I was pulling the boat out of the water in McLellanville after a discouraging two day search for Tarpon when a bottlenose dolphin poked his head out of the water hoping to receive some leftover bait. He hung around just long enough for me to rub his mouth and head before swimming off to another boat. This tarpon fishing trip ended much like the others. Bo Hutchison and I spent the weekend fishing and saw no sign of the tarpon. I was feeling too discouraged to be planning for the next trip and we ended the day saying the usual, “We’ll get ‘em next time.”
We met again at 6AM on Saturday, August 19th at South Island Ferry for our next attempt at catching the tarpon. The tides were perfect for us to reach a certain spot that is not always accessible and so we launched in search of bait. Bo drove us into a few creeks where there were no large mullet to be seen but I threw my net hoping to get lucky. There was no tarpon bait in any of the creeks at Winyah Bay. Still optimistic, we rode across Winyah Bay to Mud Bay hoping to find menhaden. Mud Bay too, proved to be destitute of bait so we rode into Jones Creek. I stood on the bow the whole way through and did not see any large bait that would be worthy of tarpon. We rode out to the lighthouse beach and to the jetties; no bait. We rode into Mother Norton Creek until we got stuck and still, no bait. We spent 3 hours looking for bait until the tide was too low to follow our intended plan. We decided to head for the ocean and follow the beach looking for bait.
The ocean seemed to be as empty as the other spots until we came close to the next inlet. Birds were diving and big 8″ to 12″ mullet were jumping everywhere. Bo and I were ready with our nets as the boat coasted into the school. We both threw our nets and retrieved a full load of bait that would last the remainder of the day.
Riding into the inlet, I noticed that another boat was already tarpon fishing and we set anchor beside them in the main channel. We rigged two lines to be on the bottom with heavy sinkers, one free line, and one line with a cork. Each rig has 6′ of clear 80 pound leader. The mullet on the cork and free line should be live bait, while we split the tails of the mullet on the bottom. (knife in vent fin and out of back. Slide knife along bone and evenly split the tail into two tails) This gives the dead mullet a swimming appearance and puts more scent in the water.
Another boat joined us to our starboard side and set anchor to start tarpon fishing. We waited for less than an hour before one of our bottom rods bowed over. Bo jumped up and snatched it from the rod holder. He didn’t have to say anything because I knew it was a tarpon. I disconnected the anchor rope and ran to the console to start the engine. The other lines were still out so I left the wheel to reel them in. One line crossed the tarpon line and Bo moved the rod to clear the potential tangle. The water bulged and the tarpon threw himself into the air. The tarpon had pulled 200 yards of line in no time and was headed for the ocean. Bo tried to steer the boat/fight the fish while I secured the back deck. I cleared the lines and took the wheel so Bo could step up to the bow and close the gap between us and the tarpon. The tarpon was sailing through the air over and over again and crashing into the water. I knew the other boats were wishing to be us but there were still many things that could go wrong. The tarpon’s back came out of the water and we were both shaking. With a kick of his giant tail, the tarpon would again surge ahead of us leaving a wave in his trail. Bo was looking at the fish and said, “I’m gonna take him to that beach for the picture!” I said, “we haven’t caught him yet. You have all the time in the world. Nothing else matters at this moment.”
Bo was careful to let the fish take line when needed and had the drag set right. The tarpon lifted his head out of the water and shook violently rattling his gills. The tarpon’s mouth was wide open and was large enough to swallow a basketball. When the fish landed, the rod tip stood straight and the line went slack. My heart sank knowing that we just lost our fish as we drove back to our float marking where we left the anchor. The only thing to do was to re-bait our hooks and keep trying. There was so much anticipation and excitement that neither of us could stop shaking.
The tide changed to incoming and we moved to try a spot in Winyah Bay after we caught an 8 foot Lemon Shark. Once we arrived, the water was so shallow that we would be stuck when we stopped the boat. We stopped at our spot and noticed that there was no bait to be seen, no birds, and the water was as brown as a bucket of paint. These were not good fishing conditions so we waited for the tide to rise. Once there was enough water to move, we hit the throttle and rushed out to the deeper side of the bay. Along the way, Bo noticed great explosive splashes against the grass of an island. Looking closer, it turned out to be a school of tarpon attacking a massive school of mullet.
In an effort not to disturb the tarpon, we drove up-wind of the frenzy and killed the engine, allowing the wind to guide us to the fish. We were standing ready on the bow with our spinning rods rigged with mullet. We came so close that the tarpon were all around us in casting distance. We could see tarpon jumping and would cast our bait as close as possible but got no attention. Our two mullet were a needle in a haystack compared to this school. We waited for the school to pass so that we could present our mullet as stragglers but the water must have been too muddy for the tarpon to see. They were simply swimming through the school with an open mouth, eating anything in their path.
The school was headed for a deep 23 foot hole where the rest of the water is only 2 feet. We passed around the school and anchored at the hole with the same bait set up as before. The time was now 7PM and we would have to leave soon. As we were talking, I heard what could only be a tarpon roll on the surface. We looked behind us and there was a giant swirl exactly where our free line mullet was swimming. “That was him,” Bo said as we reeled in the mullet on the free line to observe the bite marks. Our only explanation is that a tarpon did not get our entire foot long mullet in his mouth and let go when he felt the tension from the line.
This tarpon fishing trip was truly an adventure and we saw and learned more today than we had in any of our previous trips. Just seeing the great fish jumping in front of our boat and being connected to it is the greatest feeling. So many things have to go right to get a bite, and as long as everything goes perfectly, you might be able to get one to the boat. We pulled the boat out and separated our stuff before saying, “Well get ’em next time!” with far more confidence than before.