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18 THE SUN OUTDOORS MAY 11, 2022

Tarpon season primer

Reel Time

RUSTY CHINNIS

Tarpon season is one of the most anticipated times of the year on local waters. While it’s possible to encounter tarpon occasionally most every month of the year, April through July is the time savvy anglers turn their attention to these silver piscatorial gladiators. Their arrival in numbers worth pursuing is generally dependent on water temperature. The magic number is debatable but when water temperatures reach into the 70s, ardent anglers take notice. When that number reaches the high 70s to low 80s, they mobilize.

Locally we have some of the best tarpon fishing in the world. For most anglers this isn’t a numbers game, it’s the pursuit, and it’s the surroundings and the action that keeps them pinned to the bow. Tackle should match the size of the quarry. Most anglers opt for a 20- to 30-pound spin and/or 11- to 12-weight fly outfits. A heavy bite tippet is required because of the size of tarpon and their rasp-like mouth. Fly anglers generally use 60- to 80-pound tippet while spin anglers choose 70- to 100-pound test. While it might seem like a difficult task to land a tarpon on the fly, or any tackle for that matter, an angler who knows the limits of her gear can actually land a tarpon in a surprisingly short period of time. The key is to apply maximum pressure from the hookup and never let up. Too many anglers “baby” their tarpon in a misguided attempt to land them. The truth is that the longer you fight a tarpon the better chance you have of losing it.

A properly (IGFA-approved) tied tarpon leader used by fly fishers usually runs between 10-12 feet and is tapered to accurately deliver the fly. The leader includes a class tippet (weakest link) from 16-20 pounds that is doubled at both ends to soften the (shock) impact to the class tippet and bite tippet. Key to the whole equation is to have a very sharp hook as tarpon have extremely tough mouths. Conventional leaders vary from angler to angler, but a doubled standing line tied to a leader and then to the bite “tippet” with a blood knot or Albright Special won’t fail you.

Flies vary from the classic splayed feather “Keys” style to more complex designs like the “Toad,” various baitfish imitations and Paolo worm flies. Some fly anglers are not concerned with landing a tarpon, preferring to just enjoy the hunt, the hook up and the jumps that usually follow the hook set. They use light bite tippets which allows the tarpon to work through the leader with their abrasive mouths. The key to landing tarpon on the fly is accuracy. The fly must be placed perfectly, move in a precise direction relative to the fish and be at the proper (fishes’) depth. Even when all of these factors come together, there’s still about a 50% chance that the tarpon will reject the fly, assuming that the condition of local waters don’t repel them first.

The most important thing I would like for you to take away from this article is to be courteous when tarpon fishing. Don’t try to run down a school of tarpon. If another boat is working a school, find another or hopscotch wide around for a shot. Tarpon fishing is all catch and release unless you’ve purchased a special tarpon tag. It is also illegal to take tarpon over 40” out of the water.

Try tarpon fishing on your own, or better yet, hire one of the talented local guides listed in these pages to show you the ropes.

Tarpon fishing can be a feast for the eyes.

POLICING: Incidents sheds light on challenges

FROM PAGE 4 RESIDENTS’ CONCERNS

Addressing the commission on May 5, Bradenton Beach resident Ken McDonough said, “What happened that night was a wake-up call to us on 10th, 11th and 12th Street North. Five carloads of individuals came to the neighborhood.”

McDonough said many of the individuals wore “dark hoodies” and some tried to enter the Summer Sands pool area, which was locked.

“This wasn’t the normal thing for our neighborhood. As I went up towards 11th Street, I saw a bunch of individuals, one on the ground, and people screaming. At that point, somebody did get a hold of the police,” McDonough said.

“When the first officer showed up, everybody started to run in different directions. I was on the north side of the condominium garage. I went around to the south side and three carloads went out the south side of the garage, up Gulf Drive and crossed over the Cortez Bridge at a high rate of speed. The first policeman that showed up had his hands full. I was concerned for him because there were individuals screaming and running and by this time it was dark. I found out the next day that after the police left, two individuals came back into that garage and were looking for things,” McDonough said.

“In all the years I’ve been here I’ve never felt unsafe in Bradenton Beach. That night, everybody did in our neighborhood,” he added.

Sheryl Blinde was walking her dog as the events unfolded. Blinde told the commission she called 911 and explained what was happening to the operator. After being put on hold, she had to explain the situation again when her call was transferred to the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office.

“I was frightened and I just wanted to get a hold of the police,” she said, questioning whether there’s a more effective way to handle calls for police assistance.

CHIEF’S CONCERNS

The police chief also addressed the commission.

“There was a young man in town that’s been having some issues and maybe he was thinking about taking his life. He’d been on the Island for a while and was at another condo resort. They knew he was out of place and he was there for a few hours just sitting in his car and nobody called us. This could have been taken care of right then. If something doesn’t look right, call,” Cosby said.

