Tarpon, despite their size, are fragile creatures. Fighting one on the fly and bringing it to the boat is a taxing endeavor. With water quality issues, an increase in angling pressure, and sharks already an issue for tarpon, it’s important to take care of these precious fish. Knowing what to do when the fish is boatside can mean the difference between a healthy release and a belly-up tarpon (and no one wants that). Next time you’re chasing the Silver King, here is how to handle and release a tarpon properly.
Fighting a Tarpon
The first step in safely releasing a tarpon is properly fighting a tarpon. Once you hook a fish, the clock begins. Every minute you spend fighting a tarpon to exhaustion is a minute that leaves them susceptible to predation from sharks. Both bull sharks and hammerheads are known to prey on the Silver King, and a thrashing fish on the end of your line serves as a dinner bell. If you do manage to avoid sharks after a prolonged fight, you leave the tarpon outright exhausted, dramatically reducing their chance of survival. Just because they swim off doesn’t mean they will survive.
The best way to combat both predation and overexhaustion of a tarpon is to fish with the proper gear and fight the tarpon hard and fast. Proper tarpon fly gear consists of 11-weight rods and matching reels. With that also comes using the proper leader. All anglers fishing for tarpon should use a break section or a class tippet of 20-pound or less. This is a lighter piece of tippet or leader material before the bite tippet. If a shark comes after your tarpon, point the rod at the fish and break it off.
Lastly, tarpon fly rods are made to put the brakes on these fish. To do so, you have to use the rod to its full potential, meaning utilizing the backbone of the rod. In fly rods, the lower third of the rod is considered the backbone and is where the fighting power comes from. Never high-stick a tarpon; instead keep your rod tip low and pull against the tarpon with the butt section of the rod. When done properly, you can tire out a fish in short order. Keeping fights under 30 to 40 minutes is ideal.
Handling a Tarpon
You’ve survived the jumps, endured battle with a tarpon, and the fish is now boatside, so what’s next? If it’s your first tarpon, chances are you are going to want to take a picture. That’s understandable, but you must follow the proper handling requirements to ensure the fish is released safely and healthy.
Tarpon handling falls into two categories: fish under 40 inches and fish over 40 inches. For these smaller fish, under 40 inches, you can take them out of the water, albeit very, very briefly, for a picture. Handle the fish as little as possible, make sure the camera is ready to go, and quickly lift the fish while supporting its body with your hands (never hold them vertically). The fish should be dripping wet while you snap your photos and return it to the water for a release. Now, while you can take these fish out of the water, it’s best to practice Keep Fish Wet principles.
For tarpon over 40 inches, an entirely different set of rules applies. For starters, never remove these fish from the water. Once they get over 40 inches, the weight of their body out of their water will crush their internal organs, resulting in a dead tarpon. Instead, hold the fish alongside the boat, lean over, and take a quick picture as the tarpon remains in the water and you hold it by the mouth. If you want to know how much your fish weighs, quickly take a length and girth measurement and use the BTT Tarpon Weight Calculator.
Releasing a Tarpon
It’s now time to release your tarpon. To do so, you’ll want to hold the tarpon alongside the boat and allow water to flow over their gills from the head of the fish to the tail. This allows them to breathe and recover before releasing the fish. Never let water run from the tail to the head over the gills; this can actually cause the fish to “drown” and not get the needed oxygen to recover. If you’re in current, hold the fish with its head into the current. For areas with no current, you can put the boat into forward gear and use the least amount of forward throttle necessary to move the boat. Once the fish starts kicking and can swim upright on its own, you can release the tarpon. These release steps apply to all tarpon regardless of their size.
For more information on releasing tarpon, visit Bonefish & Tarpon Trust and download their Best Practices for Tarpon Catch & Release card.
