Giant Tarpon Territory

An Exciting Discovery: 200-pound-plus Silver Kings in the seldom-fished rivers of Nicaragua Minutes after dropping our lines and just as the sun drops below the jungle canopy, Bob Greenberg hooks into an estimated 220-pound monster in Rio San Juan.

The massive tarpon explodes out of the water with a volcanic eruption, the water spewing like lava. The fish runs so hard that Bob – though extremely fit – forgets about trying to move the huge beast and just hangs onto the rod.

As Bob struggles on the bow of the panga-style boat, I couldn’t help conjuring visions of Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea, when the tired Cuban angler valiantly fought the fish throughout the night. Bob pumps and winds whenever able to gain a few inches of line, only to exclaim his despair when the huge animal senses the closeness of the boat and tears off on another long run.

Over two hours goes by and now it’s pitch-black dark. We use a flashlight to follow the line’s entry into the water, our boat trailing the now-tiring silver king. Bob, sweating profusely but gamely hanging in there, begins to feel some give. As he gains line, Chili, our guide, soon leans his belly over the side and reaches out to grasp the leader. The fish – far larger than any of us in the boat – still remains a powerful adversary, so Chili lip-gaffs it to steady the head in the dim light.

His needle-nose pliers extract the hook. The tarpon, momentarily unaware of its renewed freedom, pauses briefly. When the next movement of its massive head comes with no resistance, it immediately barrels for the bottom with such a huge swirl that our boat whirlpools in a semi-circle.

Like the giant tarpon, we feel temporarily numb by the successful release. But seconds later, we shriek in joy so loudly that the surrounding jungle noises suddenly grow silent. Our celebration concludes with handshakes and back slaps and high-fives as we motor downriver under a crystal-clear, star-studded night, all of us relishing this uncommon experience in an unfamiliar setting.