Tarpon Rise
Tarpon
We’ve been coming to our family’s condo in Sebastian, Florida for almost 40 years. In that time, I’ve fished the Indian River almost daily while here, and have formally pursued Tarpon a few times. Once with a guide, we chased a pair of tarpon for about 2 hours and I could never get one to hit my fly or lure.
Tarpon are a large fish, and can grow to about 4–8 ft (1.2–2.4 m) long and weigh 60–280 lb (27–127 kg). They are a very sought after sport fish, and Florida is one of the most common places folks come to seek them out. There are often tarpon swimming around in our marina here, and a few anglers have managed to hook a tarpon in the marina, often using things like finger mullet as bait.
Yesterday, I was added to that group!
Using my ultra light spinning rod with 6 pound test line, I was looking for a seatrout in the marina, and on a long cast, it happened – a tarpon hit my lure!
Seven seconds of bedlam ensued as the line was stripped off my reel very, very quickly. The tarpon, a 4 foot long fish that would probably go more than 50 pounds, raced for the marina entry, with me helpless to stop it from heading to the main river. The fish didn’t do that though. Instead it merely raced back to the other side of the marina and then jumped clear of the water, and of course threw my lure off!
A most exciting experience, and one to add to my memories of saltwater fishing. Is it any wonder we keep coming back here!
