# The man with the 300lb Tarpon



## Apollobeachsam (Dec 14, 2006)

Yesterday I awake at 5am so I could get ready to make another drive. This time however it was only 1:30minutes south to the Gasperilla Marina. I was excited to fish with   Patrick Sebile today. Yes the guy that's CEO of the Sebile lure company. With us was Captain Jay Withers and Jeff of Ted's Tackle.

We got on Jay's 24' Pathfinder and headed off to find some redfishing. It didn't take long before Jay put us on the fish. We power poled down started to sling away with Sebile Baits. If you haven't seen them before they are pretty unique in design as far as lure goes. Some and liquid fills, some have a keel, some are 3" long and some are 10"+.  They ain't cheap that's for sure but they are different and most important of course catch fish.

We started to catch some nice redfish. Most of them were upper slot to just over slot fish. We took the time to do some nice photos  but during it all, Patrick with a accent, was telling stories of some incredible overseas fishing. Here I am thinking Patrick was just a lure designer/owner. I come to find out he's actually some world famous crazed fisherman who's fishing resume just stunned me. The guy holds more than 300 IGFA world, European and French fishing records. He has fished in 61 different countries. He's was a lure designer for Mepps/Mr.Twister and before that he guided in Africa for 17 years! He was the guide the day the gentleman landed the 286lbs IGFA all tackle Tarpon. At 40 years old, he's got some massive fishing achievements and needless to say I was quite impressed.









"Max Domecq on March 20, 2003. The massive tarpon weighed in at 286lb 9oz (130kgs) and was caught in Rubane, Guinea-Bissau, Africa."

After the bite died we moved on and decided to head offshore to do some trolling with the larger lures.  After a stop for some lunch and a little breather were off and running towards the Gulf of Mexico. The seas were glass calm so the ride out couldn't have been much better. The bite however was lacking. There were zero current and no activity on the top. The only fish we caught was a bonita. We headed back in to call it day and decided to try for a snook. We caught some jacks, ladyfish, small reds, then Jeff gets a nice strike. There were no head shake so everyone thought it was a nice redfish. After a few tensed minutes, Jeff finally gets the fish boat side and it turns out to be a very respectable snook.

It's now completely dark. Were only a couple miles from the marina. We were tired and hungry but it was sure worth it to hear all the cool stories. Some of Patricks' adventures Patrick were just over the top. The fishing was just a bonus.


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## litlblusrn4bigred (Jan 8, 2007)

Sam.....you are one lucky sob....thank you for your awspiring display of fishing abilities and your amazing pictures and your great reports of and adventures. I look forward to all your posts. Keep up the great work and I hope to one day fish be lucky enough to fish with you. [smiley=smilie-taz.gif]


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## Brett (Jul 16, 2008)

Great pics and report.

One thing bothers me...
how do you prepare, cook and eat, 300 lbs of tarpon?


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## Canoeman (Jul 23, 2008)

Great report and I really like the surface reflection in the last photo.

300 records-unbelievable! If only I had that much time to fish.


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## LoneRanger (Dec 11, 2006)

how the hell do you take such kick ass pics?


L.R.


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## beavis (Dec 11, 2006)

> Great pics and report.
> 
> One thing bothers me...
> how do you prepare, cook and eat, 300 lbs of tarpon?



just like any other fish,
take trip to Africa you will see they eat whatever they catch
tarpon has a lot of meat on it and can feed a lot of people


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## Brett (Jul 16, 2008)

Thanks beavis, so you think that tarpon got ate, not dumped?

Looks like you're right, ran into this post describing cooking and eating one:



> I used the turkey fryer to fry the fish in home made beer
> batter and seasonings and i must tell you it was EXCELLENT!!!
> Much better then redfish or snook, and tastes a lot like grouper but
> the meat was a little firmer. Heading out again tomorrow night to see
> if I can get one for the grill. I'll post recipies if it turns out good.


Also a recipe:



> 1 12lb - 15lb Tarpon
> 2-3 Tbsp melted butter
> salt
> pepper
> ...


Learn something new every day.


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## beavis (Dec 11, 2006)

Those are nice recipes but they probably don't use them. Most likely it was cut into smaller chunks and cooked on a grill, in a pan, or in a pot with some other stuff. Some of it may have gotten fried to if it went to a restaurant.


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## Flyline (Mar 3, 2008)

Wow, that's huge african tarpon.......even a tiger fish are good to eat also. One time I was in africa (cape town) and some local cook tigerfish wrapped with some big green leaves and some vegatable on the burnt wood pit fire. Man these fish are GOOOOD!!!!!!!!


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## orlgheenoer (Dec 10, 2006)

Awsome pictures Sam, If my pictures were just 1/2 as good as yours I would be happy. I must say teaching me how to play with my settings has made me improve alot. I can't wait till your next lesson.


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## Apollobeachsam (Dec 14, 2006)

> Awsome pictures Sam, If my pictures were just 1/2 as good as yours I would be happy. I must say teaching me how to play with my settings has made me improve alot. I can't wait till your next lesson.


Yeah man I got lots more tips to get your photos better. When you get back we'll have to get out and fish.



> ....Keep up the great work and I hope to one day fish be lucky enough to fish with you. [smiley=smilie-taz.gif]


Thanks for the kind words.. hey man anytime you want to get out.. if our schedule work out no problem. Though my schedule is getting pretty crammed up these days there's always room to squeeze in another trip.


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## HaMm3r (Dec 11, 2006)

Cool report and pictures, Sam!


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