May 2, 2012: Tonight Smoot and Emerson joined me aboard "Fly Reel" to fish from 10 PM through 2:00 AM, in what was predicted to be the first night with wind under 20 knots in several weeks. The NOA weather men lied, 20 to 25 knot wind from the south east, dirty water and NO TARPON! The moved out to the reef and will return as soon as the wind drops under 20 knots for at least 2 changes of the tide. Last year on this date we had 25 knot winds with thunder storms and my client, and I did not fish.
As I write this report the wind has dropped down to 15 knots from the east and the water appears to be clearing, we will see tonight at 11:00 PM when we head back out to Tarpon world. I love my Job, but wish I could control the weather, wish you were here. More reports to follow soon.
Regards:
Jake
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Keys Extreme Tarpon on Fly Report
April 27, 28, 29, 2012.
April 27, 2012: Pal (Paul) Krogvoid and his friend Kjeld from Norway fished a short 1 1/2 hour charter this evening from 7:00 PM through 10:30 PM, in cloudy, windy, and rainy conditions. My anglers jumped 3 tarpon on fly, Kjeld caught an 85 pound male while Paul, caught and released a 115 pound female. We had lots of fun and they will be back next year.
April 28, 2012: Tonight my friend Fred Slann, from Newbern NC brought his Brother Joe Slann from Oaklahoma, and his nephew Brian Slann from Marathon FL to fly fish for big Tarpon on fly with me for two evenings. Fred jumped and fought a total of 4 big Tarpon and caught one about 100 pounds. Joe was the other angler he jumped one really big Tarpon which came off shortly after the third jump. The wind was blowing from the east at 25 knots with 2 foot seas and a water temperature of 76.5 degrees.
April 29, 2012: Fred, Brian, and Joe Slann met me at the "Fly Reel" at 7:30 PM, it was raining and blowing between 28 and 30 knots from the north east, seas were 2 to 4 foot and rough, and it was raining between drizzle and hard all night. Tonight my three anglers each jumped at least 2 Tarpon with a total of 10 jumped and fought Tarpon during the 4 hour trip. Joe caught and released a 85 pound Male, Brian caught a nice female of just over 100 pounds, and Fred Slann caught and released a nice fat Tarpon of 125 pounds, all were caught on TFO fly rods, Mako Reels, Rio Fly Lines, and my special, secret "Poon Bugs"! We were all giggleing like little kids as we dove through 4 foot waves while truing to catch as many Tarpon as we could. I really love my job, wish you were here, stay tuned for more Extreme Tarpon fly fishing reports from "Tarpon World".
"Fair Winds and Calm Seas"
Jake Jordan
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Extreme Tarpon Fly Fishing Report.
April 20, 21, 22, 2012
Greetings from Concordville PA:
I am writing this report from my hotel room at the Concordville Inn which is located in eastern Pennsylvania. I flew from Key West to Philadelphia on April 23 at 7:00 PM and met up with my sisters and some cousins for dinner. On April 24, (yesterday) I joined 40 some relatives at a luncheon to celebrate the life of my late mother, who passed away last month. It was great to see so many family and friends whom were all tied together by my mom, I will be heading back to the Keys today to resume Tarpon season tomorrow evening.
April 21, 2012: Tonight at 9:00 PM my friend, world class photographer, Matt Harris from Cambridge England, arrived for 3 nights of Tarpon fly fishing with me.
Now Matt is a very good fly angler who loves Tarpon fishing, he fished all day earlier today with Andy Mill, where he jumped a big Tarpon which opened the hook shortly after the bite. We went to sleep at 9:30 and set the alarm for midnight, so we could begin fishing at 1:00 AM. When I looked at the computer radar, it was full with 35 knot wind, sideways rain, and red, yellow, and purple lightning and thunder storms for as far as the radar could see, we went back to bed!
April 22, 2012: Tonight the rain had let up and the lightning had moved on up to the north east, the wind was blowing from the west at 37 knots with gusts to 44. Matt really wanted a Tarpon so we headed down to Fly Reel, loaded our gear, and headed out to Tarpon World. The seas were very rough, however we were in the lee of a key so the seas were only two foot , when we arrived at Cormorant bank neat Tarpon flat. I shut off the key and tilted the motor so we could drift along the bank, as we began to drift I realized that the wind was stronger than the current and that we needed to move several hundred yards so we would drift over my Tarpon. Mat brought in his line and I tilted the motor down, started the engine, and shifted into gear, NOTHING!
