PPS Destinations Report 

Marquessas Islands, Florida, USA

Date:        May 2009

 Reported by Dr. Bob Tacy, California, USA

I recently returned from my first tarpon fishing trip, which was in the Marquessas Islands, about 30 miles off the west coast of Key West.  I was invited along by three friends who had bonefished in the Bahamas aboard the 'Outpost' - a neat 62 ft. live-aboard - captained by Fred Wheeler of Outpost Expeditions , Key West, Fl.  My friends had enjoyed that trip so much they decided to book a tarpon trip with Fred in the Marquessas.

We all independently flew into Key West and boarded the Outpost at the local marina.  Soon we were on our way to an anchorage a few miles outside of Key West where we enjoyed a splendid dinner prepared by the on-board chef, Mary Jayne, some great wines and a spectacular sunset.  The guides, Sandy Horn and Shane Wood, arrived  with their skiffs promptly at 7am the next morning and soon we were on our way fishing the 'hot spots' around Key West.  Word was that the famous 'worm hatch' was 'on' but we never found it.  We did manage to get a few 'takes' and a couple of 'jumps' but no fish were landed on the first day.  

The next morning, we headed out for the Marquessas with the guides in their skiffs and the Outpost trailed behind at its own pace.  We spent that day, and the next four, pursuing tarpon in the Marquessas.  The beauty of the trip is that we stayed in the Marquessas, so you can fish from early Am to late PM each day with little concern for weather or adverse wind conditions affecting travel back to Key West.  Sandy and Shane knew all the spots where the migrating tarpon travel and capably guided us to them.  Two of our group were experienced tarpon fishermen and they soon tagged fish but one of the tarpon was annihilated by a cruising bull shark before it could be released.  We soon learned that this was a pattern in these waters.  My skiff-mate and I were both novice fishermen and it took all of five days - and over a dozen takes - before I finally hooked one for a ride.  It turned out to be a beauty of 130 lbs of super-charged energy that soon spooled me and eventually took 45 minutes to land.  Unfortunately, another shark-attack at the boat forced a break-off before we could ever get a photo.  The good news was that my fishing buddy videoed the entire battle, along with a profanity-laced audio. 

Our group did manage to land six tarpon for the week which, I understand, is an 'okay week.  We certainly had many more opportunities which hopefully, with more experience, will increase the catch numbers next time.  On the last day, we cruised back to Key West in the morning and were on our airplane back to San Francisco that afternoon.  It was a great 'first tarpon trip' and I've already booked for next year.  

The Outpost is a great live-aboard with 4 guest staterooms, chef, Captain's quarters and guide's quarters.  The food was superb and Fred supplied all the liquor, wine and beverage as well.  The ship is air-conditioned and has all the amenities you need.  Our trip cost was $4200 per person which included lodging, food, all beverages (alcoholic and non-alcoholic) and guiding.

     Contact info:    Captain Fred Wheeler Outpost Expeditions
                           305-304-6913
                           info@outpostexpedition.com 
    
     Guide info:        Sandy Horn
                            305-393-6913
                            shorn2979@yahoo.com
 
                             Shane Wood
                            305-394-1873
                            fishshanewood@gmail.com

Following are some thumbnails of trip photos.  Please click on them and then return to this page by hitting the ' back ' button on your browser.