Tarpon at 10,000 Islands Marker 8 Classic

By KFC Staff Journalist

Fishing the 10,000 Islands proved to be very challenging for the contestants in the Kayak Fishing ClassicS Marker 8 Snook & Redfish Classic on April 9^th. The target species for the Classic were snook, redfish and tarpon with the data results going to the Snook Foundation and the Tarpon Bonefish Foundation.

There had been a southern breeze that made the water muddy and the afternoon temperature was in the 90’s. Both conditions are unseasonal for the area but that’s fishing. The contestants were greeted at the Goodland launch site by a cool pre-dawn morning and a good view of the Milky Way overhead. As the sunlight began to show the way, the kayak anglers launched their boats and headed for likely locations holding fish.

Tarpon could be seen just about everywhere you looked throughout the day. The fishing was tough for reds and snook so every hookup counted. Many anglers were getting blow ups on their baits and many proved to be misses. Almost all contestants caught fish but some were too small for the ClassicS point system. The smallest allowable fish for photo entry was 17 inches and many anglers recorded snook and redfish just under the minimum. A number of anglers were fortunate enough to hookup entry size or above and several anglers reported tarpon hookups too brief to record a photo. The contestants needed to record a photo of the fish in air or its back for the tarpon bonus but things just happened too fast except for one angler.

Ryan Alise enjoyed a Florida Sleigh Ride behind a 100 pound tarpon as his friend filmed the event. The twenty minute ride did not record any powerful jumps as the poon glided through the water as if it were not bothered by the free tow. The big fish broke off at the tippet after a few minutes as designed leaving Ryan a nice memory and third place in the Classic with the Biggest Fish Award.

In first place was Bob Bramblet, second went to Andrew Reschke, fourth place was captured by James Van Pelt and in fifth place was Brian Reschke who enjoyed the Classic with his son Andrew. Most of the anglers hooked up a few times and several nice fish got away. The photo entry fish ranged from 17 inches to 20 inches and of course the big tarpon was much larger. All of the contestants shared the $8,000.00 in sponsor gear prizes.

The Marker 8 Restaurant was the Awards Ceremony Host and put on a great pork roast and live music. The Port of the Islands Resort & Marina was the Lodging Host, also fantastic so if you ever want to fish the 10,000 Islands area we recommend a stay at the inn and you can dock at the Marker 8 for a great breakfast, lunch or dinner.