All the while he struggled with his impossible mission, our white hole was full of the fuzzy brown images of high and happy early morning tarpon. After their turn, they crossed the hole a comfortable fifty feet downwind. I guess the school had about two hundred fish in it, it seemed like it took an hour for them to cross the hole. We never threw at them in the hole. A true case of roller focus.
Guides do pull similar stunts on anglers of course.
The majority of the school has gone by, the fly not placed very well, and the guide wants to give it another shot. I would hate to admit the actual number of instances when I've done it, and realized that some stubborn fish was chasing the fly at break neck speed as it was lifted from the water. A few infamous tarpon spots are occasionally populated with large, rapidly moving schools. One requirement in tarpon union rules, is such spots feature nearly impossible visibility. Roller focus creates serious problems in these spots as the fish typically move at right angles to the boat after bumping into it.