EPIC River Monster Kayak Fishing - Crazy Tarpon Jumps on Kayak!

In 50+ years of fishing, this is one of my favorite trips. Most of the hookups are sight casts, including to a tailing tarpon followed by intense jumps. It doesn't get much better than this, and again - no bait! Supports my latest book, Fishing the Edge - Techniques and Tales from Surf, Boat, and Kayak: amzn.to/3TQtFvq.
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[@TalkFishTVHawaiianDan]

Omg John, been watching you for years and have never seen you so excited! Thanks for the ride. That was truly awesome!

[@mjc1177]

Same! and it's to real these fish bring that excitement out of you. It's the battle they give you.

[@BigDaddyFishingNJ]

Yes John, tarpon tail often. It is just the beginning of all the amazing things you will experience fishing in Florida.

[@Kaptain.Obvious]

Congratulations John. Landing that monster would be a dream come true for me.

[@jonathanmmster]

I have watched a bunch of your videos but this one is meriting a subscription. What a master class in fighting a giant fish from a kayak. Well done and congratulations sir! That was some high quality entertainment.

[@JohnSkinnerFishing]

Welcome aboard!

[@Teach_1ne]

That first one was amazing! Yes, you were very fortunate regarding the hook. Jeez… that was very close 😂

[@richard2081]

Congrats John on a great Tarpon and video.

[@johnb2905]

GREAT catch Jon. From a former Long Island res. who lives here in Fl. now

[@comerford7470]

The big fish shakes 26:00. Congrats John.

[@brucedemoranville4577]

Absolutely stunning fish. You have mastered another fishery in short order.

[@johnkunzman7138]

Ain't nothin' more majestic than the Silver King leaping out of the water!!!

[@charleslahay5991]

I bet the first time you re-lived the catch via video review you shed a tear of joy. I almost did when you pulled the fish into the boat.

[@JohnSkinnerFishing]

Re-watching it I thought several times that I was going to break it off. Had to keep reminding myself of the outcome.

[@sbrydson]

Awesome John! My arms were getting tired just watching that epic battle.

[@EatDirt1]

Great stuff John! Nice work.

[@mikeknottscreek8183]

I was tossing and turning in my chair watching you fight that. Always the BEST content, John!

[@mjc1177]

Wow awesome moment!! I've recently been there and these fish are on another level.

[@danielstephenson146]

What a fun watch!! Enjoying living vicariously through you up here in the freezing cold of the midwest. Congrats on the amazing catch!

[@MartinVSmith6334]

Undoubtedly in your top five videos! Just wonderful.

[@kenmartin1211]

John, They are Powerful Fish.. Nice.

[@tommckelvey3609]

That's Awesome John, Congrats!!! Felt like I was right there with ya, your enthusiasm is contagious!

[@002ducky]

Congrats Mr. Skinner! Impressive catch!

[@tommcmahon9383]

Congratulations, I can't believe you landed that beast! I thought for sure you would lose him on a jump, on the bridge and again when he was close to the kayak. Clearly a testament to sharp fishing skills and the right gear. Just amazing to watch. Thanks for sharing!

[@robtopham6095]

Congrats John! One thing about video I could feel how excited you were landing that beast.

[@thomcerny1101]

Epic. Simply epic. I've never been more stressed watching a fishing video! Cheering for you the whole time. Congratulations, well deserved!

[@frety67]

Let’s gooooo! Great job getting that fish in the release too

[@seachild100]

Wow, what a trip! Nicely done John!!

[@kenhernandez7076]

you are a pro ,fished near to you in montauk i m in marco now but would love to fish anywhere near you now 73 been fishing since 6 you show me how its done . cant get enough of your vidios I have caught everything you keep me on the edge of my seat dont stop !!!

[@SSHitMan]

Ooh I know a spot by Marco for tarpon!

[@michaelramos7136]

What a great vid! Thanks, John, and congrats on a killer landing with that second poon!

[@josephdoran1399]

New all time greatest video. Well done Mr. Skinner

[@alansandybulmer4877]

Stunning effort John. It took patience and skill to land that leviathan. As you said, a poor start to the day with the rod overboard followed by an epic session. Perfectly shows the highs and lows of fishing. Love your work.

[@peteraikens8151]

Wow John nice fish!

[@philtarbox8256]

Congrats John!... Well done... you hooked that big boy perfectly in the mouth (otherwise you wouldn't have landed that fish). I landed one that size from shore in Islamorada a few years ago.... definitely will never forget that fish... hell of a fight!

[@williamfox7727]

John that was incredible! Congratulations.

[@pigsandapples]

Friggin amazing. Huge congratulations John.

[@dman_gonefishing]

AWESOME JOHN!!! You should be excited what an awesome accomplishment and on a yak no less!! Thanks for another enjoyable video!!

