John and Aaron Part ONE

Monday I fished with John O’Hearn. Aaron had a day off, and as such we decided to all go out together, throw some 16#,and catch a couple. The weather was brilliant and off we went.
As it turns out, when you have two great guides (and friends), as well as great weather, the fishing doesn’t always cooperate. We began in a spot and din’t find much, then went to another. At our third stop we found a few tarpon sliding around, but they were tough to see and we didn’t get a decent shot.
Soon after, John took us to another location. While the fishing was tough, we had a single shot at a giant fish that displayed a distinct lack of interest. In a few minutes, John spotted a trio of fish swimming down the edge. They were moving quite fast, and I threw a long cast at them as they approached. I misread the distance, and when my fly came into view I realized that it was behind them. I sped up the retrieve to get it in front of the lead fish, which promptly elevated and tracked the fly. I slowed the retrieve at the last moment, and the fish lost interest as it crossed under the fly and sank down. The fish was now maybe 25 feet from the boat, and still swimming fast, and when I sped the fly up again it elevated and treated us all to what must have been one of the greatest eats I’ve seen in a while: clear water, head out of it, eating a fly with more than a little enthusiasm. Aaron snapped this photo of the animal leaping before the hook came out:

Following that, we fished another few edges. One of them gave us some shots, and a few bends towards the fly, but we were unable to get a bite. John was up next, and had some good interest before we switched locations. Now was my turn to pole, and John brought us to a spot that was infested with tarpon. He had perhaps 15 shots before Aaron got up on the bow, and after another few shots we rotated once again–I was on the bow, John was poling, and Aaron stood by with the camera. I fed a small fish that didn’t remain connected, and as the sun fell finally came tight on a fish that we fought to the leader before the hook straightened. Aaron took the following picture:

The next day Aaron and I fished (read part TWO)

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