The Anna Maria Island Sun Newspaper

Vol. 15 No. 33 - June 10, 2015

reel time

Fly fishing for tarpon

Reel time

SUBMITTED

If you’re new to fly fishing for tarpon a guide is a
good investment. Here Captain Rick Grassett leads
his client to an epic fight with a large west coast tarpon.

 

Tarpon are one of the premier gamefish that swim local waters and are a noble adversary on any tackle. The fish that frequent our beaches during the months of May through August can weigh over 200 pounds and average from 80 to 100 pounds. I’ll always remember the way a guide in the Keys described fly fishing for tarpon. In his words it is the “apex of angling.”

We are blessed with some of the best tarpon fishing in the world, and the local bars and inshore waters host some of the finest fly fishing to be found anywhere. This isn’t a game of numbers, and to the anglers who pursue tarpon on the fly, it’s the hunt and the eye to eye action that keep them on the bow for hours in the hot summer sun.

Fly tackle should match the size of the quarry, and most anglers opt for a 12-weight outfit and 70- to 80-pound bite tippet. While it might seem like a difficult task to land a tarpon on the fly, someone who knows the limits of his/her tackle can actually land a tarpon in a surprisingly short time. The key is to apply maximum pressure from the hookup and never let up. Too many anglers baby their tarpon in a misguided attempt to land them. The truth is that the longer you fight a tarpon, the better chance you have of losing it.

A properly tied tarpon leader usually runs between 10 and 12 feet and is tapered. It includes a class tippet from 16 to 20 pounds that is doubled at both ends to soften the (shock) impact of the larger leader (40 to 60 pounds) it’s tied to. Flies vary from the classic splayed feather, Key’s style to more complex designs like the Toad. There are lots of YouTube videos available with directions on how to tie leaders and flies. Key to the whole equation is to have a very sharp hook as tarpon have extremely tough mouths.

Some fly anglers are not concerned with actually landing a tarpon, preferring to just enjoy the hunt, the hook up and the jumps that usually follow the hook set. They use light bite tippets, which allows the tarpon to work through the leader with their abrasive mouths. The key to landing tarpon on the fly is accuracy. The fly must be placed perfectly, move in a precise direction relative to the fish and be at the proper (fish’s) depth. Even when all of these factors come together, there’s still about a 50 percent chance that the tarpon will reject the fly.

Patience is a critical factor when fly fishing for tarpon. The most successful anglers find the edge of a sandbar or other underwater feature that tarpon track, anchor in casting range and wait. Sometimes tarpon come at a steady rate, but just as often there are long periods of time when the only thing to look at is the water and the bottom. This really separates the great anglers from the good anglers. There are times when you need to move, but knowing when and where is a skill that is developed if never mastered.

Once set up, the angler must be able to make a 40 to 50 foot cast to a location the size of a dinner plate. Placement of the fly cannot be overemphasized because tarpon will seldom vary a foot or two from their path to eat a fly. Although there is always the rare exception, a fly must never travel in a path towards the intended target. A tarpon’s prey species wouldn’t survive long if it moved towards its aggressor, and the tarpon know it. Besides moving away from the fish the fly must move at the proper pace, be at the proper depth and never slow down when a tarpon is tracking it. Conversely you can’t move the fly too fast, taking it out of a tarpon’s range.

If all this wasn’t demanding enough, once a tarpon decides to eat the fly, the angler’s mettle is really tested. Tarpon are not trout and attempting to raise the rod to set the hook is a cardinal mistake. Fortunately, once a tarpon decides to eat the fly, there’s no need to make a lighting fast hook set. The right set is called a strip strike, which involves letting the line come tight and immediately setting the hook with a combination of the line hand and the rod. The angler must at once work to set the hook in the cement-like jaw while being ready for the fish to bolt away from the boat.

After the initial hook set, attention must go immediately to clearing (getting the loose line off the deck) the line. In most cases the angler has been stripping in line when the fish bites and the hook is set. That line can easily foul on the angler, the rod or the reel. The drill is to take your attention from the fish to the line at your feet. Hold the rod away from your body and let the excess line pass through your stripping hand in a circle made with the thumb and the fore finger. Once the line is on the reel, set the hook with several more strip strikes using the rod.

If this wasn’t enough to remember, it’s critical to apply maximum pressure to the tarpon during the fight, yielding only on jumps when the angler thrusts the rod forward to relieve pressure on the line. This prevents the tarpon from breaking off if it lands on a taught line. This maneuver is known as "bowing to the king.”

It’s customary to start the engine and get as close to the tarpon as possible after the initial and subsequent long runs. This allows the angler to apply maximum pressure. If a tarpon is a hundred yards from the boat, the stretch of the line makes it impossible to apply any real pressure.

If you’re looking for a good jump shot here’s a great tip. When a tarpon makes any long run, motor to it, applying only enough pressure to make sure the hook doesn’t dislodge. As soon as you are in place, frame the shot you want and then have the angler apply maximum pressure. Most times the tarpon will make a jump that’s close enough to the boat to get the angler and the fish in the shot. It’s not a sure thing, but when it works it can present an awesome photographic opportunity.

Finally don’t try and rush the tarpon when it gets near the end of the fight. Keep the pressure on, but don’t clamp down and try to force the fish to the boat. Tarpon on the fly is a challenging endeavor, but it’s well worth the effort when you finally get that first fish boat side for a photograph.


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