Learn more about this magnificent ocean creature at http://www.tarpon-fishing-i.com/.
Growing to lengths of more than eight feet and weighing more than 280 pounds,
it is easy to see why the tarpon is one of the most sought after saltwater
gamefish in the world. It's habitat is close to the shoreline so fishermen of
all types and skill levels can catch them.
(PRWEB) June 1, 2005 -- If you have ever had the priviledge of hooking up
on a big tarpon then you know the exhilaration and thrill of testing yourself
in battle against one of the most sought after gamefish in the world. This
distinction is easy to see at first glance as the tarpon starts a series of
spectacular acrobatic leaps in the air that will have your heart pounding,
your rod bending and your drag screaming. You better hold on!
Since the tarpon's habitat is so close to the shoreline, fishermen of all
types and skill levels can catch them. They can be caught from jetties,
passes, docks, bridges, beaches, piers and rivers. Tarpon can be caught while
using many types of tackle, rods, baits, lures and rigs either while fishing
from a boat, canoe, kayak or walking and wading from the shoreline as the
tarpon work up and down the beaches.
Live bait fishermen's bait of choice is the 'dollar crab'. A small live blue
crab about two inches across its carapace, hooked through one end of it's
shell or underneath through a swimmer leg. Other extremely effective live
baits include pinfish, threadfin herrings and pilchards. On days when the
tarpon is being finicky in it's tablefare selection, try these for the best
results, and oh, by the way, don't forget about a live mullet. If you can get
them, use them. Flyfishermen are not left out either. The stealth of casting
the right fly can sometimes be the trick to hooking up.
But Just What is a Tarpon?
Scientific classification:
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Elopiformes
Family: Megalopidae
Genus: Megalops
This exceptionally fine creature is a prehistoric animal and the only fish
with an air bladder. This allows it to absorb oxygen and live in waters with
very low oxygen content. You can see them gulp air at the water surface.
Tarpon are also called poons, tarpum, sabalo real, cuffum, silverfish or
silver king and belong to the bony fish family Elopidae. The Latin designation
is Megalops atlanticus.
While only microscopic at birth, tarpon have been documented at lengths of
more than eight feet and weighing 280 pounds. Catches weighing more than 200
pounds, while uncommon, do occur. Many fish caught are well over 100 pounds.
Their growth rate is slow, taking 8 to 10 years to reach maturity, and
generally those over 100 pounds are female. Tarpon can live 55 to 60 years.
They are greenish or bluish on top, and silver on the sides. The large mouth
is turned upwards and the lower jaw contains an elongated bony plate. The last
ray of the dorsal fin is much longer than the others, reaching nearly to the
tail.
They are found primarily in shallow coastal waters and estuaries, but they are
also found in open marine waters, around coral reefs, and in some freshwater
lakes and rivers. Their normal migratory pattern ranges from Virginia to
central Brazil in the western Atlantic, along the coast of Africa in the
eastern Atlantic, and all through the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea.
Florida is widely regarded as having many of the best tarpon fishing locations
in the world, especially the world-renowned Boca Grande Pass in Southwest
Florida.
Fishing for the tarpon can at times be an excercise of patience and
discipline. You may be surrounded by large schools of rolling tarpon
containing hundreds of fish and they will not hit anything you throw at them.
Other times, it is a feeding frenzy. So, go fishing for tarpon every chance
you get, that next world record catch may be waiting just for you.
For more information, tips, tricks, techniques and charter guide resources for
the most popular tarpon fishing locations in Florida and beyond visit http://www.tarpon-fishing-i.com/
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