OUTDOORS | Capt. Ryan Harrington finding success catching early tarpon
Capt. Ryan Harrington is no stranger to tarpon. During the summer of 2015 he spent two months down in Boca Grande to fish in the Professional Tarpon Tournament Series. When the thought of chasing silver kings comes into his mind, he tends to get a little excited.
"It's an adrenaline rush," Harrington said. "Last year in Boca it seemed like the fishing might not have been as good as it was in Tampa Bay and around Bean Point. I think the first of the big tarpon schools are about two weeks away and I can't wait."
Sometimes a little luck awaits anglers who spend nearly three straight weeks fishing every day like the young captain. As a result, Harrington already had his first taste of tarpon for the season.
Like most springtime charter days he makes his early morning run to the Sunshine Skyway to get bait. When catching bait is quick and easy, it allows him a little extra time to explore and look for fish before picking up his clients for the day. When the scouting turns into discovering tarpon, he can't help himself and had to throw a line out.
"I had about 20 to 30 minutes and was looking around the edge of deeper flats," Harrington recalls. "As I was going along I looked off the flats and saw a big flash. Then another. It was a school of about 10 to 15 tarpon between 80 to 100 pounds blasting ladyfish."
Harrington grabbed a rod, tossed out a bait and hooked up.
"I hooked one, it jumped a few times, then popped off," he said.
The quick-lived excitement allowed Harrington to be on time for his pickup. A long fight might have left his clients wondering just what he was up to.
"I don't think it was a transient group of fish," Harrington said. "Most likely it was a school of resident fish that spent the winter up in creeks and bays that are not coming out. It won't be long before they join up with fish coming from the south."
Until then, Harrington said fishing will continue to get better.
"It's like a balloon that's about to burst. Fish should be everywhere soon. It's a great time to get out and catch fish no matter where you are.
"I had a charter with a few kids who wanted to see some good action, and we probably caught a dozen species, including mackerel, trout, redfish, snook and more. The mackerel action in the bay has been on fire and they are big fish between 6 and 7 pounds on scaled sardines. We've even landed kingfish in the bay between 10 to 12 pounds while fishing for mackerel, so it won't be long before the big schools of kingfish show up as well."
This story was originally published April 3, 2016 at 12:12 AM with the headline "OUTDOORS | Capt. Ryan Harrington finding success catching early tarpon ."