Tarpon Fishing and Catching The Elusive Silver King - Megalops Atlanticus
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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Source : http://www.prweb.com/releases/2005/6/prweb246122.htm
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