A Tarpon to Remember

Where we are

• 
  Dan's cottage and rookery — Stilt house with banyans out front and pelicans out back. Fictional location — place near the island's east side.
• 
  Chokoloskee Bay — The bay crossed at sunrise on every trip.
• 
  Rabbit Key Pass — The way home from the storm in Ch. 3; the escape route in Ch. 10.
• 
  Little Pavilion Key — Old Scarface's territory. Hooked by Russ (Ch. 7) and caught by Matt (Ch. 19).
• 
  Chokoloskee marina — Where the Mako lives, where Matt caught his first snook, where Rose waves from the last dock.

Every place in the book, painted →

Fish in this chapter

• 
  Spotted seatrout 'Grass bed fishing meant trout.' Three keepers on the first client trip; Dave's trout off Little Pavilion Key. Ch. 2Ch. 3Ch. 7Ch. 16 +1
• 
  Tarpon ('silver king') The trophy fish of South Florida and the tournament's main event. Old Scarface. Rose's 68-inch, 81-pound… Ch. 1Ch. 2Ch. 7Ch. 8 +3
• 
  Redfish (red drum, 'spot-tail') The first keeper Matt ever caught, at Comer Key. Rose's cooler-toppling redfish at the marina. The 22- and… Ch. 2Ch. 3Ch. 7Ch. 8 +1
• 
  Mangrove (gray) snapper Dave's 22-incher; the snapper bonanza at the river mouth ('leave that snapper in the water, it'll attract… Ch. 2Ch. 3Ch. 7Ch. 13 +2
• 
  Black drum The 'single black drum, which were hard to find these days' in the Rabbit Key cooler. A tournament category. Ch. 7Ch. 20
• 
  Common snook Fishing royalty. The black lateral stripe is the tell-tale. Matt's 36-inch, 20-pound monster at South Point… Ch. 1Ch. 2Ch. 4Ch. 5 +2

Crew in this chapter

• 
  Matthew 'Matt' Creek protagonist Ch. 1
• 
  Daniel Walter Panther Jr. ('Uncle Dan') Matt's uncle, charter captain Ch. 1
• 
  Snapper Dan's neighbor, retired guide Ch. 2
• 
  Russ Worthington FBI agent, fishing client Ch. 2
• 
  Dave Carver FBI agent, fishing client Ch. 2
• 
  Old Scarface The legendary tarpon Ch. 7

Critters in this chapter

• 
  Brown pelican Bertha and Oscar; the hooked pelican Snapper carries to the door; the fish-head thief at Lostman's. Ch. 2Ch. 5Ch. 7Ch. 13 +1
• 
  Seagrass beds Rabbit Key's grass beds — 'grass bed fishing meant trout.' Ch. 7

Boats in this chapter

• 
  The Mako Center-console bay boat Ch. 1Ch. 2Ch. 3Ch. 7 +3

From the tackle box

Drifting

Letting the boat move with the tide and wind while casting. 'Drifting actually meant casting.'

Grass beds = trout

Seatrout hold over seagrass; mangroves and oysters hold snook and reds.

Matt’s list

• ✓ Remember everything that happens for later — checked off this chapter
• Don't fall in — added this chapter

See the whole list →