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Tacklin' Tarpon

Article by John Kumiski

Many writers have lauded the qualities of the tarpon over the years, beginning with Anthony Dimock in his Book of the Tarpon, published in 1911. On a February morning in 1882, Dimock was fishing from a fragile canoe with Tat, his guide and stern man. In the mouth of Florida's Homosassa River where the current sweeps past Shell Island into the Gulf of Mexico, Dimock hooked a tarpon while he was drifting shrimp for sea trout.

When the fish took its first awesome leap, Dimock writes, "The brilliant rays of the semi-tropical sun made a prism of every drop in the shower that surrounded the creature... At first I thought the wonderful being was a mermaid, as I noted her fierce display of activity and strength. I pitied the merman who came home late... Then I suspected it was a wicked genie freed from the Seal of Solomon which had imprisoned it for thousands of years.

I was brought back to earth by Tat: 'Mus' be a tarpum!'

'What's that!' I asked.

'That's what got your hook.'

Talking in circles is profitless and I turned to my buzzing reel, shouting as I saw the diminishing line: 'Pull like smoke, Tat! Line's 'most gone.'

Then I put on the drag, but it had no effect. I held my rod vertically and pressed my thumb hard on the reel.

Once more the creature shot high in the air while my thumb got red hot.

This was in February, 1882, three years before the recognition of the tarpon as a game fish. I believe the tarpon then on my line is entitled to the credit of being the first of its species captured with rod and reel."

Bob Rich had plenty to say about tarpon in his book, Fish Fights: A Hall of Fame Quest:

"While you can catch tarpon year-round in the warm blue waters surrounding Islamorada, the big show takes place in May and June. This is when the giant fish converge on the area like the college kids drawn to Joe Roth's Holiday Isle a few months earlier by the same urges, and I don't mean drinking beer."

Tarpon come to our area from the gentle waters of the Gulf of Mexico as well as the depths of the windswept Atlantic Ocean to engage in the annual prehistoric spawning rites that regenerate their species. On a calm morning, it is not uncommon to see dozens of fish "daisy chaining," or swimming in tightly knit circles, with the males fertilizing the discharge of egg-laden females. Marine biologists say that ripe females will lay as many as one thousand eggs. 

While these fish are totally preoccupied, they will stop momentarily to snack on pinfish, mullet, crabs, and shrimp as well as lures or small flies stripped in front of their large underslung jaws. Their favorite food is the palolo worm, which hatches every year in the water of the southern Keys on low falling tides on a new moon.

Craig Brewer says that this hatch is an amazing phenomenon. It generally starts in the evening. Small worms emerge from the bottom of the offshore shallows and ride the falling tide out to sea. It is then that they are intercepted by the hungry spawning tarpon.

Craig says that these worms are thought to be an aphrodisiac and may fuel the passion of the tarpon spawn. Whether that's true or not, these large fish lose all perspective when the hatch begins. Their usual wariness also disappears, and it is not uncommon to see them bouncing off skiffs as they clamor to suck down as many palolo worms as possible. It is also amazing to me that these huge fish, which grow to more than 200 pounds, will stop to scarf up small feather flies. It speaks volumes about their incredible eyesight.

Stu Apte, not generally known for his writing skills, did write a little gem of a book, Fishing the Florida Keys and Flamingo. With a title like this, you know he had something to say about fighting big tarpon:

"There are times during the fight when you can break their spirit. If you pressure the fish properly, without breaking him off -- and you may be within ounces of breaking him off -- you can subdue him rather quickly. To do this you must understand your tackle and know within the nth degree what your tackle will take.

"When a tarpon, or any large fish for that matter, is green and running away, there is no way to stop him with light tackle. But, the moment he slows down or stops, try to pressure him. Do not make your drag any tighter than it is, but very gently apply pressure. When using spinning tackle you may do this by gently placing your finger down on the spool as you lift the rod or you may do what is called 'cupping' it. You cup your hand around the spool as you lift the rod, bringing the fish back toward you. Be careful, as you must know exactly how much pressure it will take to break your line."

I wrote in my own first book, Fishing the Everglades, "Tarpon owe much of their fame to their often large size and their habit of making wild, spectacular leaps after being hooked. No fish causes more frustration among anglers.

"Tarpon periodically rise to the surface to gulp air, a process called rolling. They give their presence away when they do this. Sometimes they roll by the hundreds, especially near river mouths like the Little Shark River, back in Lake Ingraham, and off Cape Sable. But the fisherman can cast, and cast, and cast, and cast, and cast some more, and still not get a strike. Like I said: frustrating.

"They do bite, though, and when they do, look out. They will not pay much attention to where they are going when they jump, and will go flying through trees, up on the bank, or into your boat. Needless to say, this last can be a huge problem, especially to a canoeist."

Mark Sosin and Lefty Kreh collaborated on one of the supreme references for the shallow water angler, a book called Fishing the Flats. Here is what they had to say about the silver king:

"Baby tarpon weighing up to about 20 pounds and small tarpon up to about 50 pounds are a delight to catch on tackle matched to the task.

"They are aggressive fish and jump wildly in protest to being hooked, but they can be handled on fairly light gear if you know how to apply the pressure. These smaller fish are found along the mangrove keys that pockmark the flats, often back under the overhanging branches. They are particularly abundant on the high spring tides of late spring, summer, and early fall, when they lie under the mangroves waiting to ambush their prey. Because they are motionless, anglers tend to mistake them for barracuda. In some places, and especially where there is a deep cut or hole in the bottom, you may find as many as 20 of them together."

Many of the coves and little bays leading off the flats hold tarpon of this size, especially in the Caribbean. You can sometimes see bubbles on the surface marking the spot where they rolled, gulped air, and then let it escape. There are flats in Florida Bay where the smaller tarpon prowl regularly and they are often caught when one is blind-casting for a mixed bag.

Tiny darters and other small plugs that do not splash loudly are a perfect choice. Smaller plastic worms and action-tails may also be used. And these fish suck in a shrimp almost as fast as a youngster makes a candy bar disappear.

Nothing surpasses fly fishing for these smaller fish. An 8 or 9 outfit with flies tied on a 1/0 hook is perfect. Fish them as you would giant laid-up fish; drop the fly right in front of them. You may have to tuck it under an overhanging limb to reach them. The strike is often instantaneous.

A silent approach is paramount in this type of fishing. Once the tarpon know you are there, they will move off. On some days, you may see them working their way back under the mangroves where you cannot reach them with a cast, or you may at least suspect that they are there. Some of the Marathon guides have developed a trick worth remembering on such occasions.

You only get one shot at the fish, so you had better be ready.

They take the push pole and slap it down on the water several times, fully extended toward the mangroves. Shortly after that, the fish may start to come out, and that's the time to drop the fly in front of them. Those tarpon want to see what made the commotion. If you hook a fish back in the mangroves and it starts swimming under the limbs, thrust the whole rod in the water much as you would if a fish went under the boat. This keeps the line deeper so that it may clear the branches that touch the surface or dip beneath it.

Whenever you have an opportunity to do this type of fishing, whether for baby tarpon or the giants, don't pass it up. You will never have a more meaningful or memorable angling experience. In fact, as one fellow put it, "I thought I died and went to Heaven."

Florida's tarpon run, while annual, only lasts eight to 10 weeks. This year make it a special point to take advantage of tarpon time.

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