Fishing with Capt. George Tunison | While hot tarpon, snook and shark bite continues, another bucket list fish is temptingly near
It is the middle of May and it’s a hot Southwest Florida multi-species bite with tarpon, snook and sharks of all sizes the current stars of the show. Add in some assorted sized redfish and trout, snapper, cobia, grouper and Spanish macs and, well, it’s downright overwhelming.
There’s too many great angling choices and it’s keeping me up at night. Lately instead of trying desperately to fall back asleep at 3 a.m., which never works, I slip on my robe, grab the fly rod and walk next door to my neighbor’s lit dock where the water’s full of juvenile, high jumping tarpon and snook that race to bite my first cast. I jump a few fish, clean up and back in bed all in 60 minutes. Now I can sleep. Unfortunately, a new problem recently came up.
Let me go back a few years. When I first saw an article in The Breeze, then later on TV, about an arapaima that had washed up on the rocks near the Midpoint boat ramp, I got excited. Thinking that we may have tarpon AND arapaima fishing in our future, I got really pumped but that was the last I heard about it.
For those unfamiliar, the arapaima is a South America native that grows to 400 pounds, about 8 feet long and jumps high when hooked. A few years back I vaguely remember reading about some folks trying to start a commercial guide service for arapaima anglers but I forgot about it. Now, I may be late to the party, which unfortunately happens more as I grow older, but I just became aware that I can try on one of these giant fish without having to book a flight to the Amazon. How about a fully guided, all equipment provided arapaima trip to a spot with a 100% catch rate, which also includes a gourmet lunch and only two anglers are allowed on their private waters per day! Mexico, maybe Central America? Save your airfare and head over to Arcadia to Jurassic Jewels (901-461-1014) for a shot at a 250-pounder. As in Arcadia? An hour or so from here? A 250-pound arapaima? Wow!
Currently there are two packages offered. For $1,500 (per angler) you get to fish the lakes containing the little guys up to a hundred pounds, or for $2,500, they take you to the big boy waters containing 250 pounders. Both levels include the gourmet lunch. Now that I’ll be able to soon cross arapaima off my South American species bucket list without going to Brazil, I’ve got my fingers crossed hoping that someone will next open a golden Dorado lake close by. These beautiful, high-jumping, bright gold colored brutes rip the hooks off giant musky lures, pick their teeth with the crushed treble hooks and just laugh. Sign me up!
Back home it’s tarpon time with fish here, there and everywhere with both Captiva and Boca Grande the hot passes. Spots around St. James City are still holding fish. Area bridges are always a safe bet as well. Many captains are now reporting a coastal concentration from right off the beaches to several miles out in the Gulf. Quietly scout around or stake out and wait with a good set of binoculars looking for tell-tale flashing fins as they roll.
Often overlooked, chumming can be a very effective to get a pod of these beautiful scavengers coming your way. Better chances of connecting with a pass fish by starting way before sun-up. When fishing the Caloosahatchee and Pine Island Sound, don’t let catfish eat your bottom baits, let the tarpon eat your catfish. Yes, tarpon like catfish chunks with some old salts fishing them live by clipping their pectoral fins and free lining them.
If you’d like to see a 6-foot shark leave a torpedo wake as it rockets across a shallow flat nearly setting your reels drag on fire, you’re in the right place this spring.
Capt. George Tunison is a Cape Coral resident fishing guide. You can contact him at (239) 579-0461 or via email at captgeorget3@aol.com.