# Advise on tackle for Tarpon



## leadweight

Looking for advice from you experienced Tarpon chasers.
If you were putting together a tackle box for chasing Tarpon from a boat what you have in it.
For jigging?
For trolling?
For live bait?
I appreciate everyone


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## marc

cpthook has a good example of lures used on the 
Texas coast... http://2coolfishing.com/ttmbforum/showthread.php?t=295761

For live bait get some smaller 6/0 or 7/0 Owner Tournament circle hooks with 100# leader

For jigging go with some bigger 10/0 Owner Tournament circle hooks with 130# leader

For trolling I'd go with even bigger 12/0 to 16/0 circle hooks with 130# leader


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## crewdgras

I"ve been fishing Port A for 5 or 6 yrs ---------- have only seen 1 tarpon caught,,,,,,,,,,,, not saying no one catches them, but they are few and far between.


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## Scott

crewdgras said:


> I"ve been fishing Port A for 5 or 6 yrs ---------- have only seen 1 tarpon caught,,,,,,,,,,,, not saying no one catches them, but they are few and far between.


Sorry, but that's just not accurate. Lots of tarpon on the Texas coast. If you know where to look. Hardly call it "few and far between"..


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## crewdgras

I didnt say there weren't' a lot,, I said I had only seen one caught. next time you fish, post a pic of the ones that you saw caught.


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## Scott

crewdgras said:


> I didnt say there weren't' a lot,, I said I had only seen one caught. next time you fish, post a pic of the ones that you saw caught.


Don't mean to split hairs here - but you said "not saying no one catches them, but they are few and far between. " (Based on my English grammar understanding - "they" is a reference to the "them" - i.e. tarpon - in the previous phrase) - as such, you were saying tarpon are few and far between which I completely disagree with that assessment on the Texas coast.

If you want to see pictures of lots of Texas tarpon - just go over and see the pictures I posted on my website forum. I almost exclusively fish tarpon in Texas and I'd hardly do it if they were few and far between.

So, I respectfully disagree with your statement. Sorry, I just do.


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## LandPirate

I agree. I see lots of Tarpon in Port A, usually later in the season (Sept-Oct). What I don't see are very many folks targeting them. 

I've been lucky enough to fight a few but not prepared enough to land any of them. They've either broke off or threw the hook/leader. 

The tarpon are there for those who are committed to chasing them. One of these days I'll make my priority.


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## Sow Trout

So what rods and reels would you suggest?


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## JBob

I have 4 Shimano TLD 20s that I think will work well but need rods if anyone has recommendations. Looking at FTU's king catchers in various lengths. They seem to be a good one and priced reasonably. Should a tarpon rod have any different characteristics from a near shore trolling/drifting rod?


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## Muddskipper

Scott said:


> Don't mean to split hairs here - but you said "not saying no one catches them, but they are few and far between. " (Based on my English grammar understanding - "they" is a reference to the "them" - i.e. tarpon - in the previous phrase) - as such, you were saying tarpon are few and far between which I completely disagree with that assessment on the Texas coast.
> 
> If you want to see pictures of lots of Texas tarpon - just go over and see the pictures I posted on my website forum. I almost exclusively fish tarpon in Texas and I'd hardly do it if they were few and far between.
> 
> So, I respectfully disagree with your statement. Sorry, I just do.


You must be a lawyer or something????

Will you sign me an auto-graph


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## JBob

Based on my knowledge of the English language, 'them' is a pronoun for which 'tarpon' (plural) is the antecedent. So, we should all agree that the population of tarpon in the general vicinity of the Port Aransas jetties is greater than or equal to one, depending of course on whether or not the other tarpon previously caught was released and survived. 

Seriously, does anyone have any tackle recommendations? How about from those stating that there are in fact many tarpon caught on the Texas coast?


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## Scott

Muddskipper said:


> You must be a lawyer or something????
> 
> Will you sign me an auto-graph


You provide the "Bloody" sticker and I will... ha ha ha...


