“Bow to the king,” advises fishing guide Rick Stancyk. His advice is a simple reminder that when tarpon jump, you should drop your rod tip and give slack so the hook doesn’t pull out, in effect bowing when the powerful fish pushes through a series of leaps.Stancyk is a second-generation fishing guide operating out of a fishing staple in the Florida Keys, Bud ‘n’ Mary’s Fishing Marina. The large boathouse and marina catches your eye as you pass through the southern tip of Islamorada to Indian Key.It’s a warm spring afternoon in the Keys with a stiff breeze as Stancyk and I climb aboard his 20-foot SeaCraft fiberglass boat. The marina, and countless others up and down the Keys, fool nonanglers into thinking tarpon are an easy catch. Most marinas have tarpon that hang around the docks, waiting for leftover bait or the scraps from cleaning fish.
