With tarpon, all of the nuances of being a great fly angler come into play. It might take all day to find that one fish, and you have to be willing to wait. Traits of the best tarpon anglers? Andy Mill believes many things have to work well together to be successful at tarpon fishing on fly.Īndy: The best anglers all have patience. I’d played nose tackle in college, and the farther away I got from the football locker room, the more I needed the kick. They’re beautiful and difficult and they provide a good dose of adrenaline. Tom: You’re sight-fishing for a fish that has all of the attributes you could ever desire. Tom Evans loves the pursuit of tarpon on fly for the adrenaline kick it provides. I don’t want to be in the deep ocean hoping a fish finds me. I’ve caught a wide spectrum of fish, and, to me, the hunting aspect is paramount. Why do you love tarpon angling with a fly? Andy Mill loves the hunting aspect of sight fishing for tarpon on fly.Īndy: I love the hunting aspect. He said he was booked but that there was a kid across the street from him who had just started to guide for tarpon. The next year, I called Snow to fish again. I then booked Jimmie Albright and we fished Long Key and I caught an 88-pounder. On our trip, I hooked one and it flew out of the water. I went down to the Keys and booked a guy named Harry Snow. I read a story somewhere about tarpon fishing and decided to try it. Tom: In my late 20s, I was fishing the Miramichi River every year, but the runs of Atlantic salmon had been declining. I didn’t land that fish, but it felt like I had been struck by lightning and survived. I threw a fly out and one of the tarpon comes over and opens its mouth and inhales it. All of a sudden, I see these things sliding around the boat. I’d seen tarpon on Flip Pallot’s show, but never in person. We were at El Pescador Lodge, on a panga on the flat right out in front. We discussed, among other things, their first experiences with tarpon, their favorite ways to target, what beguiles them about the species and what their “one last fish” would be.Īndy: I was filming an episode of Fly Fishing the World with John Barrett. Recently, we sat down to talk tarpon with these two giants of the sport. The current IGFA Trustee is also perhaps the world’s greatest ambassador of the sport, as a gear guru and a public speaker, and as the author of the seminal book about the sport and its characters, A Passion for Tarpon. IGFA Trustee Andy Mill.Īndy Mill, 69, is, by the book, the greatest tarpon fly tournament angler of all time, with seven total wins (five Gold Cups, a Don Hawley and a Golden Fly). To learn more about Tom Evans please watch his IGFA Hall of Fame Induction video. (Not to mention a handful of other impressive fly records on billfish.) Two of those records-a 190-pound, 9-ounce fish on 16-pound tippet and a 194-pound, 8-ounce fish on 12-pound tippet-still stand. He is, by the book, the greatest big tarpon angler alive, having set seven IGFA tippet class records for the species. IGFA Fishing Hall of Famer, Tom Evans, 84, has spent a lifetime pursuing the largest of the species on fly. (The poet, Richard Brautigan, perhaps came the closest to doing so, describing it as “immediate unreality.”) And they are one of the few game species that actually fight back-with spectacular leaps and violent, powerful runs-on terms that are, more or less, equal with that of the angler. The initial “eat” of a tarpon is such an otherworldly experience that it is nearly impossible to describe with words. They are beautiful, majestic animals-their silver scales can, at times, appear green or pink or purple, depending on where you are targeting them. Tarpon are the largest of the “Big Three” species encountered on the flats in the western hemisphere, the others being permit and bonefish. Talking Tarpon with Tom Evans and Andy Mill Talking tarpon with two giants of the sport By Monte Burke For many fly anglers, fishing for tarpon is the apex experience of the sport.
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