Tarpon fishing ethically....

[JeremyW]

Having never fished for these large fish, coming from a trout fishing background where we are taught to land / play the fish as quickly as possible, I'm wondering if it's even possible to quickly / ethically land a tarpon.

From the videos I've watched, they seem to talk about taking 30-60 minutes to land a fish, which is often longer than I take in seconds to land a trout. I'm not sure if this is common but seems far too long to land a fish which concern for the duration of being hooked.

 

[troutbert]

Fighting a big fish for 30-60 minutes sounds a lot like WORK.

 

[Tigereye]

If your dealing with a fish in the 100 pound range, it takes alot to tire them out.

I caught more salmon than tarpon.. For comparison a 20 lb salmon takes about 10 minutes. Tarpon are way bigger and stronger.

Never caught a marlin or tuna. There, you are talking hours sometimes with the aid of the capt using the boat to help tire the fish.

I wouldnt worry about it.

 

[BrookieChaser]

Yes, it's possible to quickly and ethically land a tarpon on fly. The angler needs to fight the fish, not just take it for a walk.

THE biggest thing with fly fishing for tarpon ethically is using a tapered leader (16lb or 20lb) and not a "bubba leader" of straight 50lb. The fish getting sharked is a bigger concern. The 16lb allows the angler to break the fish off before it gets sharked.

 

[Swattie87]

I think we really should just give the fish a break guys. Time to let them be.

I’m thinking of taking up crochet, if anyone else is interested, let me know.

 

[Nocktavius]

I think we really should just give the fish a break guys. Time to let them be.

I’m thinking of taking up crochet, if anyone else is interested, let me know.

If even a third of the FF community takes up crochet you won’t be able to find any yarn, needles or scissors within a year.

 

[Fly-Swatter]

If even a third of the FF community takes up crochet you won’t be able to find any yarn, needles or scissors within a year.

And the prices will skyrocket!

 

[Swattie87]

If even a third of the FF community takes up crochet you won’t be able to find any yarn, needles or scissors within a year.

You’re right. I apologize. We should let the crochet-ers be too. Don’t wanna spot burn their craft stores.

I’m going to take up meditating. Flows and temps will always be dialed in. And no fragile, precious Gemmies or Tarpon, or native Fallfish to worry about injuring.

 

[tomgamber]

Here's some ethical tarpon fishing. I think at one point my youngest was elbow deep on a tarpon.

 

[Tigereye]

Great white convoy....truck followers👍😊!!

 

[tomgamber]

Robbie's Marina. Cool party spot in the Keys.

Robbie’s of Islamorada | Voted the #1 Place To Visit in Florida Keys

Welcome to Robbie’s Marina, home of the world-famous tarpon feeding! Here, you can discover the exciting things to do in Islamorada during your stop here.

www.robbies.com

if you do the drive, don't skip it.

 

[Bamboozle]

You’re right. I apologize. We should let the crochet-ers be too. Don’t wanna spot burn their craft stores.

I’m going to take up meditating. Flows and temps will always be dialed in. And no fragile, precious Gemmies or Tarpon, or native Fallfish to worry about injuring.

If you decide to reverse your decision on crocheting, make sure you seek out "barbless" crochet hooks and sustainable naturally died organic yarns and "release" all of your projects to a nearby clothing bank...

...I mean if you want to be ethical and all. 😉

 

[CLSports]

The only 2 tarpon I ever hooked threw the hook in a matter of seconds, so I guess I was ethical with my LDR.

 

[Silent Ocelot]

Yes, it's possible to quickly and ethically land a tarpon on fly. The angler needs to fight the fish, not just take it for a walk.

THE biggest thing with fly fishing for tarpon ethically is using a tapered leader (16lb or 20lb) and not a "bubba leader" of straight 50lb. The fish getting sharked is a bigger concern. The 16lb allows the angler to break the fish off before it gets sharked.

^This. Famous tarpon angler Stu Apte once battled a 160+ lb. tarpon in 22 minutes on 12lb. test. That man has set some of the world's fastest times for landing large game species. He may be the best fish fighter of all time. He employs a lot of body and rod positioning to make the fish as uncomfortable as possible, thus getting the fish to the boat a lot faster.

I learned when "steelhead" fishing that it is imperative to apply side pressure, something I hadn't thought about because I had not targeted big game before doing that. Applying side pressure allowed me to combat my fish more effectively and actually get them to the net.

 

[Silent Ocelot]

Robbie's Marina. Cool party spot in the Keys.

Robbie’s of Islamorada | Voted the #1 Place To Visit in Florida Keys

Welcome to Robbie’s Marina, home of the world-famous tarpon feeding! Here, you can discover the exciting things to do in Islamorada during your stop here.

www.robbies.com

if you do the drive, don't skip it.

What's the penalty for tossing a fly in there? Could be worth it.

 

[BrookieChaser]

^This. Famous tarpon angler Stu Apte once battled a 160+ lb. tarpon in 22 minutes on 12lb. test. That man has set some of the world's fastest times for landing large game species. He may be the best fish fighter of all time. He employs a lot of body and rod positioning to make the fish as uncomfortable as possible, thus getting the fish to the boat a lot faster.

I learned a lot on fighting big tarpon from Stu Apte and Andy Mill.
My personal best weight/time is probably
the 80lb fish grabbed after 14 minutes on 16lb. My last fish of this year's tarpon season was a 65lb fish grabbed in 10 minutes on 16lb.

A big tarpon fight is a different kind of fish fight. No other fish I've caught compares to it.

 

[tomgamber]

What's the penalty for tossing a fly in there? Could be worth it.

There are far better, more sober opportunities for that down there.

 

[Dave_W]

I had a large tarpon school me last month - never jumped and, despite the guide's school at maneuvering the boat through bridge pilings, it eventually got me around the concrete and broke me off. I think I'm pretty good at fighting fish, but this one really kicked my butt.

Anyway, the key to whipping tarpon is angle on their head. Watch some videos of Andy Mill fighting tarpon and you'll see the technique. Good advice from Brookiechaser about being able to break them off when sharks appear as this is probably the most important issue with regards to ethics. Tarpon are slow growing fish and the loss of a big one is significant.

 

[Swattie87]

We should Brookie fish with something like 25x, so they can easily be broken off in the event the Pool Boss Brown is roused from his lair by the commotion in the pool. It takes years to grow a 6” Brookie.

 

[Silent Ocelot]

I learned a lot on fighting big tarpon from Stu Apte and Andy Mill.
My personal best weight/time is probably
the 80lb fish grabbed after 14 minutes on 16lb. My last fish of this year's tarpon season was a 65lb fish grabbed in 10 minutes on 16lb.

A big tarpon fight is a different kind of fish fight. No other fish I've caught compares to it.

That blows my mind that you not only got to converse with but also fish with Stu and Andy. Such incredible anglers! Your tarpon landing times sound pretty darn good to me. I've seen people fight steelhead for longer than 10 minutes because they were taking it for a walk and not staying downstream of it.

Someday I'd like to at least attempt going for these ancient beauties, I just don't have the funds nor the tackle. Largest rod I have is a 10wt from an off-brand that I am not sure is very durable, feels like a broomstick though. Largest reel is a Hatch 9, which is a tank but may not have the line pickup of a larger reel. Drag is sufficient. I just parted with my Hatch 12 because I finally stopped reading "Lords of the Fly" (second read-through) and realized I still live in PA. That reel went out with one of my despised H3's for for a trade for a reel from the company that charges as much for the paint as they do the reel.