tarpon and riggin'

[jbdba01]

Expanding on this thread...

Some thoughts...I'm tired of the 1-1.5 hour fights; this is what I used to do. 60lb flouro leader; 30lb powerpro; 4500B heavy rod. I would set the drag by feel. I was pretty successful with that set up solo stinkpot fishing for poon; doing everything can be kinda tough and can have it's moments, but my biggest issue was the length of the fight. It's hard enough steering, reeling, fighting, and drinking to hydrate - do that for 1.5 hours with no one to tap out to and it's a good challenge. Beach poon was pretty do-able, Skyway there's a bit of luck and "pushing the fish" with the throttle (you really need a third hand), Gandy - holy poop that would have been hard. Too many spans. Fortunatly I never hooked up there.

My goal this year is to cut the length of the battle in half from 1-1.5 hours to 30-45 min. So I decided to get scientific about the process. I'm beefing up all around - 50lb braid, stay with 60lb leader, Cabo 50 - which has a drag of 26lbs versus 15 on the 4500B. Heavy Xfast Teramar rod. And most importantly I'm setting the drag using a scale marked at 25% of the weakest link - in this case the braid. So roughly 13 lbs - then I'll back off 3-5 clicks. I suspect last year I was at about 8lbs. Then after the initial 2-3 runs I'll clamp down the 3-5 clicks. At that point I should be in "within spec" but really be able to go mano a mano. Staying with spinning and taking the "love/hat" crutch. No conventional stuff for me.

BTW - 13 lbs will cut your hand on braid if you try and pull it out by hand. I use a fixed object - I use the trailer and watch the scale and start pulling rod in the classic "C" position.

Now...why all that background, because I'm curious to know if people have been going the 1-2 hours like I have and if the above is just absurd or in the ballpark. Or "Dude - WTH - it's just fishing take it easy."

After I get that figured out, I'll want to give that a go in the kayak. I hear Aruba is nice in the summer.

[DaveR]

Fight a fish for over an hour and post about it here and expect the barbs to fly. Unless it's an unusual fish most of the time it should succumb in less than half that time. I never put my drag on a scale but I would guess it's in the 01-12lb range. The biggest mistake I see people make is they rest. They might not realize it but they do and when you rest, the fish rests. Constant HARD pressure as contrary to to direction the fish is swimming is of utmost importance. Stamina is key and having a good cheerleader along is very helpful.
Oh, and if you puke, you done good.

[jbdba01]

Fair enough...last year for the record the 70lb one I got to the boat in 30 min. The 125lb took 1.25 hr. Couple years a go 165lb took 1.25-1.5 - that was conventional and I learned I couldn't do conventional. Many years ago I had a crack tarpon that didn't jump - that took forever.

I landed a 90lb that was foul hooked and I didn't know that until the end. I was trying to fight up/down not having him 50-75 yards out. It was a major pain. Down and dirty did zero. There was no turning the head. He was hooked in the back.

I get what you're saying on the "no rest for the weary", but it happens - sometimes I have to steer, work the throttle, you foul hook, get a crack poon...

Seems I don't have enough hands to steer and reel. I guess the counter to that is - well don't go by yourself. That would eliminate about 75% of my fishing. I try and stay as close to the fish as possible, but on those initial runs it's all but impossible.

The point of this thread is a) to educate myself on the gear and b) see how many people go more than 1 hr. And if less then 1 hour how are they doing it. On 30lb braid I'm not seeing < 1 hr unless you don't mind losing fish or on on fish < 100lbs.

Frankly I don't want to go more than 30 min, but haven't figured out how. Hence the post...maybe this year will be diff now that I geared up and fixed my shoulder.

The previous post was mentioning 30lb braid. I'm curious how long they went.

All that said I took care of the fish before I cut off - I didn't just get the leader to the rod tip and cut. They were in what I would classify as good shape - especially the one that bitch slapped me. None were lost to sharks at the boat.

