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Fishing Reports
Lousiana Report
September 14, 2003
Posted by Reel Lousiana Adventures
Contact: Susan Gros
Email: admin@flyfishing.about.com
URL: http://www.reellouisianaadventures.com
Current Report
By SUSAN GROS
Three years ago, when he
tagged along with friends who
were fishing for tarpon, they
said it couldn't be done. But
Robert T. "Bobo" Cunningham
Jr. of Mobile, Ala., proved
them wrong.
On August 24, while on the
second day of a two-day trip,
the 56-year old attorney
boated a 130-pound tarpon on
fly tackle — the first fly-
caught tarpon to be entered
into Louisiana's official
fish records.
Cunningham is no stranger to
record attempts: His name has
appeared an astonishing 56
times in the IGFA World
Record book. It was his quest
to be the first to enter a
tarpon caught on fly in the
Louisiana State records.
Armed with a Sage 14-weight
fly rod and Abel reel,
Cunningham prepared for
battle with a silver king.
His fly of choice was a large
mackerel pattern rigged on 20-
pound tippet and a sinking
line to get the fly down to
where the fish were holding.
As their day began, Louisiana
legend Capt. Lance "Coon"
Schouest scanned the flat-
calm waters near Southwest
Pass in search of rolling
tarpon. It didn't take the
veteran captain long to zero
in on the reflection of
silver scales in the morning
sun.
As the day wore on and the
temperature rose into the mid
90s, Cunningham continued to
cast and retrieve as Schouest
located fish on the sounder
or visually in the near-
perfect conditions. The crew
watched as the fish sounded
and surfaced, time and time
again.
Photo courtesy of SUSAN GROS
Cunningham fought his record
tarpon for more than two
hours, and the fish jumped
nine times before being
gaffed.
After two earlier miscues,
along with losing a fish
boatside, the trophy fish was
finally hooked. Although the
fight began in shallow water,
the 130-pound tarpon ended up
in 225 feet of water.
Fighting the tarpon on a fly
in shallow water was tough,
but when the fish moved to
deeper water, the fight
became a real slugfest
between Cunningham and the
fish. The amount of pressure
applied had to be great
enough to turn the fish, but
not so much as to cause the
light 20-pound tippet to
break.
As the captain expertly
maneuvered the boat and
watched the leaping giant
clear the water nine times,
the exhausted angler's arms
ached and sweat soaked his
clothing. After a grueling
two-hour, 20-minute fight
without sanctuary from a
broiling sun, the tarpon was
finally subdued and brought
to gaff.
It was time to celebrate, as
two fishing legends teamed up
under perfect conditions, to
do what others had tried but
failed to do. They
successfully landed and
boated the first fly caught
tarpon to be recorded while
adhering to the Louisiana
Outdoor Writers rules for
flyfishing.
As word of the catch spread
across the radio, the crew
made its way back to Venice
Marina where the fish was
weighed on a certified scale.
The tarpon had a total length
of 81.5 inches and a girth of
36 inches. Once certified by
LOWA, it will fill the vacant
number one position for
Megalops atlanticus.
 This fishing report brought to you by Reel Lousiana Adventures.
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