By Keith Lozott Contributing Writer
July is here and that means tarpon in the rivers and on the beaches. If you’ve never caught or even hooked one of these amazing fish, I suggest you give it a try ASAP. There is nothing like seeing a tarpon launch itself into the air after you hook it on an artificial bait, live crab, mullet or a fly. I’m an avid artificial bait angler and typically skip live bait. However, when it comes to tarpon fishing, the artificial bait side of me goes out the window because tarpon are so hard to land. I have nothing against bait fishing by any means, I just love presenting a lure and catching a fish on artificial from a sportsman’s perspective.
Last year, I was floating a live crab on a circle hook under a bobber that Steve from North Fork Bait and Tackle brought with us on the early morning tarpon trip. He had 9 live crabs leftover from the prior day, so I suggested bringing them along as an insurance policy that paid dividends. We used the trolling motor to slowly cruise around looking for rolling tarpon, when we had the rod in the back polling platform rod holder double over with a nice 60+ pound fish hooked up. I jetted back to the rod and began the fight which would lasted a good 15-20 minutes with the fish making numerous aerial displays to our delight. We photo’d and released the fish unharmed, smiling ear to ear with a successful catch and release tarpon.
Once we got the fish boat side I realized I had my CCA Star Tournament measuring tape, so I took a photo with the fish in the water and the ruler visible in the picture. I figured why not take a picture and give myself a shot at winning a boat, fishing gear or whatever prize was available. The tournament is fun, if you’re not familiar and is a several month long event that allows you to take pictures of qualifying tagged fish with the tournament ruler and then release your fish unharmed. The prizes are top quality and you have a chance at winning several boats and other prizes. Give it a try, the proceeds go to conservation which is much needed in the coastal regions of Florida and many other areas throughout the U.S.
I’ve made one trip so far this year hoping to get a tarpon early with no success. I did see some big fish rolling in a wide canal but they didn’t want our artificial baits of choice. I saw one fish crush a live mullet but that was it for feeding evidence. I considered the trip a success because we at least found the fish in a different area compared to the year prior. I think live baits would have changed the day. No matter how you fish, I suggest you try and catch a tarpon!
Keith Lozott The Fishing Realtor