Mary Laser with a Pine Island Sound tarpon caught on live bait with Capt. Matt Mitchell.
May 21, 2025
By Frank Sargeant
Tarpon fishing is one of those paradoxical pursuits at once solitary and private, and yet strangely social.
Fishing clubs like the Fort Myers Beach Tarpon Hunters , dating to 1962, grew up around dedicated anglers who share an interest in studying these mysterious fish—and in sharing the highs and lows of the fishing.
“Tarpon are finicky—there’s no guarantee,” says Pine Island resident Mary Laser, President of the Fort Myers Beach Tarpon Hunters club. “They’ll do what I call the ‘flick of the fin,’ roll up on your bait, move your bobber, and not take it—just laughing at you!”
Geared Up for Tarpon Laser enjoys the light tackle livebait style tarpon game on the shallow waters of Pine Island Sound. She fishes with her boyfriend, 30-year veteran guide Capt. Matt Mitchell. Usually they’re on Mitchell’s 17-foot Silver King skiff. He also runs a bigger Goldline for charters.
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“We fish spinning rods, and we fish live bait—pinfish or crabs. We sight-fish, try to inch ahead of the fish and cast to them,” said Laser.
Many members of the Tarpon Hunters club were impacted by the twin hurricanes—Ian in 2022, Helene in 2024—which flooded the region. Laser and Mitchell were dealt a mixed hand. “We were demolished twice, had to rebuild our house twice,” said Laser. “Luckily we didn’t lose the boats—Matt tied up the skiff next to the house, and apparently it rose and fell with the flood, no damage. The big boat, the marina owner had property where they took some boats and they were safe.”
Now fishing again with as much passion as ever, Laser took the club’s Angler of the Year award in 2024 with 12 fish for the season. She said she’s looking forward to the spring 2025 season, gearing up for monthly club meetings (first Wednesday of the month), plus meetups with the Cape Coral Tarpon Hunters, on the other side of the river. Locals agree that the fishing should be excellent.
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Tarpon Fishing Special Articles “A trout fishermen jumped a big tarpon just this week,” Laser said, during a late February interview with Florida Sportsman . “As soon as the water temps get to about 74 degrees, those tarpon move in from offshore.”
“It’s really something—some days it’s just a boat ride, you might see hundreds of fish and catch nothing. Then you might see nothing and throw your line out and Blammo! It’s on. That sport has tried my patience—and taught me patience.”
This article was featured in the April 2025 issue of Florida Sportsman magazine. Click to subscribe
