Every year starting as early as March and ending as late as November, giant tarpon begin invading Tampa Bay during their annual migration along the gulf coast. These fish can vary in size anywhere from 50 to 150 pounds, with some fish being even bigger! Targeting these silver monsters can be particularly difficult from a kayak, and at times even dangerous – making it not for the novice paddler or angler. This being said, most of my time spent tarpon fishing during the peak of the season is from a boat instead of a kayak.
Last week I was fortunate to get out with my friend Mike aboard is skiff, with plans of putting him on his first tarpon in mind. We began by getting about a half dozen 3-4″ blue crabs to use as bait. We then ran out to the beach and began idling parallel to shore looking for signs of fish. It was not long before we spotted fish, and not much longer before Mike was hooked up and fighting his first ever tarpon… and a big one at that! After a 15-20 minute fight Mike had his 150 pound monster tarpon boatside and ready for a photoshoot and release.
By Spencer Goodwin
