# Tarpon fishing out of a kayak



## MulletMaster08 (Jul 21, 2011)

Well guys I am here to gain a little insight of what I need to do to catch a tarpon out of my yak.(#1 fish on my bucket list, out of the yak is a huge bonus) Im an avid fisherman and I am the kayak writer for Texas Saltwater Magazine. I figured this would be a cool story to write about for the magazine. 

That being said, where would be the best place to target tarpon that would be a doable paddle. I know surf is going to be my best bet and probably near a jetty wall. Also I know now is the time to do it as well but when are they headed back to mexico and when will they be out of Texas?

Any info is greatly appreciated.

Thanks 
Dave


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## karstopo (Jun 29, 2009)

http://2coolfishing.com/ttmbforum/showthread.php?t=500194

This older thread might help.


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## BrandonFox (Jan 8, 2013)

A southern set of jetties.


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## justinn (Apr 8, 2011)

Where are you out of?


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## MulletMaster08 (Jul 21, 2011)

Im out of Sabine area


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## love2fish (May 22, 2004)

I don't fish the upper coast enough to really offer a "one area is better than another"opinion, but starting this time of year PINS has always been a pretty good option. Usually bait balls start to congregate anywhere from 300 yds. to a couple of miles offshore. Tarpon are almost always in the mix along with lots of jacks and shark. A small, live skipjack is hard to beat. I like to leave one dragging behind me a I chunk lures.

The jetties at Mansfield hold a pretty good population as well. Live mullet under a balloon is a pretty good option down there.


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## matagordamudskipper (Feb 18, 2006)

My buddy got a huge one well over 6ft pushing 7ft from his kayak several years ago off matagorda.


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## poolio (Dec 14, 2011)

Bait balls are already popping up off PINS. Just drive down the beach looking for bait/birds. They are usually pretty close to the beach. Don't get in the bait, because you could be knocked over by a big fish. You don't want to be in the water during that feeding frenzy if sharks are around. This weekend looks like it may be good weather if current wind/wave forecasts hold true.


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## 24Buds (Dec 5, 2008)

Have fun. I would love to do that.


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## Permit Rat (May 13, 2014)

I have never fished for tarpon from a kayak, yet I know that some pretty sizable fish are caught that way, each year. I always fished tarpon from a skiff, usually with 2 clients. I figure my gross weight was around 1600 lbs. Point is that using line as light as 15 lb. test, a big tarpon could tow my skiff, if ever so slowly. You in a kayak will be a much lighter and less water resistant object to tow. A 100+ lb. tarpon will (could) give you something more akin to the proverbial Nantucket sleigh ride. In fact, you'll be able to reel yourself up to the fish, rather than the opposite. The fish will still be very green and this is when things could get dangerous. Just be careful.

I suggest you continue your search and talk to people who have actually caught several big tarpon out of a kayak.....see what they have to say. You might have to go to one of the Florida forums. Lots of kayakers there....lots of tarpon too. Good luck.


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## matagordamudskipper (Feb 18, 2006)

Green sailfish a few yards from the kayak will jump alot. It's pretty nerve racking. Every one we've caught from kayak jumps alot as in a few yards and feet. I've had several sharks go to jumping. Tuna though they go opposite direction and no stopping them, definitely fastest I've been drug with a 200#er on the line.


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## matagordamudskipper (Feb 18, 2006)

You'll also want a rod long enough while bowed up to get around the bow of your kayak, I'd say that is the most important part of big game kayak fishing from personally experience. Gloves are necessary too.


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## Permit Rat (May 13, 2014)

I had a tarpon jump completely over the skiff at the bow, and another one land on the forward casting deck. Fortunately the (lady) angler wasn't hurt, just shaken up and more than just a bit. She didn't fish anymore that day.

There's another possible downside to fishing big tarpon from a kayak/canoe/paddleboard. That is, that _because_ they are so light and can be easily towed by the fish, that an angler thinks he must wait until the fish is really tired before trying to handle it. This can take hours for someone who doesn't know what he's doing, simply because in such a craft, it is impossible to really pressure the fish.