[@Blane_be_fishin]

That’s a great accomplishment Mr. Skinner! I know that big tarpon rodeo on light gear all too well. But to do it in a kayak is amazing. Great work as always.

[@Takeakidfishin]

Phenomenal catch!!! Congrats on a true fish of a lifetime. What a battle, more important WHAT A RELEASE!!! Kudos to you on an incredible effort of revival. Job well done SIR!!!

[@jackbentley9530]

That's great! Another great video!

[@richardspiegel1613]

Once I was wadding with a cast net looking for bait and I saw a big tarpon tail about 5 yards away... it was the only time I saw that other than in your video.

[@michaelsimko7694]

WHAT A FISH!!! Way more energy than a 50" striper. Longer fight than a 15 pound blue.

[@hettro-cv6082]

Woah! You need a bigger boat! Good video!

[@kweeks10045]

What an amazing trip. I started using artificials exclusively about six years ago. It made a huge difference in my fishing ability. Love the rods, by the way.

[@stephenschneider3967]

Great job on the tarpons especially on the kayak!

[@MelonEatery]

Excellent video!

[@Charactermatters650]

Amazing day! Nice to see the reality as well - shit happens to all of us - I remember a number of days that started like shit and became epic later! Love your stuff.

[@Peter-zg3em]

great fish. those rods have more backbone than i would expect.

[@ronchiles399]

I was fishing in a Florida lake and was relatively deep for FL at about 15' caught a decent bass and set my rod down on edge of canoe...we fished it out as well.

[@michaeldemasi1665]

Only one word, EPIC!

[@billelia1933]

Dam john, that was awesome..I have been fishing Venice for about 6 months now..Hoping to get a day like that some day.. Congrats

[@coxgaspoweredtether]

John: C'mon buddy I'm tyrin to help you out... Tarpon: I'm not your Buddy... Nice Job John!

[@rogerstackhouse3832]

OMG great job! Really awesome. Congrats! Ya need a bigger kayak!

[@richkonefal710]

“I need another jump out of him for a leader touch”… I think you just need a little bit of a longer leader! Awesome video!!

[@donwinges7464]

Congrats on landing that beauty, John! I’m looking for a rod to toss light lures, I’ll be sure to check yours out next time I’m at J & H. Looks like it will handle anything up here.

[@grantd.5438]

Looks like a ton of fun! Pretty impressive for that setup (Rod, Reel, and hook!). Will have to plan to snowbird between seasons later in life too lol

[@striperhunter-ic2wt]

Congratulations John!

[@TomMendoladrums]

Bravo John! Bravo!

[@slammingjack2242]

That was one hell of a fish!

[@lamonthayes8889]

Great video 📹

[@vigodatopia2229]

Bucket list fish, great vid!

[@Stevenrosswhite]

Congrats! That was one helluva tarpon 👊🏼

[@BigDaddyFishingNJ]

The best action I have seen on your channel! Congratulations! You handled those fish like a veteran. I know you were nervous when that huge tarpon was boats side. Now what to do! Everyone should be mindful to care for their catch like John did. Big effort on reviving and good release. Watch Mill House Podcast Andy and Nicky Mill, to learn all about South Florida fishing etiquette and urgent water conversation issues. Thanks John!

[@ramrodrymensnyder2648]

Awesome Awesome video man. Thank you for sharing, thats the stuff dreams are made of!

[@chefeliott4611]

I’ve seen , and caught tailing tarpon in the Florida keys . Sometimes they spook easily when they’re tailing, and sometimes they’ll eat . Very cool to see that in this video . Nice work John . 👍🏽

[@billwallenstein3387]

Way to go Johnny!

[@GregBradshaw-uz3ff]

From Chief Brody from the movie Jaws you're going to need a bigger boat 😂

[@GROUNDPOUNDERFAB]

Put it right down to the bottom...Lol Glad you got it back!

[@billcancellieri8375]

Amazing catch! Congrats

[@ljohnson5978]

Impressive! Congrats!

[@clarenceelliott9009]

I like to see even experience fisherman makes those types of mistakes! But glad you got the rod back😮

[@clarenceelliott9009]

All I can say is OMG! On a freaking kayak 🎉🎉🎉

[@NeoDon1]

Wow, Loved it, not as much as you did! Great Job!

[@greggjohnson3049]

Awesome! Congratulations!

[@robertbiermann4666]

Lucky! He bent the heck out of that hook! Good juvie.

[@rookstorm1]

So much for the bow the rod crap ,keep it tight and up and the line is tight to the hooks ,fish barbless and bow the rod giving slack with any fish that jumps and see what the result is compared to keeping it up and tight.You kept the rod up every jump

[@unionsquaregrassman]

Great fish.

