Explosive Tarpon

Just about every part of tarpon fishing is thrilling, but nothing gets that heart racing like that initial attack.

Categories: Incredible, NSFW, Saltwater, Tarpon, Videos

Friday June 27th, 2008 @ 7:25 PM | Clive Mathias | 3 Comments

Tarpon Fishing Isn’t Easy

One think I learned very early while tarpon fishing is that you can’t expect to catch one just because you see them. At times I would be watching 50+ tarpon sit motionless in the current, just begging to be caught, but no matter what I tried they would not bite. In these circumstance even live bait would not work. I could find no rhyme nor reason to their behavior, and believe me, I tried. I compared weather patterns, tide levels, and moon phases to see if there were any common factors that occurred when they weren’t taking my bait. After months of watching these lazy fish I finally figure it out - they simply weren’t hungry. The trick to catching a tarpon that isn’t hungry is actually really simple though, you just have to wait till they are hungry. On some nights I stayed out for hours and hours, sometimes it paid off sometimes it didn’t, but I know if you leave that bait in front of a tarpon long enough, eventually it WILL decide to eat it.

The waiting game is easier said then done when tarpon are cruising though, just ask this guy…

If the above video won’t play for you, visit The Fin to view it.

via Fishing Jones

Categories: Fishing, Saltwater, Tarpon, Videos

Sunday May 4th, 2008 @ 4:52 PM | Clive Mathias | 2 Comments

Tarpon Fishing On Foot

We’re no strangers to shore fishing. We done well on foot, catching some of our biggest fish while firmly planted on shore. These guys make fishing in the Florida Keys look easy, hooking into several barracuda and tarpon without the use of a boat.

In case you haven’t seen my tarpon caught while shore fishing, you can see them here!

Categories: Barracuda, Fishing, Fly Fishing, Saltwater Species, Tarpon, Videos

Monday April 7th, 2008 @ 5:46 PM | Clive Mathias | Comments

Chasing Tarpon

Finding a good place to catch tarpon is probably the easiest part about fishing for tarpon. When I fished in the Caribbean I saw tarpon all over, especially near bridges. I found out first hand just how hard it can be to land a big tarpon, especially when they try to go under a bridge.

These guys made a valiant effort land a big tarpon under a bridge, but in the end the tarpon was the winner.

Categories: Fishing, Saltwater, Tarpon, United States, Videos

Saturday April 5th, 2008 @ 1:05 PM | Clive Mathias | Comments

I Hate Winter

I’m not certain when I started to dislike Canadian winters. To be fair, it isn’t winter itself I hate, its the cold. I mean, I love Christmas and the holiday season, I love snow, and I love winter sports like hockey (which I just started playing again). I remember the first time I saw snow, I was about seven years old and we were temporarily living in British Columbia with my uncle and fisherman extraordinaire, Stephen. It was one of those heavy snowfalls that rarely occur on the west coast and we played for hours in the snow, making snowmen and snow angels. It was incredible. Until that day, I had no idea what snow was. My sister and I grew up only knowing of white sand beaches and turquoise colour oceans. From that day forward, I looked forward to every winter and the first snow fall, that is until I grew up.

On really cold days I ask myself, why would anybody want to live in a place like this? Why not live somewhere that has warm weather all year long? In 2005, in the middle of the winter I decided that I had had enough of winter, and packed my bags and headed south to La Paz, Mexico to meet up with Jon and fish the Sea of Cortez.

I’m glad I did, it changed my life. After a month in the desert I met my wife to be, Gillian, but after almost six months we both agreed that La Paz was not the place for us. We headed back to Canada, specifically Mississauga, Ontario - the town I grew up. I had friends and family there, and got my old job at the bank back right away. By the time the chill of fall was in the air we both decided that staying for a freezing winter was not an option.

September 2005 marked one of the happiest time in my life, my return to the British Virgin Islands. Since my sister, mother and I left the BVI when I was five, I had only visited a handful of times. We arrived with nothing more then the shirts on our back, a tent, a camera, a laptop and of course, my fishing rods. We spent our first several weeks camping near the beach at Brewers Bay during hurricane season while we looked for an apartment to rent. After a few months settling in, things were going great. We lived in a small apartment on a mountain top with a brilliant panoramic view of several islands. Best of all, the ocean was a five minute drive from our apartment, and the sea was full of tarpon!

British Virgin Islands tarpon

Our time in the Virgins Islands had a lot of ups and downs. In the end, financial difficulties and health problems ultimately caused us to leave. We returned to Canada, and spent a year in Ontario, and have since relocated to beautiful Nova Scotia. I currently have two jobs, (three if you count Fishing Fury, but this is a labour of love, and as you can see by the lack of advertising, this doesn’t exactly bring in any income). Things are going great since we moved to the east coast, but it’s winter, and it’s cold and I don’t like the cold.

There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t think about life in the BVI. Since I can’t experience it in person, the next best thing is to read about others enjoying the sunshine and fishing. There is one blog that I check regularly to get my BVI fix, The Captains Log Blog. If you plan to visit the BVI or the Carbibean, these site will give you a taste of what you will get to see. And if you are looking for a sailing charter (with fishing), look no further!

images via Sail Dive BVI

Categories: Adventures, Barracuda, British Virgin Islands, Charters, Fishing, Rants, Sailing, Tarpon

Monday March 10th, 2008 @ 7:27 PM | Clive Mathias | 1 Comment

Boca Grand Tarpon Video

If you have never been tarpon fishing, you owe it to yourself to give it a try. These prehistoric fish are by far my favorite fish to catch. There is no fish that can really compare to it, just take a look at this video and you’ll see what its all about.

Categories: Fishing, Saltwater, Tarpon, United States, Videos

Friday February 1st, 2008 @ 6:44 PM | Clive Mathias | 1 Comment

Tarpon Versus Hand: Tarpon Wins

Apparently fishing tarpon by hand is a popular activity in Florida. Rumour has it that this guys next video will feature a shark. Don’t try this at home kids.

Categories: Funny, Incredible, Saltwater, Tarpon, United States, Videos

Thursday January 17th, 2008 @ 9:15 PM | Clive Mathias | Comments