Chasing Tarpon With Capt. Sam Atwell
Fall is a special time for anglers along Florida’s coastlines. As acres of mullet make their way south towards Miami during their annual migration, these baitfish are chased by a variety of apex predators such as sharks, tarpon, snook, jacks and bluefish. October is usually when the bite gets red hot, and Costa Ambassador Capt. Sam Atwell made sure he was out there to catch the fish of a lifetime.
Capt. Sam blasted out of Ft. Pierce inlet on a calm October morning alongside photographer Nate Harrington and Vero Beach native Troy Kurtz on the hunt for tarpon. It was the maiden voyage aboard Sam’s freshly wrapped 27’ Pathfinder, and they loaded up on an abundance of baitfish and charged north looking for feeding frenzies.
As soon as they left the inlet and made their way to the beach they spotted an area of disturbed water that was bigger than the size of a football field. Huge tarpon and schools of sharks were getting airborne feet from shore as they attacked bait from all angles while pelicans and seagulls dive bombed into the frenzy.
Capt. Sam and Troy baited up their hooks and casted into the maelstrom, and it wasn’t long before they were hooked up with sharks and jacks. While it’s always a great time to have a tug on your rod while fishing offshore, they were only focused on getting a huge tarpon to the boat. The guys chased schools of tarpon for hours all the way up to their hometown shores of Vero Beach, but they couldn’t convince one to bite. Morale was sinking as the day wore on.
The afternoon sun baked down and it was decided that before the next move it was imperative that the Costa tequila bottle be pulled off the ice and a round of shots was passed around. Captain Sam was determined to land a tarpon, so he throttled up the Pathfinder and raced back to Ft. Pierce inlet for one last attempt before sunset.
Just out beyond a pack of surfers at the North Jetty there was a huge school of mullet that was being annihilated by tarpon and sharks. They hurried to get their baits into the frenzy and made one last cast. Only a few minutes into their last drift of the day Troy’s line suddenly got tight. The fish felt huge and the line was screaming off of the reel. After a few brilliant jumps it was clear that they finally had the fish they’d been dreaming of all day hooked on.
Tarpon are notorious for their aerial acrobatics, so landing these trophy fish requires a special mix of skill, strength and luck. With both legs firmly pressed against the gunwale of the boat, Troy leveraged all of his body weight to combat the prehistoric strength of this colossal fish.
Nate readied the water housing for his camera, strapped on his fins and jumped into the murky waters to get a closer look at this beautiful creature while sharks continued to attack nearby. After an hour-long fight, Troy tugged the tarpon boat side and Capt. Sam was able to get ahold of her jaws and successfully land this trophy fish.
“This is easily one of the biggest tarpon I’ve ever seen landed,” Sam exclaimed. “At this size they usually break off or spit the hook, so it’s amazing to get this girl to the boat today.”
Sam estimated the silver behemoth to be close to 160 lbs. After some well warranted celebrations, the guys raised a glass of Costa and toasted to a special day on the water that none of them will ever forget.