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## fabian31268

i saw several caught at bob hall peir last summer . my fishing partner caught a 5 1/2 footer on a 6/0hlw we fish them from the pier with a slide line rig. we use a live watermelom shad


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## marc

JBob said:


> Seriously, does anyone have any tackle recommendations? How about from those stating that there are in fact many tarpon caught on the Texas coast?


You can find a wealth of information on the Projecttarpon.com forum. Check out the Tips page. Also, take a look at the reports and pictures on the Texas page.


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## capt mullet

For Casting small/lightweight plugs I use a Stella 8000 rigged with 50 lb powerpro on a Gloomis Pro Blue 7 ft rod.

For heavier jigs like **** pops I use a Shimano Calcutta TE 400 with 25 lb mono and a 7'6'' Gloomis Pro Blue rod

The calcutta TE400 is a great Tarpon reel. I recommend it over the TLD's. The TLD's are made of plastic and I have seem them disentegrate on big fish.

an 8000 or 10000 size spinning reel is suited perfectly also.

I prefer a 7-9 ft med-heavy rod with a lot of backbone for tarpon. 

Tarpon can be very tough on tackle so make sure and buy quality stuff!!


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## cpthook

Hey JBob what the h*&% is your avatar, please change it at your earliest convenience people may get the wrong impression, no offence but it is scary.


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## CrazyYak

capt mullet said:


> For Casting small/lightweight plugs I use a Stella 8000 rigged with 50 lb powerpro on a Gloomis Pro Blue 7 ft rod.
> 
> For heavier jigs like **** pops I use a Shimano Calcutta TE 400 with 25 lb mono and a 7'6'' Gloomis Pro Blue rod
> 
> The calcutta TE400 is a great Tarpon reel. I recommend it over the TLD's. The TLD's are made of plastic and I have seem them disentegrate on big fish.
> 
> an 8000 or 10000 size spinning reel is suited perfectly also.
> 
> I prefer a 7-9 ft med-heavy rod with a lot of backbone for tarpon.
> 
> Tarpon can be very tough on tackle so make sure and buy quality stuff!!


Excellent recommendation above!

For trolling and baiting I prefer a lever drag reel; *Avet SX MC* on a 7' 12-25lb Heavy rod.
*Saragosa 8000 Spinning* for casting larger lures on 7' 30lb MH rod.
*Calcutta 400* for casting lures up to 1.5oz on a 7.5' 12-25lb M rod.

50-65lb braid on all. For the exception of the Saragosa 8k these could be on the light side for boat fishing.


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## REELING 65

Scott said:


> Sorry, but that's just not accurate. Lots of tarpon on the Texas coast. If you know where to look. Hardly call it "few and far between"..


X2!


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## mozingo1952

I was a little concerned when I stepped on the boat a few days ago and
the baitcasters were Bantam 50's with 20 lb test and 60 lb fluoro. Capt
Jeff Maggio has only been fishing for tarpon for 24 years , so I took 
his word on how tough those reels are. He says he can't get them
any more and parts are becoming hard to find, He has tried many other
reels and even the expensive one break. 
the first tarpon I caught years ago were on TDL 25's, the florida guides seem to be using lighter and lighter tackle as the years go by( I've fished florida
since the late 80's) . I have fished Texas ,also but with no success.
Last year in Key west , our boat was the only one in a line of 6 or 8
getting bit on a regular basis. Capt Paul D'Antoni said it was because
the fish were getting leader shy, and he was the only one willing to
drop to 40 and 60 lb leaders.
The hooks used by the Florida guides are shrinking also.
Both of these Captains use Daiichi 4/0 circles with great sucess
MO


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## Cody C

Port A doesn;t have any tarpon. They all died when all of the oil came through the Port A jetties last summer :/

I hear they survived in POC though! Good luck


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## marc

Cody C said:


> Port A doesn;t have any tarpon. They all died when all of the oil came through the Port A jetties last summer :/
> 
> I hear they survived in POC though! Good luck


Nope. They also left POC some time after the oil spill. I hear they still roam off Galveston.


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