Original members of the Angling Exploration Group and adventurers from the Trout Bum Diaries, Brian Jill and Ryan Davey (Primal Angler) are known for hunting fish all over the world. In the video above, the two chase Tampa Bay tarpon.
From Ryan Davey:
“We were chasing tarpon schools up and down the beach with skyrises and bikinis in the background, which seemed a rather odd backdrop to tarpon fishing! She ate the fly slow twitched deep near a school of tarpon… Next thing I knew I was in for the fight of my life! The first five minutes of the fight were unreal, and then began the knock-down drag-out… We chased her over a mile and by the time she was done, I was more than done.
She made a spectacular aerial accounting for herself, and eventually we had her alongside the boat! She measured about a full 5 ½ feet long! After releasing her I crumpled to a ball in the back of the boat in the 100+ degree heat, and we drove around for a while to cool off, pounding water.
I swore to myself that if I ever hooked another tarpon over 80 lbs I would break it off! That was my one monster tarpon for a lifetime! But it’s been a couple years now and the urge to chase tarpon just won’t go away. Brian tells me these days he has evolved tactics to land them the big ones in a half hour or less! I’ll be back down this summer for another round! Enjoy the film!”
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