Well, the 1st annual Angry Crab Tarpon Tourney is over and the results are in. While we didn't take home the booty, we were one of about three teams to successfully land a fish (excluding Calcutta fish - snook, trout, and reds). The winning fish came from Boca Grande and was calculated (based on length and girth measurements) to be 130 lbs. We fished the Skyway Bridge - along with the other 600 vessels - and as is the norm, the bite was very hot and cold. We were out there for about 12 hours both days, and the feeding patterns were identical for each. In the morning, the fish would eat hard at the end of the incoming for about 1/2 hour. Then, the bite would fire right back up later in the afternoon on the strong outgoing. During the full and new summer moon phases, tidal activity is substantial and you can expect to see tarpon gulping pass crabs off the surface. While there was some crab action, the flush was certainly not in full-effect. Give it another few weeks and you can expect to see the mass exodus.
Now, here's a little story about the importance of boat maintenance. We were waiting in our spot Sunday afternoon (with a well full of angry crabs) for the tide to start moving. When it does, the bite turns on like clockwork. We send out the first crabs under floats and within 10 minutes were hooked up to a smaller fish, almost directly underneath the bridge. We turn on the engine and begin to maneuver the boat away from the pile-on's when we lose our engine. At the same time, the Tarpon jumps and throws the hook. Turns out we had a faulty gas gauge, ran out of gas, and had to get 10 gallons dropped off by the volunteer Eckerd College rescue (many thanks to those nice ladies for the assistance & dealing with our motley crew).
Completely shot-out from two hard core days of fishing, the last thing any of us wanted to do was sit around and wait - without the hope of line shooting off your reel to get you over the fact that your boat is currently out of beer. All said and done, I must admit the worst thing about the entire situation was having to sit back and watch the other boats hooked up while we twiddled our thumbs awaiting rescue 100 yards away from the action. Oh well... As the saying goes, you win some you lose some!
The tournament was a blast and i strongly suggest you consider participating in next years event. After all the fish stories, the top teams played out as follows:
Team 2 girls 1 fish caught the winning tarpon (angler Daniel Gardners first tarpon ever)
Team Poon Hunters won the snook Calcutta with a 34 catch
Team Rock Bottom caught a 30-1/2 redfish to win the redfish Calcutta
Team Shrimp (explicative) took the trout Calcutta with a 20 trout
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