Eric Henson
Well it that time of year again! With the warmer water temps the tarpon showed up early this year. If you have been tarpon fishing before, you are probably daydreaming about their insane drag screaming runs, acrobatic jumps, and lots of heartbreaks when they come unglued! But, when you do finally connect right and you do get to put your hands on the silver king, it makes it that much more special.
Juvi Tarpon- No matter the size of these fish, they will get your heart pumping! My two favorite ways to target them are with artificial lures and flies. For spinning tackle, I generally use a 3-4000 FFP size reel with a 7 ft. Med.-Heavy Fast Action rod, spooled them with of 15-20 lb. Yo-Zuri braided line accompanied by a 20-30 lb. fluorocarbon leader. Then, I like to use soft-plastics like the Monster 3X 2 ¼ Ultrasoft or smaller hard baits like the Yo-Zuri 3DS Minnow 70 SP. For fly fishing I like to use a 6-8 wt. 9 ft. rod with a 3-Tand T-Series reel to match the rod with a RIO WF Floating line accompanied by a tapered leader. Length changes depending on where and how I am targeting them but, I still use a 20-30 lb. tippet. And for flys, small minnow imitations and gurglers work great.
Adult Poons- These fish will test you both mentally and physically! There is no mistaking when you hook one of these giants because you are about to be on the craziest sleigh ride of your life! You are at the complete mercy of the fish until it either comes off or you after you release it. When targeting these fish, I like to use a 6-8000 FFP size spinning reels with a 8 ft. Heavy Fast Action rod. I spool them with 40-60 lb. Yo-Zuri braided line accompanied by a 60-80 lb. Fluorocarbon leader. I use 2 or 3-X strong hooks with the right size to match your bait. Most of the time I use different live baits depending on what part of the season it is. Fly fishing-wise I beef up to 10-12 wt. set up with a WF Floating or slow sinking line. Also, beefing up the leader with a 40-50 lb. tippet. And for flys, different type bunny flies seem to work well.
If you decide to give this a go, know your physical endurance, wear a life vest, and never do it out of a kayak by yourself because it’s just not safe for you or the fish. You’ll be exhausted after fighting this fish, but, always do your best to safely release of the fish. Tight lines and Tight knots to everyone!
