Vince Brandon | Tuesday, 19 August 2025
There’s been a hiatus between my front pages because I’ve been on the road, away for my wife’s birthday, teaching at the English Game Fair and the BFCC Peak District meet, fishing with my grandsons and doing some geeky stuff. Eventually, Paul hunted me down and asked me to finish the essay on my holidays. I used to get given lines for not doing my homework.
My guide on day 4 had been briefed that I wanted to catch a tarpon. Having been introduced, we motored a short way from the town onto a stretch of water that was like minnow soup. The water was black with them but no tarpon, and after a while we moved onto an island and went bone hunting again. Once we got on the same page with instructions and cues, we picked up the odd fish here and there, wading tight to the mangroves. Mindful of having stuffed my fly into the branches on my first day, I threw a Single Spey to hook a sighted passing fish, eliciting a “nice” from the guide. Given the slow sport, I was taken into some chest deep water to cast at fish that were passing in and out of a sand covered hole on the coral bottom. I don’t know why it held fish but there were plenty there.
The sport slowed down as the sun got high and the tide fell away, so we went to a shallow flat. The guide was calling shots onto fast moving fish about 35ft but they spooked easily, often just raising the rod sent them scurrying away.
Although there were lots of shots, they weren’t translating into hook ups and both of us were getting frustrated. The guide called that a shoal of fish had just come onto the edge of the flats and I saw their backs out of the water, so I took the shot that was about 65ft away. I heard a nooooo in my ear,
followed quickly by a stop…strip....strip..bang as I hooked up. We changed tactics and picked up a few fish at range which was quite satisfying, I like solving fishing puzzles.
There was just time to fish alongside a beach on the way back with fish showing along various features. I had already caught a couple, when the guide called a shot close to the beach resulting in a hook up on a very large bone that took off like a drag racer. As the slack line shot off, it also kicked up and over the rod butt, throwing a knot into the line which locked up the fish, causing a break off. Both myself and the guide were very quiet after that and called it a day.
With 2 solo and 1 guided day left, I still hadn’t caught a tarpon.