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Tarpon Fishing and Catching The Elusive Silver King - Megalops Atlanticus
Greg Smith
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.
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.
About the Author
Greg Smith is a life-long fisherman and publisher of fishing information websites. 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/ |