“Speaking with people over the past couple days, they were concerned because after the incident became under control, people were still lingering around and none of the officers appeared to be talking to them. The other officers there were from Holmes Beach. Their job is only to assist our officers if something is physically happening, which at that point it wasn’t.

“I only had one officer on duty. Holmes Beach had three to four officers on duty and that’s why they responded as the backup. Our officer was tied up dealing with the young man and wound up Baker Acting him. Half-hour to 45 minutes later, our second officer, which is our midnight officer, came on duty. He processed the car and processed the gun. So, he also was out of commission dealing with those two things,” Cosby said.

Cosby then addressed the annual budgets for two neighboring police departments.

“The city of Holmes Beach has three to four people on duty every shift. His budget is $3.5 million. The town of Longboat Key has three to four people on duty. They actually have it written in their manual that no less than two people can be working per shift. Their budget is $3.5 million. My budget is $1.36 million. I can’t provide that kind of service, so you’re getting what you pay for. Every year, the department heads are told ‘We’re not raising taxes. Make do with what you have,’ ” Cosby said.

“As the county grows, and more people continue to move here, these types of incidents are going to become more prevalent. We have to figure something out because we can’t keep doing this. Somebody’s going to get seriously hurt. I only have so many people and I can only do so many things, so it falls back to you,” Cosby told the commission.

Cosby also discussed the city phone system the public uses to contact the police department.

“The phone system has been in disarray for five years. Every year we were told there’s no money to fix it. We paid $30,000 to put a patch in that doesn’t work,” Cosby said.

“The way the phone system’s supposed to work is at 4 o’clock we forward it to the sheriff’s office front desk. The deputies that work the front desk take the call, send it up to dispatch and an officer responds for a non-emergency. You know what happens? When they call the after-hours number, once in a while it will go through to the sheriff’s office. The second option is the call drops or it goes to the voice mail for the police department,” Cosby said.

Cosby said the phone system is finally getting replaced thanks to federal funds the city received as part of the federal government’s COVID-19 response and recovery efforts. department. We know you’ve been short-handed.”

Chappie said Cosby recently told him the starting salary for a Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office deputy is increasing to $62,000. According to Cosby, the starting salary for a Bradenton Beach officer is $47,000.

Cosby said he’s still operating with nine officers instead of 10 because one officer is still recovering from an injury suffered long ago while making an arrest. Chappie said he and Cosby have talked about having two officers on duty at night.

“We’ve got to do something,” Chappie said.

Chappie said he and the two other Anna Maria Island mayors recently met with state Sen. Jim Boyd and state Rep. Will Robinson. The mayor said he reminded the legislators that the singlefamily homes once occupied by three or four people have been replaced by large vacation rental homes occupied by 10-20 people, which puts more pressure on the police department and the city’s limited resources.

Chappie said he encouraged Boyd and Robinson to help change the state law that currently prohibits cities and counties from using tax revenues generated by the county’s 5% tourist tax for infrastructure improvements and law enforcement.

“You can’t ask the citizens of Bradenton Beach to be burdened with that extra expense," Commissioner Jan Vosburgh said. "It’s got to be coming from the county or someplace else because Bradenton Beach cannot afford to have a big police department.”

“Since Manatee County is growing so big, they need to contribute a little extra or allow us to take some of the tax dollars for the police department,” Commissioner Ralph Cole said.

Cosby said the city of Holmes Beach has made multiple police funding requests to the county, but to no avail.

Commissioner Marilyn Maro said investor-owned vacation rental homes are placing a greater burden on the police department and those investors should be required to help fund the additional policing needs.

Chappie said he and Cosby have talked to City Attorney Ricinda Perry about the potential implementation of a public safety impact fee for new construction.

“That is something we are going to be looking at seriously,” Chappie said.

Commissioner Jake Spooner said it’s unlikely the city will receive any additional outside funds for the police department.

“There’s not much fat in our budget, but we’ve got to make it happen,” Spooner said.

Island couple attends Kentucky Derby

Bradenton Beach City Commissioner Jake Spooner and his longtime girlfriend, Melissa Enders, attended Saturday’s Kentucky Derby, won by late entry Rich Strike at 80-1 odds.

MELISSA ENDERS | SUBMITTED

7 Is Your Lucky Number

Live Music on our Patio Anna Maria'sFavorite Hang Out

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BeachHouseDining.com

Forks & Corks Event at the Beach House

The Beach House Waterfront Restaurant will host wine industry legend Sharron McCarthy for an extraordinary dinner on Friday, May 13, 2022. Dating back to the ninth century, Castello located in Tuscany’s Montalcino region. The estate was founded on the philosophy of blending tradition

Menu:

1st Course 2nd Course

3rd Course

4th Course

The Forks and Corks Food and Wine dining in local, independently owned restaurants that and wine pairings.