[captmikecooper]

alittle about myself.i produce fishing shows and i'm starting a new live broadcast fishing show in march 09 were the veiwer can write in to us as we are fishing i will have a fresh water show as well as a salt water show bi-weekly.anyone can watch this show due to the fact it will be on the internet and also in fl u will be able to whatch it at most sporting bars.i have 30 yrs of being on the water as a charter captian.i fish all over the state of fl.

[D Winkler]

It's nice to have you on the site. I look forward to watching some of your shows when I get a chance.

[Marvin]

Be sure to keep us updated as to where to watch!

[SaltwaterNow]

Hi Mike,

I fish the Big Bend in North Florida and am out of St. Marks, 20 miles south of Tallahassee.

I did an article on using freshwater shiners for saltwater grouper fishing @ Welcome to Jerrys Bait & Tackle and some other articles: Articles and Seminars by Tony on a variety of fishing related issues. If anything interests you, send me an email: google SaltwaterNow and you can reach me. Best Regards.

[thefallofman]

Is Florida the place to catch Tarpon? Have any of you ever caught one? I have seen pictures and I think they are awesome to look at. I'll trade anybody my first born to take me Tarpon fishing. For reals.

[SaltwaterNow]

Replying to 'FallofMan'

Florida and specifically the Big Bend has a very nice run of Tarpons.

I have hooked 3 Tarpons and landed none; and know I have more to learn on targeting these hulks.

I have a #8 Forged Gamakstu Circle Hook that was substantially straightened on my 'Wall of Shame' board with other broken lures and other noted missed fish; this is why you 'Bow to the King' - i.e. lay your rod flat and lay line out to them when they go aerial. Tarpon are an awesome animal and if you are truly interested in targeting them - I will get you in touch with two charters that know this fish, techniques and methodolgies well.

In fact, I just met a really neat guy whose specific niche is flyfishing for these giants in our area (from Panacea); and his charter name is Megalops; I can find his card and get back with you. The early run is when the water temperature hits about 70 (May or so); but they will hold up through out the summer in our bays and once you know what to look for you can see them rolling; however, they are difficult to approach and are not feeding when they are in this mode, I believe. I will further study techniques and methodologies; I have one friend who takes off a week and targets just these guys. If you really want to catch Tarpon - down south in the Keys at Vaca Cut is the place to be.

The micro sized Lady Fish which we have a lot of is in the Tarpon Family and goes aerial, flips lures and has tremendous runs; they are a lot of fun on light tackle a great way to learn the run patterns and line handling for the Silver Giants.

[thefallofman]

Thanks for the info. I gotta be honest though, the biggest thing I ever caught was a four pound bass. I can just see myself getting one of these beasts up next to the boat and then being so afraid of it that Ide probly scream like a little girl, drop the pole and try to hide! But they are so awesome. I look at photos and fantasize about what it would be like to catch one. Also, what on earth does a person do with em? Let em go, eat em, have them mounted?

[shortbus]

interactive fishing television. That's a damn good idea.

[SaltwaterNow]

Originally Posted by thefallofman

Also, what on earth does a person do with em? Let em go, eat em, have them mounted?

Almost all Tarpon are catch and release; if you want to keep one (Florida) you have to get a separate Tarpon permit ($50); some people do target them to keep as a mount though. The replica mounts are the best way to go if you want a mount of these in my opinion, though; this allows releasing of the fish and the replica mount will last longer than a taxidermy mount.

I had a friend who had eaten them - this was many years ago (20+) - he said they were extremely oiley and catfood smelling about like Ladyfish - which is fortunate for these giants as I am sure they would have been targeted to their detriment; so they are purely sport fish in our area. My aim has just been to get one close enough to lip and photo and take one scale from to call it a catch; maybe next year......

[driftlessbamboo]

I WILL DO THIS BEFORE I DIE! I don't even want the scale I'll settle for the memory. In any case I hope I lose several and am damn near shell shocked and worn haggard before lipping one boatside. I'll mount the fly and toast the king!