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John's Journal... Entry 157, Day 4

ENDLESS INSHORE FISHING

July and August Fishing in the Estuary

EDITOR'S NOTE: Captain Ed Zyak of Jensen Beach, Florida, chose the St. Lucie Estuary on central Florida's Atlantic Coast to set up his Local Color Guide Service for two reasons. One, he's lived and fished in this region all his life. Two, he can produce speckled trout, redfish, flounder, tarpon and snook year-round. This area homes a phenomenal fishery, and if you like variety, you must consider fishing there. But rather than tell you about my experience fishing the St. Lucie Estuary, let's let Captain Zyak tell you his story.

QUESTION: What are you going to fish for in July and August?
ANSWER: Although I can go into the rivers and catch speckled trout at this time, I still can find a few redfish. If I had to divide my day into two parts, I'd fish for tarpon early and snook late. The tarpon is such a spectacular fish that I never get tired of trying to catch it. Tarpon have a lot of thrill value. When you fish for them, you get to see a lot of impressive jumps and big runs. During July and August, I like the acrobatic fish -- ones that will jump in the air, twist, squirm, scream the drag and cause the fishermen to get so excited they hardly can stand themselves.

I'll still put a DOA Glow Shrimp out of the back of my boat, and I'll primarily use a spinning rod. I like to use the Shimano Stradic 4000 or 5000 reel, depending on the size of fish that day. I'll also use a heavy-action, 7-foot spinning rod and put 30- to 50-pound-test line as my main line with a 50- to 80-pound-test fluorocarbon leader. When I see tarpon rolling, I'll use my trolling motor to get within 100 yards of them. Then I'll try to ease within casting distance. If I fish on the beach, I'll try to determine the direction the school of tarpon is moving, get ahead of it and let the rolling fish come to me. I want to cast just in front of the rolling tarpon and swim the bait away from them. Most of the time, the tarpon will take the Terror Eyz as it drops from the surface of the water to the bottom. The trolling motor is critical to my success, because it allows me to move in quietly without scaring the fish. One of the biggest mistakes many tarpon fishermen make is using their big outboard or inboard motors to approach a school of tarpon. The second mistake they make is pitching their anchors overboard. When I'm fishing for tarpon, I never anchor, I never use my big motor to get into position, and I never get closer than 100 yards from a school of tarpon before I start using my trolling motor.

QUESTION: How do you hook a tarpon?
ANSWER: Although a tarpon is a big fish, you'll only feel a light tap on your line when it inhales the bait. For this reason, when you feel the fish bite, you'll have to use a quick, hard hook set. The tarpon's mouth is very hard and bony, so you'll have to set the hook solidly if you want to keep the fish on the hook. Once you set the hook, the tarpon will make a pretty good run, then he'll come out of the water and jump, flip and summersault in the air. I'll usually have a pretty heavy drag set before I hook the fish. But after the tarpon comes out of the water the first time, I'll loosen the drag. When the fish jumps, the angler will need to bow to the fish and point his rod straight at the fish. This will give the tarpon enough slack in the line so if it lands on the line, the line won't break.

For more information, call Captain Ed Zyak with Local Color Guide Service at (772) 485-FISH or e-mail him at localcolorgs@aol.com. Mrs. Peters' SmokeHouse is located at 1500 North East Dixie Hwy, Jensen Beach, Florida. For more information, call (772) 334-2184. You can reach DOA Lures by calling 877-DOA-LURE or going to the Web site www.doalures.com Learn more about Minn Kota trolling motors by going to www.johnsonoutdoors.com or calling 800-227-6433.

TOMORROW: ST. LUCIE ESTUARY -- FISHING FOR THE REST OF THE YEAR

 

 

Check back each day this week for more ENDLESS INSHORE FISHING ...

Day 1 - Fishing St. Lucie in January and February
Day 2 - Fishing St. Lucie Estuary in March and April
Day 3 - Fishing St. Lucie Estuary in May and June
Day 4 - July and August Fishing in the Estuary
Day 5 - St. Lucie Estuary - Fishing For The Rest Of The Year


John's Journal