Tarpon Fishing and Catching The Elusive Silver King - Megalops Atlanticus

If you have ever had the priviledge of hooking up on a big tarponthen you know the exhilaration and thrill of testing yourself inbattle against one of the most sought after gamefish in theworld. This distinction is easy to see at first glance as thetarpon starts a series of spectacular acrobatic leaps in the airthat will have your heart pounding, your rod bending and yourdrag 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 canbe caught from jetties, passes, docks, bridges, beaches, piersand rivers. Tarpon can be caught while using many types oftackle, rods, baits, lures and rigs either while fishing from aboat, canoe, kayak or walking and wading from the shoreline asthe tarpon work up and down the beaches.

Live bait fishermen's bait of choice is the 'dollar crab'. Asmall live blue crab about two inches across its carapace, hookedthrough one end of it's shell or underneath through a swimmerleg. Other extremely effective live baits include pinfish,threadfin herrings and pilchards. On days when the tarpon isbeing finicky in it's tablefare selection, try these for the bestresults, and oh, by the way, don't forget about a live mullet. Ifyou can get them, use them. Flyfishermen are not left out either.The stealth of casting the right fly can sometimes be the trickto hooking up.

But Just What is a Tarpon?

Scientific classification: Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: ChordataClass: Actinopterygii Order: Elopiformes Family: MegalopidaeGenus: Megalops

This exceptionally fine creature is a prehistoric animal and theonly fish with an air bladder. This allows it to absorb oxygenand live in waters with very low oxygen content. You can see themgulp air at the water surface. Tarpon are also called poons,tarpum, sabalo real, cuffum, silverfish or silver king and belongto the bony fish family Elopidae. The Latin designation isMegalops atlanticus.

While only microscopic at birth, tarpon have been documented atlengths of more than eight feet and weighing 280 pounds. Catchesweighing more than 200 pounds, while uncommon, do occur. Manyfish caught are well over 100 pounds. Their growth rate is slow,taking 8 to 10 years to reach maturity, and generally those over100 pounds are female. Tarpon can live 55 to 60 years. They aregreenish or bluish on top, and silver on the sides. The largemouth is turned upwards and the lower jaw contains an elongatedbony plate. The last ray of the dorsal fin is much longer thanthe 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 coralreefs, and in some freshwater lakes and rivers. Their normalmigratory pattern ranges from Virginia to central Brazil in thewestern Atlantic, along the coast of Africa in the easternAtlantic, and all through the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea.Florida is widely regarded as having many of the best tarponfishing locations in the world, especially the world-renownedBoca Grande Pass in Southwest Florida.

Fishing for the tarpon can at times be an excercise of patienceand discipline. You may be surrounded by large schools of rollingtarpon containing hundreds of fish and they will not hit anythingyou throw at them. Other times, it is a feeding frenzy. So, gofishing for tarpon every chance you get, that next world recordcatch may be waiting just for you.