I tried reverse and NOTHING, the boat had no forward or reverse, we were blowing from the flat toward the channel, which would take us out from behind the island and out to sea. I quickly pulled out the anchor, chain, and anchor line, and anchored the "Fly Reel" in 18 foot of water, less that a mile from the entrance to my marina. Next I tilted the motor to remove the cowling so I could check the shifter cable, when I shined the light on the motor I noticed that my propeller was GONE. I called Sea Tow on the VHF (I have had a towing emergency policy, $150 per year, for many years), and reached "Sea Tow" in Marathon (12 miles away). That person told me that they were not allowed to come to tow me in because I was in the territory of Big Pine and the Lower Keys, but that she would contact that franchise operator and that he would come get us. 20 minutes later I got a call from the "Main Sea tow" central office in New York and was told to stand by on VHF channel 14 and my cell phone and then the captain who was the guy in that area would give me a call right away. 30 minutes later I received a call from the "Sea Tow" franchise captain for the Big Pine and Lower Keys area, who advised me that it was too rough and there was weather in the area and that he would not come to get me until the next day after daylight. Matt and I documented all of these conversations and in the end the national lady said that the local captain does not have to come out if he fears the weather. They can take that up with my attorney.
Now I called the coast guard in Key West, they took all passenger, and vessel, information, along with my exact location, and told me they would call me back. 2 minutes later that coast guard operator called and told me that they launched a high speed rescue inflatable in Marathon and that they would be there shortly. This 5 man crew was awesome, the boarded us and did a safety inspection, then helped unload all valuables and fishing gear from fly reel, then took Matt aboard, helped me secure "Fly Reel", took me aboard their rescue vessel, and took us to my marina. Those Coast Guardsmen were awesome, we are lucky to have such a great bunch of people looking after our safety.
Captain Lenny Moffo towed his 23 foot charter vessel up to my marina, launched, and drove us out to Fly Reel, and towed us to the marina at 8:00 AM. It is good to have friends because you can not count on "sea tow", you will be able to read all about my experience in every boating, fishing, and outdoor magazine and news paper who will print my story.
April 22, 2012: After getting a new prop, Matt and I fished in 30 knot NW cold wind from 2:00 AM to 6:00 AM and never got a bite, the Tarpon moved out to the Reef until the seas calmed down, cleared up, and began to warm. Matt will be back next season for a week of this stuff. Some times the fishing is hard, and sometimes it is even harder, I love my Job, goad you were not here. Stay tuned for more Tarpon in fly reports beginning on April 27.
Regards:
Jake
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Tarpon on Fly Report
April 16 & 17, 2012
Greetings from Tarpon World:
April 18, 2012: Tonight, Ann McComas (originally from Woodstown NJ) replaced her ill husband Jim to fly fish with Brian Long and I aboard "Fly Reel. Brian is a Musky guide while Ann and Jim are avid Musky anglers from Wisconsin. After a short lesson on how to operate a 12 weight fly rod, Ann hooked, jumped, and fought seven Tarpon, weighing between 70 and 120 pounds. She had three of those fish within 10 feet from the boat however we did not land one. Ann is an awesome person, fun for me to fish with.
Brian wound up hooking, jumping, and fighting four Tarpon on fly, of which I leadered and released a big fish well over 100 pounds.
April 19, 2012: Tonight Brian was my angler while Jim who was not feeling well and he was aboard but not fishing. Brian Jumped 7 Tarpon tonight with a south wind of 10 knots, he landed two of them, one was 80 pounds while the other was close to 120 pounds. These guys are lots of fun to fish with and will be back next year for more Extreme night Tarpon on Fly! Stay tuned for more Tarpon on fly reports, I love my job, wish you were here.
Regards:
Jake
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| Big Tarpon on fly, Jim McComas April 17, 2012 Vessel Fly Reel, Captain Jake Jordan Florida Keys Tarpon on fly |
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Extreme Tarpon on Fly Report,
April 16 & 17, 2012
Greetings from Tarpon World:
April 16, 2012: Jim Barbery from North Carolina flew down to Key West to join me fro an evening of fly fishing for Tarpon. We boarded "Fly Reel" at 10 PM and headed over to western Tarpon rocks, the wind was blowing from the east at 26 knots, the seas were very choppy and the water temperature was 76 degrees. There was a lot of sea weed and debris in the water and the fishing was relatively slow, Jim hooked, jumped, and fought a total of 4 Tarpon tonight and he got one 90 pounder up to the boat where I grabbed the leader and released that awesome Silver King.
April 17, 2012: Tonight Jim McComas along with Brian Long from Wisconsin, finally made it to the Keys to try fly fishing for Tarpon with me. Jim and Brian are hard core Musky Anglers but wanted to catch a really big and strong fish, they got their chance! Jim Jumped a total of four Tarpon and caught a 80 to 90 pound Tarpon during the first two hours, and then Brian Jumped 5 Tarpon of which he landed a 70 pound fish and a 110 pound female.
