Tarpon in the City!
On September 6, 2017 the eye of hurricane Irma passed about 60 miles to the north of Puerto Rico. The damage caused in parts of the island was extensive, especially to the national electrical grid. Then just a few weeks later on September 20th, hurricane Maria made a direct hit on Puerto Rico, devastating the island and plunging all of its 3.4 million residents into a desperate humanitarian crisis.
Fast-forward to May 2018 when I led a group of eight anglers on a trip for tarpon fishing in Puerto Rico (where I had last fished in 2016). During the short drive from the airport to the lodge, I was delighted to see such resilience on display, with so much of the island back up and running.
We concentrated on targeting tarpon throughout the urban estuaries of Torrecilla and San Juan lagoons. In addition to tarpon, our group of spin-fishermen and fly-rodders caught snook, both common and the rarely-seen tarpon snook, plus barracuda, ladyfish and jacks.
The anglers in the group fishing bait enjoyed truly amazing fishing. Each day they fished they caught numerous tarpon in the 50-to 100-plus pound range, with at least one 150-pounder hooked, jumped and lost. Tarpon fishing in Puerto Rico is truly of the world’s great fisheries, and I’m already looking forward to my next visit.
To see more trips like this and many all over the world, visit Dave Lewis Worldwide Fishing. Lewis is the author of two photo-heavy books on global fishing adventures.
Trips to the Tarpons Nest Lodge are organized by Caribbean Fishing Adventures.