The Lasting Allure—and Bruising Challenge—of Courting Florida’s Silver King

CINDY BROWN REMEMBERS HER FIRST battle with the Silver King. “It dragged us all over Pine Island Sound for 45 minutes to an hour, and I was just hanging on the rod for dear life,” she recalls. Brown lives in Florida close to the state’s southwest coast, a hotspot for tarpon fishing. The powerful game fish, nicknamed the “silver king” for its dazzling appearance, grows up to eight feet long and can leap 10 feet out of the water. Weighing up to 250 pounds, tarpon can wear out even the strongest anglers. Brown says that, when she finally got her first silver king to the side of the boat, she was exhausted and exhilarated. She’s been hooked on tarpon ever since. Read Full Story in Atlas Obscura