All in all we hooked, jumped, and fought 9 Tarpon on fly and my anglers caught and released three of these awesome fish. Jim and Brian have two more nights with me, the wind is supposed to drop down to 15 knots tonight so the seas should be calmer for the next few days. Stay tuned for more fishing reports to follow, I love my job, wish you were here.
Regards:
Jake
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Tarpon on Fly Report
April 14 & 15, 2012
Greetings from Tarpon World (Florida Keys):
April 14, 2012: What a difference a day makes, at 8:00 PM tonight when I met Pal Krogvoid, at the dock where I keep "Fly Reel", the wind was blowing from the east at 31 knots. We boarded the boat and headed out to Cormorant Channel just to the west of a key which is a mile long and we drifted along the edge of Pelican Bank. Pal (Paul) hooked and fought a 100 pound Tarpon from 8:16, until 8:32 when the Tarpon cut through the bite tippet on her 5th jump. During the next 3 1/2 hours Pal hooked, Jumped, and fought 5 more large Tarpon, we never leadered any of those fish due to the very rough seas, however we had a great time fishing together.
April 15, 2012: Tonight Pal Krogvoid from Norway met me at the dock at 9:00 PM for another evening of fly fishing for Tarpon. Tonight the wind has dropped down to 26 knots, from the east with very choppy sea conditions. Two nights ago the water temperature was 82.4 degrees and tonight when we came in the water temperature has dropped down to 76.9 degrees with just 2 days of hard cool wind.
Pal (Paul) hooked, jumped and fought four Tarpon tonight, all over 100 pounds, finally we fought a 110 pound female to the boat and I released that awesome fish. Paul is a good fly angler and we had lots of fun fishing together. I love my job, wish you were here. More reports to follow soon.
Regards:
Jake
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Florida Keys Tarpon on Fly Report
April 12 & 13, 2012
Greetings from Tarpon World:
April 12, 2012, My friend John Butler brought his friend Pam, from Gainesville Florida to the Florida Keys to try her luck fly fishing for Tarpon fro a couple of nights with me. First let me tell you that Pam had never seen a Tarpon, nor had she ever touched a fly rod, which was good because she had no preconceived ideas on what to do. I gave Pam a 30 minute lesson on how to use a 12 weight TFO fly rod and a #9550 Mako RH retrieve fly reel, a Rio 12 weight Tarpon Taper fly line, and a Poon Bug with 20 pound class tippet. Pam hooked and fought 3 nice Tarpon on fly tonight, she pulled the hook on a 60 pound male, Broke the tippet on a 90 pounder, and lost her third jumped fish to barnacles on a bridge piling after a 20 minute battle.
John jumped 4 Tarpon on fly but the very calm conditions made it tough to get the fish to the boat. We got really close to two fish tonight however the score when we hit the dock was Jumped 7 Tarpon on Fly, none landed.
April 13, 2012: Tonight the wind was dead calm, no wind at all, the water was so calm that there were no ripples on the water. John got the first bite before dark, the leader broke on his aggressive hook set, then Pam hooked, fought, and landed a 120 pound female Tarpon on 20 pound tippet. The first fish over 2 pounds that she ever caught. Way to go PAM!
Next, John hooked another Tarpon which was estimated to be over 100 pounds, he did a great job hooking and fighting his Tarpon, Twenty minutes later John lifted that Tarpon's head out of the water so I could grab it and make the release. John has done this quite a bit and he did a great job with this big female Poon. We quit and headed back to the dock aftre jumping 3 and landing two big Tarpon, both Pam and John were very happy and tired. I love my job, stay tuned for more reports to follow, wish you were here.
Regards:
Jake
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| John Butler and Pam after TArpon caught on Fly |
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| Sam Pate's 90 pound Tarpon on Fly, April 6, 2012, caught aboard "Fly Reel"with Captain Jake Jordan |
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Tarpon on Fly Report
April 4, 5, 6, 2012
Greetings from Tarpon world:
April 4, 2012: This evening my old friend Jerry Gibbs (retired fishing editor of Outdoor Life Magazine), joined aboard "Fly Reel" at 11:30 PM for a few hours of fly fishing for big Tarpon. The wind was blowing at 10 knots from the south, southeast, and the water temperature was 81 degrees. The near full moon lit up the night so you could read your watch without a light, a beautiful night.
I drove over to Pelican bank and Jerry began to cast the "poon bug" at the feeding Tarpon, on the first drift, Jerry hooked a 110 pound female which headed south at a high rate of speed. The TFO Blue Water Medium Duty fly rod along with the Mako (ugly betty) #9550 fly reel, filled with a RIO Clouser, Tarpon Taper floating fly line, proved too much for this big Tarpon. Jerry dialed that drag up to 7 pounds and that tarpon pulled my boat into the wind and Jerry wound the fish closer to the boat. After a 15 minute battle Jerry wound the leader through the tip top of the rod, making this a caught Tarpon, then out of nowhere came several 12 foot Bull Sharks attacking that poon. Jerry grabbed the spool and I gunned the boat in reverse, the 20 pound tippet broke, and then that Tarpon escaped from those big Sharks.