There was a tagging study done in Florida (now several decades ago) where 200 tags were given to guides/anglers in Miami, 200 in Key West, and 200 to the guides up in Boca Grande. Needless to say, all the tags were used. THE ONLY area to get a return on a tag, was the Boca Grande area, where the captains commonly use 50 lb. line on heavy boat rods to catch their tarpon. In Miami and Key West, the guides mostly used 15 and 20 lb. line. They fight fish longer and it is believed that the longer fight causes a lethal amount of lactic acid to build in the muscles. Even a fish that is "revived" and swims away, may just gradually swim to the bottom and eventually drown.

In a kayak, unless it is anchored, it is impossible to really pressure a big tarpon.....an angler is going to have to handle him at least a little green, in order for the fish to have enough strength to survive. Just food for thought.


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## Winters97gt (Jun 20, 2013)

I've seen everything from billfish to giant 400lb grouper caught on kayaks. I have two, but the biggest fish I've caught from them are Reds and Jacks. I'm by no means a tarpon expert in the least. I do have just about every water certification from the Red Cross and was a lifeguard for 14 years. I really wouldn't want to hook in to a big tarpon and try to land it from a kayak unless you have experience with big fish from one. I fish out of my 21ft Explorer when offshore. Just for reference, 3 weeks ago, I landed a 131 pound tarpon on 20lb mono and a 25lb floro leader. It took me 3 hours and 4 minutes on a Penn 4000 and drug the 22ft pathfinder over 4 miles inshore in calm water in Puerto Rico. 

As mentioned above, you don't want the fish in close to you until he is tired unless there are sharks. We kept the fish after the first hour to 90 minutes about 25-40 yards from the boat. When you think they are done fighting at this size, they are far from it. I suggest a boat until you've landed some 100-200lb fish and then maybe try to tackle them in calm conditions.


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## matagordamudskipper (Feb 18, 2006)

Permit you are completely correct about not having as much pressure to put on fish, I stick my feet in the water and it makes a huge difference. You are also completely correct on the lactic acid theory. I read into it via a actual book written by a man who loved fishing and had an icthology degree. I see it as a very viable possibility. Worst race of my life was a 400IM,(long course meters) went out way too hard and not enough breathing. About 125 meters in a piano, safe, cement truck, acme brick, elephant all fell upon me, finished...barely. 3 day meet was bad really bad. I could see how light tackle can kill them, eventually will get too tired to move or move fast enough to flow enough water over the gills? I know I couldn't get enough air and was moving ultra slow.
Yup I got alot of red cross certs too, was a lifeguard, swam competition whole life, coached. But that don't matter if a green tarpon knocks your lights out..I'll still risk it though lol


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## Permit Rat (May 13, 2014)

LOL....good for you, and good luck to you.

As an aside, I remembered a fly fisherman in my boat who literally drowned a tarpon on the end of a fly rod. After over an hour, I had to take the rod and bring the fish boatside. I spent s good 30 minutes trying to revive it, but to no avail. We brought it in and weighed it.....just 63 lbs.

After that I placed a self-imposed limit on fighting time for tarpon for my clients, on both fly and conventional tackle. That limit was 30 minutes, unless the fish would be at hand in a short time after. Not to brag, but I can (_could_ in my youth) get the average 75 lb. Keys tarpon to the boat using 15 lb. tippet (fly) or 15 lb. main line in casting rods in 7-8 minutes. Other people have timed me. When I release a tarpon, it literally rockets out of my hands, soaking me in the process. I have every belief that fish will survive.

Y'all in Texas, might think about self imposing some kind of time limit for tarpon also. First off, it will teach you things about the limits of your tackle, while making you a better fisherman in the process. Most important, is the possibility that the survival rate of released fish will go up significantly.

I'm looking forward to next season and doing some fly fishing for smaller tarpon. Texas has a much larger percentage of smaller fish than Florida and for me that's a good thing. BTW, I think a 50 lb. tarpon from a kayak is very doable. Smaller fish are generally more active (jump more) and this helps to tire themselves out.


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