I bought a 12 weight Billy Pate Tarpon Reel on Ebay awhile ago. I hadn’t rigged it yet but had kept in its box to look at every once in awhile because it’s such piece of pure beauty. It’s also a big reel that you don’t normally put in a gear bag
But last week, while out fly casting to Cobia, a couple of sharks and one large gag grouper came up to the surface. I didn’t hook them, but I also knew my chances with them given their size would have been much better if I had my 12-weight ready to go instead of the 9-10 weight I had on the boat. I have now rigged the reel and matched it with a nice Lamson rod and will head to the same place on Friday hoping for the same chances.
While taking it out of the case, admiring and looking at and feeling the gears, I wanted to research Billy Pate.
He is a member of the IFGA and really contributed to the development of fly fishing as a sport, particularly for large game fish like Tarpon, Sailfish and Marlin. The IGFA has a great video about him on their YouTube Chanel:
Billy Pate: IGFA Hall of Famer and Fishing Legend – YouTube
There is also a good online article on Fly Life Magazine that provides a historical perspective of him and his impact on fly fishing. It is a short read : https://flylifemagazine.com/a-remembrance-billy-pate/
One of the amazing parts of the article is how in 1982, he caught a world record tarpon that weighed 188 pounds on 16-pound tippet – a record which stood for 21 years.
He also put his focus, passion, and driven personality to try and catch the elusive 200 pounder he always wanted, including fishing in places like Gabon and even stranger places. Gabon is one of the places where I know I will eventually fish – where else can you fish at night and watch elephants during the day?