Jerry jumped seven Tarpon and released three before we got chased off the water by a big lightning storm at 2:00 AM, another great evening of fly fishing for Tarpon.
April 5 2012: Tonight my client Frank Tenure (Friend from High school) called and had to postpone his Tarpon on fly charter. I decided to go out and fish alone on this beautiful full moon night, I left the dock at 1:00 AM, and was home in bed by 4:00 AM. The Tarpon were eating Crabs and Shrimp on the surface so they were easy to find, and they ate the poon bug aggressively. I hooked 5 Tarpon between 70 and 120 pounds, I wound the leader inside of the tip top of the fly rod, releasing four poon's while I had to break off the fifth Tarpon to keep it from being eaten by a very big Hammer Head Shark. A great evening in Tarpon world!
April 6, 2012: Sam Pate from Wilmington NC joined me tonight to fly fish for Tarpon, we fished from 1:30 AM to 5:30 AM in the vicinity of "Tarpon Alley" where the poons were eating shrimp on the surface. We jumped a total of 7 tarpon on fly but it was hard to keep the fly in their mouth. Sam hooked, fought, caught, and released a 100 pounder which was our last fish of the night. Sam and I had a good time fishing together, the north wind made keeping the fish hooked up very hard. Life is good here in Tarpon world, I love my Job, wish you were here. My available Tarpon on Fly dates are May 19, 21, 22, 23, and June 1, 2, and 14, if you are coming to fish with me you might want to call me right now as these dates will no longer be available by tomorrow.
Regards:
Jake
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| Tarpon on Fly April 3, 2012, Florida Keys, Aboard "Fly Reel" with Captain Jake Jordan |
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Florida Keys Tarpon Report
April 2 & 3, 2012
Greetings from Tarpon World:
April 3, 2012: Wally and Gary from eastern Pennsylvania were here in the Keys for the last week. Gary had caught some snook and tarpon from the bridges around marathon and some Barracuda and other species wading the flats. We boarded Fly Reel at 10:30 PM and headed out to the edge of Tarpon bank where we began to cast flies along the edge of the flat. It took about an hour before we started to hear the feeding tarpon on the surface, I shined the light into the clear water and it was full of shrimp on the surface.
Wally jumped his first Tarpon ever at 11:20 PM, a female of about 110 pounds, after several jumps the Tarpon took off quickly , Wally had his hand on the reel handle and the 20 pound class tippet broke. Gary jumped the next fish which came unhooked after just one jump. By 2:30 AM these guys had Jumped a total of 5 Tarpon however we never got one all of the way to the boat for release. We had fun and I am sure that these guys will be back next year.
April 2, 2012: Tonight I fished with Carlos and his son Jose from Boca Raton FL, we fished from 9:30 PM to 1:30 AM in a channel north of the 7 mile bridge near Marathon. The Tarpon showed up about 15 minutes after we arrived, the water temperature was between 80 and 81.5 degrees and the wind was calm. Both Carlos and Jose are great casters and very good fly anglers, Jose jumped 6 Tarpon and caught two, one 70 pounder, the other was a 100 pound fish. Carlos jumped 5 Tarpon of which he released 3, the largest was a 120 pound female. This was a good night of fly fishing any day, however it was awesome for my first trip of the season. Carlos and Jose will be back to fish again with me next month. I love my Job, wish you were here.
I have decided to go back to Alaska this fall to fish at Icy Bay Lodge where we sight fly fish for large Silver salmon, if you would like to fish with me at this great wilderness lodge, let me know and I will give you more information. www.icybaylodge.com .
I also plan to spend some of my time fishing with my friend Tony Weaver in remote places in the Alaskan outback which I cannot tell you about until after I return. I will be spending some time in Coopers Landing at 'Alaska Troutfitters" with my friends Billy and Dusty where I will be fly fishing for big Rainbow Trout. I will be happy to return to Alaska after being away for 6 years.
I still have a few prime time dates for fly fishing in the Cape Lookout region of North Carolina for Albies and big Drum during October and November. Contact me soon if you are planning to fish with me during this awesome time of the year in North Carolina.
Stay tuned for more exciting fishing reports from here in the fabulous Florida Keys. I have a very few days still available for night time fly fishing for Tarpon during May and June. Find the available dates at: http://jakejordan.com/floridakeys.html. Call if you want to catch a big Tarpon on a fly.
Regards:
Jake
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