Its tarpon time once again at hardcore, Frank Raffa the tarpon king and his trustworthy captain Edlin Leslie. Seas were a bit choppy today as the guys made their way out to the islands where these fish call home, but the captain took his time getting there, there’s no need to rush the fish aren’t going anywhere. First stop was at Long Caye, where quite a few fish were sighted but they weren’t feeding and so not much luck was found there. The guys then made their way to Tarpon Caye the famous home of tarpon, getting hits wasn’t the problem once they arrived here, it was keeping them on the line that was, the guys managed to land two wonderful fish that day. Lost a few and caught two, that’s fishing for ‘ya’.

Captain Erwin Westby along with him today is his nephew, Darrel Westby who spent many years of his life on the water. Once again with the guys from the sporting club, Brad, Richard, Thomas and Chuck. Today the guys are set of live bait fishing at the outer wall of the barrier reef, which runs from north to south of Belize. As they headed out to one of their known spots only stopping along the way to let Darrel get a good cast at some sardines just under the island known as Long Caye. They filled up the bait well and continued on the short ride out. They ended up catching quite a few Spanish mackerels, barracudas and jacks.

It’s a sunny and wonderful day here on the waters of Belize. Captain Martin Westby, tagging along with him is his nephew Darnell Leslie, a junior angler here at HFC. Today the guest is a man who spends his nights dreaming about fishing and most of it actually fishing. Henry Becht our guest of honor is a man who fishes daily back in his home of Canada and is always up for a challenge using light tackle to land huge fish. The captain took him down to the Monkey River where many snooks, barracudas and tarpon call home. Henry is a man who spends a lot of time fishing but the type of fishing here is different it’s a lot of direct casting and so you must hone your skills and be precise, aiming for a spot under rivers edge with overhung mangroves. Martin a patient and helpful guide steered Henry with his wisdom into making wonderful casts that brought him a day of discovery as he learnt to fish the Belizean way.

On the vessel today, is the fabled captain Erwin Westby, master of the seas and marlin whisperer. The day started out beautifully, weather conditions were in favor of the fishing crew today. Sydney Lopez at the wheel, with Darrel Westby manning the deck. They all thought for sure that today would be a landing day, the guests today a group from the sporting adventures club, Brad, Richard, Thomas and Chuck all from North Carolina and avid fishermen themselves. The hunt was on and the bite was hot, many fishes were hooked on this fair day but met with stiff competition as the sharks were out for the kill. Out of a decent amount of fish they only managed to bring in the smallest hook-ups. Such as Spanish mackerels, king mackerels, barracuda and triggerfish. But that’s not all, the guests on the boat today each got their blood boiling taking turns at hauling in a monster 9 feet lemon shark. It was a grueling 30 minutes as the monster came up and took off again several times, but it was Chuck who finished off the battle as he brought it long side the vessel and Captain Erwin Westby cut the line to set it free.