For the past year I've had recurring nightmares of a day last summer, when a big tarpon rolled up on my fly (the one good shot of the trip). I got buck fever and stopped stripping, the fish lost interest and swam off. A cousin-in-law of mine happens to have the tarpon bug nearly as bad as I do, and has been chasing them since he was a kid. He booked three days over the Father's Day weekend in the Panhandle with a couple guide buddies of his, and I weaseled my way along.
Reports from earlier in the week were good… but things started winding down the day we showed up. Most of the fish we saw were running deep, almost glued to the bottom.
We both had decent shots on day 1. I managed an eat towards the end of the day, and damned if I wasn't so shocked at seeing the fish actually open its mouth that I trout set, pulling the fly right out of its mouth. That gaping black maw will be my new nightmare for awhile.
Day two featured fewer fish, but my cousin found a happy fish and popped #30 tippet off on the set.
Day three was bleak. Very few fish, bad glare from clouds, a choppy sea, and no predictable direction -- so we had about two seconds to take a shot. Ran off the water by a massive thunderstorm.
I'll be back… even if it has to wait until next year.