Summer brings with it a lot of different fishing opportunities. Just this past month, our Owners have caught sheepshead, cobia, spade fish, jacks, lady fish, redfish, trout, bluefish, triple tail, black drum, and now that they’re here, we’re targeting the “silver king!” These guys provide by far one of the most sought after photo opportunities in the area.
Juvenile tarpon can be found all the way up to Brays Island and sometimes in our impoundments, but they never can make it through the winter here. Weather conditions, including cold snaps or storms, also can move the fish from area waters. Mature tarpon typically start arriving in this area around July and can weigh upwards of 120 pounds! What’s even better is that these guys spread out all over the Broad River and come up all the way to the Burnt Trestle, only 10 minutes from our dock. The mature tarpon can often be seen breaking the surface sometimes rolling or gulping for air. The large eyes on the top of their head indicate that they feed up, giving a clue on how to fish for these elusive silver kings.
For those unfamiliar, tarpon are considered the largest and most powerful sport fish migrating through our inshore waters. Sought after worldwide, these trophy fish are noted for their explosive bites, leaps and runs and can live to be over 60 years old. Here in the lowcountry, tarpon tend to run around 100+ pounds so the fight to reel them in can be a workout.
We’ve had experiences when the fish are so strong that the rod couldn’t get taken out of the holder. Last year, Captain Jess set out with a group of Owners into the Burnt Tressle for some silver king fishing. They set up one top bait and two on the bottom. Since there are a lot of humps on the bottom, tarpon love this area. Using big, live mullet and menhaden, it took about an hour into the trip when the bottom rod started screaming.
Like all tarpon, this one bit the fish and came straight to the top and flew 4 feet out of the water. At this point, 70% of them typically spit the hook out, but they hooked this one good and so ensued the chaos. Captain Jess immediately cranked the motor and pushed the button to reel in the anchor. With all other rods pulled in and Matthew Kienstra on the tarpon rod, Captain Jess started following the fish. The tarpon jumped several more times and pulled most of the line off the reel. In the end, the group was pulled 3 miles down river and it look 2.5 hours to get the elusive silver king boatside. After a quick picture (above), it was released back into the river and off she swam.