[@foxlinks6656]

Good job saving that beauty 👏

[@brianh5652]

WOW! Congrats

[@Obxhatman]

Way to go John , that is a hell of a fish off a yak. Its very easy to get excited when something like that takes ya bait. I would have probably had a heart attack. I also feel like that Old Town Autopilot is a very underrated kayak for what you can do with one , You can put more very light pressure on a fish just by simply putting the drive on a speed of one or two away from that bridge as he was dragging ya to it. it can mean the difference between a fish wrapping ya up in pylons and not. However , to be able to drag the fish on recovery beside the kayak and be able to focus solely on that versus pedaling or paddling while you are getting water over his gills , that speaks a lot of this kayaks ability , love mine , not another kayak in the water even compares.

[@waterfauowl75]

OLD MAN & THE SEA!

[@duffmeister6480]

Nice catch Skinner, that’s what I expect to see out of Florida, is that the same area you’ve been catching Snook in ? Looks all the same to me. Thanks.

[@JohnSkinnerFishing]

Thanks. Not close to the snook spot.

[@DenisBurke-vb6vh]

Haven’t been up there since mid November since the weather went to crap , nice work. There were zero manatees up there then. Last time they were staging real well up by that piling by the small island. Do you have side scan with the good transducer on your machine. I have pictures of 50 fish on the Simrad screen up there.

[@JohnSkinnerFishing]

No side scan. They seem to show when they're in a feeding mood.

[@michaelgorman4142]

John, you ever consider the northeast tuna run? Looks like you're getting plenty of practice lol

[@CharlotteHarborFisherman]

awesome trip. How small a combo can get away with for throwing at Tarpon just off the big sea wall at Boca Grande Pass? I was hammering the snook today and tarpon rolling well within range but I only had a 2500 Penn so didn't wan to try it. on the other hand I don't want a massive rod ill rarely use otherwise.

[@JohnSkinnerFishing]

If you're casting from shore, I wouldn't go less than a 5000 size reel spooled with 50# braid. It's different in the kayak because I can let the fish tow me, which allows me to land fish in a reasonable amount of time.

[@stevecollins3667]

Ho - ly c**p!!!! That is an amazing video!!!!

[@russpost2557]

I should add john , there are some real monsters. The biggest I ever got was 7' 4" . It's girth was 34 inches .

[@johnconnolly3635]

I think one of your first tarpon caught 2 years ago was Hugh. Very very big 85 lbs ? On your video

[@jupiterkayakfishing]

There is a much easier launch on the other side of the river, to access that area, little longer transit but much easier, fyi. great video.

[@JohnSkinnerFishing]

Thanks for that!

[@murraydriggs6534]

Where do I get one of those rods? Incredible

[@JohnSkinnerFishing]

bit.ly/45GoMej

[@ralphzaccaria7420]

NICE!!!

[@frankiediaz4299]

Dear John I know you like crushing your barbs but we really wanted to see you hold that fish in hand we rooting for you.

[@JohnSkinnerFishing]

I landed the second one. Had it in both hands.

[@thefreshangle1795]

Nicely done! What size reel are you using in this video?

[@JohnSkinnerFishing]

Tsunami Evict 2000

[@johnw.cirago9300]

NICE FISH JOHN

[@vipergeddy]

WAY TO GO JOHN NICE FISH IS THAT YOUR PB ON THEM

[@JohnSkinnerFishing]

No. I had one that calculated to 151# from shore in Key West.

[@tonynicoletti8161]

9:55 i thought you had a sad surprise for us.

[@kirillanisimov7101]

Awesome Fish John! That rod handled that fish like a champ! Definitely one for the memories. By the way what is the model # of the rod you were using if you dont mind?

[@JohnSkinnerFishing]

Thanks! Here's the rod model: bit.ly/45GoMej

[@kirillanisimov7101]

Thank you sir.

[@michaeloshea3090]

Is the Saltx really water proof? What I read it wasn't made to be submerged in salt water. Maybe the 3000 is different than the 4000 that I own, let me know.

[@JohnSkinnerFishing]

It's actually a SaltX II, which is an upgraded SaltX.

[@michaeloshea3090]

@@JohnSkinnerFishing thanks for the info.

[@bigcheesedog2645]

WOW!!

[@GeorgeDEFINED]

What would you guess in length? Congratulations 🎉

[@roywright5485]

How much do you think it weighed? 40lbs?

[@JohnSkinnerFishing]

I've caught many 40 pound stripers, and it was twice that.

[@johnmccreary1554]

Is that the US 31 bridge in the background?

[@johnmccreary1554]

Pine Island

[@johnmccreary1554]

No 31.

[@mambo47911]

Not US 31

[@johnmccreary1554]

@@mambo47911it sure is. Just look at the drawbridge in the background. When you cross I75 it’s on the west which means that’s the I75 bridge or the US 31 bridge. I’ve lived here 50+ years.

[@mambo47911]

@@johnmccreary1554 the bridge he's near is absolutely not the 31 overpass.

[@stratpaulguy86]

Epic!