Why do you bow to a tarpon?
The reason that you bow to a tarpon when you have one on the end of your line is to create slack in your line so the tarpon cannot break you line during its jumps. When you decrease the tension on your fishing line as the tarpon jumps you will increase your probability of getting to land the fish.
Tarpon are masters of breaking lines and shaking the hooks free from their mouths. It is their mouths that cause so many problems for tarpon fishermen.
It is their bony mouths that necessitate tarpon anglers to bow to them in order to actually catch them with any sort of regularity. Their mouths are almost all bone so it is really hard to get a decent hook set in a tarpon's mouth. A recent study by the Florida Wildlife Commission (FWC) found that only 37% of all tarpon hooked were actually landed. That is why you have to bow to a tarpon when you hook one.
I am a FISHING CHARTER CAPTAIN on the Treasure Coast of Florida and tarpon are my favorite fish to catch. I have been fishing the grass flats and mangroves all over Florida for more than 40 years.
In the article below I will teach you how to properly bow to a tarpon so that you can catch a lot more of them.
Let's get started.
Watch the video below and learn why you have to bow to a tarpon.
The reason that you bow to a tarpon when you have one on the end of your line is to create slack in your line so the tarpon cannot break you line during its jumps. When you decrease the tension on your fishing line as the tarpon jumps you will increase your probability of getting to land the fish.
Tarpon are masters of breaking lines and shaking the hooks free from their mouths. It is their mouths that cause so many problems for tarpon fishermen.
It is their bony mouths that necessitate tarpon anglers to bow to them in order to actually catch them with any sort of regularity. Their mouths are almost all bone so it is really hard to get a decent hook set in a tarpon's mouth. A recent study by the Florida Wildlife Commission (FWC) found that only 37% of all tarpon hooked were actually landed. That is why you have to bow to a tarpon when you hook one.
I am a FISHING CHARTER CAPTAIN on the Treasure Coast of Florida and tarpon are my favorite fish to catch. I have been fishing the grass flats and mangroves all over Florida for more than 40 years.
In the article below I will teach you how to properly bow to a tarpon so that you can catch a lot more of them.
Let's get started.
Watch the video below and learn why you have to bow to a tarpon.
Why do you bow to a tarpon?
I am not sure whether they are called the silver kings because everyone bows to them or if it is because they are such a regal looking and acting fish. They are one king that I do not mind bowing to.
Tarpon really are the king of the inshore fish as far as their fighting abilities go. It is common to get 4 or 5 jumps out of one once they figure out that they have been hooked. They will practically fight you to the death every time that you hook one.
That is why it is very important to revive a tarpon after you catch one. They give it their all in the fights with anglers and if you do not revive them they will often just sink to the bottom and die. If you are going to fish for tarpon, then you will have to learn how to properly revive them after the fight.
After a long fight with a tarpon you will have to take a few minutes to get oxygenated water over their gills to help them get their strength back. During the fights with a tarpon the lactic acid builds up in their muscles and they deplete their oxygen levels in their blood. This leaves them in a state where they are unable to swim.
You can either move them into the water so it flows over their gills or just point them into the current for a few minutes to let the oxygen rich water flow over their gills to revive them. You can tell that the fish has its energy back when they try to get away from your grasp.
Tarpon can get to over 8 feet in length and weigh over 250 pounds. The Florida state record was a 243 pound tarpon that was caught down in the Florida Keys back in 1975. That is a monster. You know that he gave that tarpon a few bows as he was fighting it or he would not have gotten it in.
Learn more about how to catch more tarpon in Florida here.
Tarpon are an extremely long-lived species of fish. Male tarpon can live up into their early 40s and females can live up to 55 years. It takes a long time for a tarpon to get big and they don't reach sexual maturity until they are about 10 years old and 50 plus inches long.
When you are trying to catch a tarpon or two make sure to check the water temperatures where you are fishing. Tarpon are a tropical species of fish and cannot tolerate cold water very well.
The tarpon bite usually will not happen until the water temperatures where you are fishing climb to over 75 degrees. That is when the bite starts and it will start to shut down as water temperatures hit the high 80s.
You will find that the best tarpon fishing happens in the early mornings, right before sunset and at night time. The big tarpon are often finnicky during the day but start to lose their fear in low light conditions. Make sure to hit the well lit inlets and bridges during your night fishing trips. That is you best shot to bow to a few tarpon as you fight them around the lights.
WANT TO CATCH A TARPON? BOOK YOUR FISHING CHARTER TODAY!
Conclusion:
Tarpon are one of those bucket list fish for many fishermen. Fishermen come to Florida from all over the world just to get a chance to catch the silver kings that we have in our waters. If they want to actually land one then they will have to learn to bow to the tarpon as it leaps from the water.
The best time to catch a tarpon throughout Florida is during the hot summer months. The tarpon will spend all winter in the very southern parts of Florida from about Ft. Lauderdale south to the Florida Keys. BUT as the last cold fronts move through the state they will start to head north.
By April and May they will make their ways to the central parts of the state. And by June and July you can start to catch them all the way up in northern Florida waters.
If you ever want to get a chance to bow to a tarpon in a kayak, then book a trip with me and we will target tarpon out on the grass flats and around the mangroves. The best time for tarpon fishing in my region is between May 1st and November 1st.
I hope that this article about why you have to bow to a tarpon if you want to catch them consistently.
BONUS VIDEO: Kayak Fishing for Tarpon