![]() On many occasions I was invited to dinner with such well-known anglers as Billy Pate, Stu Apte, Tom Evans and Rick Murphy. The close-knit fraternity of fishermen out of Bayport at that time was made up of a few starry-eyed wanna-bes. There were plenty of fish, they were big, and they would readily take a fly.Īnd so it went for the next decade. In the late '70s Curt Gowdy and his ABC fishing show The American Sportsman filmed a tarpon-on-fly segment that even today is regarded as one of the greatest fishing shows ever filmed. Today most of the larger fly-rod world-record tarpon were taken in this area, including the only one ever to weigh over 200 pounds. Soon the fly-fishing recordbooks were rewritten. ![]() ![]() World-class guides from the Keys and Tampa Bay began joining the locals every year to capitalize on the run of silverkings and to chase world records. Eventually news of the amazing "new" fishery began to trickle out and caught the attention of fly fishermen. Tarpon in the 150-pound class were common and many over 180 pounds were caught. The fish were coaxed into eating small plastic lures and battled on conventional baitcasting reels and short rods. At that time plug casting was the light-tackle fishing method of choice. Better yet, they often swam in crystal-clear water less than 6 feet deep. For reasons not fully understood, the tarpon that came here were bigger than those in other places. During the next few years these experts discovered one of the most amazing fisheries in the state. In the early 1970s a handful of pioneering anglers including Harold LeMaster, inventor of the MirrOlure, and Kirk Smith began investigating local reports of huge tarpon in shallow water in this remote area. For many years May has been the premier month to catch tarpon on the famed flats of Homosassa, Chassahowitzka and Bayport.
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