REMEMBERING THE TAMPA TARPON TOURNAMENT

[harbison]

 
REMEMBERING THE TAMPA TARPON TOURNAMENT
As a Tampa native I will never forget the excitement of fishing the Tampa Tarpon Tournament. In the sixties this was big, really BIG!

This was the #1 weigh-in station located on Bayshore Blvd.

Note the cars of the day & the Tampa population. The 2020 population of Tampa is 392,890.
During my Jesuit High School years my favorite Tarpon Stomping Grounds was the Howard Frankland Bridge:

The original span of the Howard Frankland Bridge carried two lanes in each direction, no emergency lanes, and had a short concrete strip separating east and westbound traffic.

The bridge promptly proved to be a dangerous drive.  10 people died in car accidents in just two years.  Head-on collisions were a common culprit, due to the tapered concrete median’s inability to actually keep cars from veering over.
Those high lights were a Tarpon fisherman's best friend.
At night the light-line under the bridge was a haven for hungry Tarpon. Often the fish were so close to the surface that we could see their dorsal fin sticking out of the water. We would secure our boat under the bridge and fish the light-line. Watching a huge Tarpon take our pinfish five feet under our feet was something never to be forgotten.

Often we would invite the local media to fish with us.
 Mr. Archie Blount, Sports editor of the Tampa Times.

Here my brother, and one of our Jesuit friends, weigh-in a nice Tarpon
at the old Tampa Bay Marina.

Anyone remember Mr. Jimmy Sass, Marina dock master?
As a Tampa native I will never forget the excitement of fishing the Tampa Tarpon Tournament. In the sixties this was big, really BIG!
Today Tarpon kills are a thing of the past. We still have tournaments, but the fish are released alive. We can all be thankful for that.

[fluke - u]

  ..................