Fishing with Capt. George Tunison | Looking to hook the best high-flyer out there?
Over the decades I’ve had the privilege of witnessing many different species of high jumping fish take to the air in spectacular acrobatic displays. From tarpon to barracuda, sailfish, kingfish, mahi even ladyfish, each is fully flight ready after sensing the steel but there’s one of the larger species that leaves the other big fish on the launching pad; meet Mr. Mako. Growing to 15 feet or more and weighing over a grand, this pointy nose shark is an Olympic class high jumper. Leaving the water at 45 mph, and soaring up 20 feet or more in amazing displays of shear power, and like tarpon, occasionally falling back into the angler’s boat during multiple jumps.
In freshwater, the Asian carp clears the bar at 10 feet, physically assaulting and slimming boaters, while the Atlantic salmon leaps up to 12 feet to clear waterfalls while trying to return to its birthplace. Huge sturgeon and jungle arapaima can also put on quite the sky show considering their jumbo adult length and 300-plus pound weights. In South America, a chrome-plated, 4-foot-long arowana waits patiently along shallow jungle shorelines suddenly vaulting high into the air to take small birds, snakes, spiders and other insects from tree branches.
Lots of impressive high jumpers to be sure yet none top the leaping ability of the world’s fastest shark, which also happens to be the best tasting shark species when immediately bled, cleaned and heavily iced for the trip home. You can still play with them but a mako meal is out as they are still closed to harvest in both state and federal waters. Although there are occasional mako sightings in Southwest Florida waters, they are fairly rare as these sharks are true pelagic or deep-water, ocean-going creatures that chase tuna and swordfish for a living. If a mako is on your bucket list, drive south and fish out in the Gulf Stream off Miami or Fort Lauderdale down to the Keys for your best shot at tangling with this amazing top-of-the-line super predator that’s been hunting and haunting the world’s oceans for a little over 50 million years.
Tarpon reports vary from coastal encounters to random action throughout Pine Island Sound along the ICW and around several shallow keys on the east side of the sound; perfect territory for early morning quietly poled skiffs. One of the highest percentage hook-up spots this time of year would still be Charlotte Harbor with fish moving in and out of Boca Grande, as well as a few miles outside the pass. Night fishing the Sanibel Causeway is still productive using live ladyfish under floats or my favorite, throwing large soft plastics.
Nearshore reefs feature a wide variety of fish from permit to barracuda and jumbo snook as well as smaller snapper, but those willing to burn the fuel and time to make a weather-safe trip out to deep water will be rewarded with larger specimens.
If your tarpon fever has burned out for the year and you’re now looking for a new challenge, something that really pulls, jumps high, eats lures, flies, live and dead baits and can even eat you and still better, is here in good numbers, maybe it’s time to take advantage of our great shallow water shark fishing. Make it even more fun and do it with a fly rod. Get the chum slick going and bring them in right off the transom. Rig a 9-weight and a 12 to 14-weight for smaller and larger sharks now plainly visible in the chum slick. Pick your fish. Add a 2 to 3-foot section of single strand 75 to 90-pound wire to your leader then knot on a jumbo streamer or 10-inch tube fly in various bright orange and red colors. This rig isn’t made for delicate presentations as most casts are less than 30 feet.
Capt. George Tunison is a Cape Coral resident fishing guide. You can contact him at captgeorget4@yahoo.com or (239) 440-1621.