Triple Blonde Threat at the Tarpon Tournament
OutdoorHub Contributors 04.30.14
Airing today, Wednesday April, 30th on the Sportsman Channel at 4 pm and Friday at 9:30 am est.
I am no stranger to the water and tarpon are one of my favorite fish. Growing up with three brothers made me extremely competitive so when I first heard about the Women’s Professional Tarpon Tournament Series I knew I had to compete. It was exciting to be able to fish in the WPTTS however I was going for the win. I wanted chicks who are die heart fishingwoman so I chose two of the best fishers I knew, Devan Coffaro and Katie Kinsell. As soon as we got the team together it was straight to the water. During practice our awesome guide Captain Nick Winger gave us all the tips we needed like “bowing to the king” and why we use a circle hook so all that was left was hooking that monster Tarpon to win the WPTTS.
Day 1 of the tarpon tournament was intense. There were over 50 boats fishing in just a quarter square mile of the Boca Grande pass! It rained the day before so everyone was scrambling to find the tarpon. When I gave my hook a kiss and it still didn’t hook a tarpon I knew they weren’t there. At the end of the day only 1 fish had been landed so it was time to get ready for day two.
On day 2, when we dropped our rods, Kate and Devon hooked up almost immediately! We knew we were in for a good day. Unfortunately we weren’t able to land either of those fish but the day had just begun. Hopes were high and things were looking good. Shortly after that my rod tipped over and started screaming. A big tarpon hit so I instantly started reeling but my hair got caught on my reel and ripped a huge piece out. I didn’t know that I would be getting a haircut while I was fishing but at least I now know what NEVER to do again. At halftime there were already some good catches but we knew we still had a chance. With less than 15 minutes left in the tournament I hooked up. Bringing him in was a fight between who was stronger, me or the fish. It went into overtime because he was putting up a fight but in the end I was able to land him just in time. We weighed in just shy of the leader board but it was still an awesome fight and we were glad to have landed one and gave it a shot.
Now it’s time to start preparing for next time! Now that we had our first WPTTS under our belt it was time to start planning for the next one. I had an awesome time fishing with Devon and Katie and will be sure to keep the team together. I have no doubt that the next time this team is together will be nothing short of success.
