THE MAGIC CIRCLE
Homosassa was a small, quiet fishing port on the west coast of Florida until around the mid-1970s, when it was discovered that fantastic concentrations of giant tarpon gathered annually from late April through May at the mouth of the Homosassa River. The average weight of these fish was around 120 pounds, with many weighing between 140 and 160, and the biggest surpassing 200. Occasionally, even a few “big mamoo” would appear—tarpon that exceeded 230 pounds. At the time, the monster tarpon of Sierra Leone’s Sherbro Island had yet to be discovered. But even if those African fish were bigger than the ones in Florida, fishing for them with live bait in 50 feet of muddy water could in no way compare to flyfishing for them on the clear flats of Homosassa.
On May 28, 1980, just like every other morning for the previous three weeks, the alarm gets us out of bed at 4:45. The new moon has it pitch black outside. A quick cup of coffee for Bruce, a squeezed grapefruit for me, and then we walk through the wet, short grass across the small lawn that leads to our dock, where Bruce’s stunning 17-foot Sidewinder awaits. The lights have just gone out in the villa a couple hundred feet upstream, and two minutes later we hear Billy Pate’s big 150-horse Johnson start up, which his guide, Hal Chittum, is idling. Farther downstream, Bill Curtis’ skiff is also idling. We
