Jim Vickaryous and a silver king tarpon. “A venturing lawyer is one that takes a long vacation to someplace that he has never been before, looking to have some fun with a focus on the here and now. A true adventure makes you forget the day-to-day battle of practicing law and helps you recover the non-lawyer in you. A venturing lawyer is someone who understands the importance of taking time off to refresh and recharge.”

Venturing in a skiff somewhere north of Lower Matecumbe Key, we watched the sun set over Florida Bay. The dusk was copper-tinged. The sea was so calm it could have been glass. I broke the silence and said out loud, “What a wonderful sunset.” Upset with my failure to set a hook into any fish, the weathered captain tersely said, “Shut up and fish.” Perhaps the old salt threw in a few expletives. My Australian friend had caught five tarpons on that charter, and good naturedly ribbed me for all the tarpons that had jumped off my line.

Following the captain’s orders, I stood up and grabbed the tarpon rod with both hands. I turned my back to the west and looked toward the ruined arches of Flagler’s old bridge, where my line had drifted. A second later, the reel began to scream with the tell-tale sound of a very big fish on the line. The monster jumped into the air several hundred yards away, slapping the water with the sound only a tarpon makes. My heart sunk seeing the distance my line had wandered. I had not paid attention to how much line I let out while watching the sunset. The captain shouted, “Set the hook! Don’t let him off!” His bark made me do what I had failed to do all day, take several steps back and pull the rod in one motion. With the rod now bent into a bow, the hook was set, the competition between man and monster began. Not wanting to lose this tarpon, the captain worked me like a drill sergeant. It was dark as I pulled in the 200lb silver king, both fish and man utterly exhausted.