tarpon from 'yak

[SHOWBOAT]

I know Suber, TT and some others are contemplating tarpon from a 'yak. My buddy Rod recently accomplished that feat in Tampa. Some of you know Rod; he fishes tournaments with me occassionally, when he is in town.

Below is a link to his post on FS:

http://outdoorsbest.zeroforum.com/zerothread?id=762158" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

NICE JOB ROD!!!

he gave me a little extra info, and his set up consisted of the following:

"My tarpon setup is an 8' extra-extra-heavy power/fast action Shimano Terramar, Baitrunner 6500, 50lbs PP, 60lb flouro, and 6/0 circle hook." Bait was a live pin.

Good luck guys...I know you can do it....

[jsuber]

Hooking them has not been a problem. Its getting them to the boat that has been a problem. THose pictures are awesome.



I like this one with the bait bucket being dragged under water as the Tarpon pulls him along.

This morning our own Capt Crunch landed this one




And then the 9' Shark got his cut of the bounty.

[SHOWBOAT]

very nice. Too bad about the ending....what kind of shark (I would guess bull)?

[Jumptrout51]

That is why you should leave the poor defenseless exhausted tarpon alone.

"Too bad about the ending...."

[NoleFear]

This is not a knock towards the yakers, because I fish trout & reds occasionally from a yak but I am not in favor of people fishing tarpon from a yak for a couple of reasons. If you don't anchor up quickly after hooking a tarpon I don't see any way to put maximum pressure on a fish and bring it in and get it released quickly before the fish is exhausted and is not subjected to being mauled by sharks. So far this season 63 tarpon have been jumped out of my boat and 14 released at boat side, with no loss to sharks. These fish are too precious to injure.

Again I'm not knocking the yak fisherman, but i can put more pressure on fish with a larger powered boat and my goal is for my clients to release a fish in a 20-30 minute time frame and most of all release the fish unharmed!

To add to Capt Ron's point... how would you go about reviving an exhausted fish? I would think it would be difficult to paddle and maneuver the fish at the same time.

[WaltDawg]

Come on guys, don't use this post as an opportunity to lay into a kayaker because a shark got his fish. If you took the time to read his post on FCKA, it only took him about 30 minutes to land it. He even says he had a suspicion there was something wrong with the fish. Talltails took almost two hours to land his last weekend and he was not in a yak. It doesn't take a rocket surgeon to know that sharks and tarpon go hand in hand. I don't fish for tarpon out of my kayak, but those who do have the same chances of harming a fish as anyone else. At the Boca tournament this year, anglers went to weighing their fish in the water instead of hanging them up on the dock. Do you really think that an exhausted fish hoisted out of the water for competition was any less susceptable from a shark attack?

No offense, but I just think that the commentary makes a reader focus negatively on the angler. Crunch has worked his a** of this year to land a tarpon and I think he deserves more than criticism. I don't even know him that well.

I'll get off my soap box now.

[jsuber]

Capt Ron,
You might want to catch a Tarpon out of a yak first before you judge. Talltails was drug around for 2 hours in a 19' Carolina Skiff one day and landed his the next day in 20 minutes. Crunch landed his fish around Tarpon Springs in under 30 minutes and its tail got eaten by a 9' shark. Even in Boca Grande Hammerheads are tearing up the Tarpon. Thats Tarpon fishing in deep water.

I can also position my kayak to put tension on a Tarpon, and I have an anchor to stop the fish completly and pivot in a circle while hooked up. All my gear is within arms reach. I have the ability to turn my kayak with a rudder and put it out sideways to also slow down the fish. Those fish drag around boats just like kayaks, and we can anchor up just like a boat if not better. We do it with one person on our boat. Its not rocket science and being in a boat is not a solution, just an opinion. I like catching Tarpon in a boat too, but I fish out of a kayak, because its what I can afford. You might want to try it before you judge. Following your logic of fast catching a Tarpon, I'd like to hear what your opinion is on catching Tarpon on a flyrod?

[SHOWBOAT]

Interesting points in this thread...but I'm seeing coincidence not causation. The only tarpon I have ever caught was out of a Hewes Light Tackle. I was using very light tackle, topwater and took about 45 minutes to get boatside.

These 'yakers are landing fish in less than 30 minutes (using heavier equipment) by employing drift socks and buckets to create drag. As long the equipment is sufficient and the angler is using a decent fighting technique, I don't see how a boat reduces fight time at at all. If anything I would say boats have tendency to "chase" fish too much reducing pressure in exchange for gaining line. Look at the fighting pics in these threads and show me where there is not sufficient pressure being exerted on the fish (except when they're in the air obviously)....

I do appreciate concern for the resource (as it is an impressive one)...just don't see the causation of 'yak fishing equating to fish being lost to sharks!

my .02.

[Talltails]

I knew this subject would come up. It's not a coincidence that it starts with professional guides who get paid to put tons of people on our tarpon resource. I don't have any problem with that. Most professional guides probably instruct people on how to responsibly land these fish anyways. The rest of us are just out there trying to land a couple fish per year on our own--independent of $ enterprise $.
I continue to learn a lot about these awsome fish. That's no small feat that Capt. Crunch landed that tarpon. Had the shark not killed it, Crunch would have been able to revive the fish by employing his foot pedal drive that he has on his Hobie Kayak and slowly troll the fish alongside the yak. I have a pedal drive as well. This allows me to pedal against the fish and put added pressure allowing for a shorter fight. I can't wait to try to go catch one this weekend

[Talltails]

:

[2true]

The side pontoons on the yak help with stability. Maybe you yakkers should get some...

[jsuber]

We don't have any stability problems, so why would we get pontoons. We can do the same thing by dropping a leg on each side.

[lizbeth]

yikes...Suber, what if the Shark...like's the look of your tanned legs

[Littoral]

Showboats points, I think, are very well reasoned:

Interesting points in this thread...but I'm seeing coincidence not causation. …
These 'yakers are landing fish in less than 30 minutes (using heavier equipment) by employing drift socks and buckets to create drag. As long the equipment is sufficient and the angler is using a decent fighting technique, I don't see how a boat reduces fight time at at all. If anything I would say boats have tendency to "chase" fish too much reducing pressure in exchange for gaining line. Look at the fighting pics in these threads and show me where there is not sufficient pressure being exerted on the fish (except when they're in the air obviously)....
I do appreciate concern for the resource (as it is an impressive one)...just don't see the causation of 'yak fishing equating to fish being lost to sharks!

I especially agree with coincidence not causation and appreciating the concern for the “resource”.

TT made a very diplomatic approach to another (I think) important point:

It's not a coincidence that it (the ethics of pursuing tarpon by kayak) starts with professional guides who get paid to put tons of people on our tarpon resource.

Sure, the guides have an incentive to protect the "resource". I just can't help but raise my eyebrows at this:

So far this season 63 tarpon have been jumped out of my boat and 14 released at boat side, with no loss to sharks. These fish are too precious to injure.

I applaud the success, I really do, but I doubt that the Tarpon would confine the concept of injury to loss by sharks.
If we need to get PETA about fish feelings then lets not forget to look in our own boat. If a few people pull off a Tarpon by kayak with the right gear to minimize the stress then that’s a great feat.
MIke, great job on the catch.
I do know you and I'm sure you were more than upset about the way that fight ended.
Sharks eat too.