[shamus]

Just tape a photo of DaveR to your console and make a tape of him calling you a pussy. He shadowed me on my first fish and kept calling me a pussy and to keep my rod low. Don't let her gulp air, stick your rod tip in the water. Its like having a Drill sargeant teaching you how to fish. I did catch the Tarpon so I know it works !!

[22acrowd]

1. Drift chute.
2. Proper tackle.
3. Proper technique.
4. Remember to clip your drift chute you something.

Almost that time of year again.

[DaveR]

1. Drift chute.
2. Proper tackle.
3. Proper technique.
4. Remember to clip your drift chute you something.

Almost that time of year again.

That number 4 there is important. Don't ask me how I know just take my word for it.

[jbdba01]

Just tape a photo of DaveR to your console and make a tape of him calling you a pussy. He shadowed me on my first fish and kept calling me a pussy and to keep my rod low. Don't let her gulp air, stick your rod tip in the water. Its like having a Drill sargeant teaching you how to fish. I did catch the Tarpon so I know it works !!

Time, gear, and size?

[jbdba01]

You know we should have a DaveR PFTS - quickest poon to the boat. 4' leader to make it interesting.

[seeinred]

The first five minutes of the fight belong to the fish, just hang on and bow when necessary. After that give that fish every bit of strength you can muster for the next 25 minutes, if you can't land it in that time, break it off... by then you're only doing more harm to yourself and more importantly to the fish.

I use 50# braid, 60# leader,and one of two rods. My bridge rod is a 15-50# Heavy Quantum Tuna rod which unfortunately is no longer in production. My other is an Xtra Heavy Avid Inshore 17-40# for beaches and open, shallow water. IMHO Heavy on those Terarmar's isn't enough, go XHeavy and 20-40# line test. The captain I mated for used these rods on his boat for several years and they did a great job... they cast better and you can put more heat on the fish.

[Dustin]

You can whip tarpon very, very quickly in a kayak with the right technique. The 50lb braid doesn't do you a whole lot of good over the 30lb since you can't put anywhere near that much pressure on the fish anyway from a kayak. Like Dave said, don't let the fish rest and change your rod angle to counter the tarpon's every move. After the initial run, most of the battle will be on a very short line if you have a drift chute deployed and you fish a very stout drag. The short line just beats the crap out of the fish from continuously pulling the kayak (made all the more effective if the conditions allow you to turn the kayak somewhat sideways). It's an unusual fish that takes more than 30 minutes to whip.

[Heywood]

The first five minutes of the fight belong to the fish, just hang on and bow when necessary. After that give that fish every bit of strength you can muster for the next 25 minutes, if you can't land it in that time, break it off... by then you're only doing more harm to yourself and more importantly to the fish.

I use 50# braid, 60# leader,and one of two rods. My bridge rod is a 15-50# Heavy Quantum Tuna rod which unfortunately is no longer in production. My other is an Xtra Heavy Avid Inshore 17-40# for beaches and open, shallow water. IMHO Heavy on those Terarmar's isn't enough, go XHeavy and 20-40# line test. The captain I mated for used these rods on his boat for several years and they did a great job... they cast better and you can put more heat on the fish.

He's the one that turned me onto the Terarmars

[22acrowd]

I like the double X Terramars.

[seeinred]

The first five minutes of the fight belong to the fish, just hang on and bow when necessary. After that give that fish every bit of strength you can muster for the next 25 minutes, if you can't land it in that time, break it off... by then you're only doing more harm to yourself and more importantly to the fish.

I use 50# braid, 60# leader,and one of two rods. My bridge rod is a 15-50# Heavy Quantum Tuna rod which unfortunately is no longer in production. My other is an Xtra Heavy Avid Inshore 17-40# for beaches and open, shallow water. IMHO Heavy on those Terarmar's isn't enough, go XHeavy and 20-40# line test. The captain I mated for used these rods on his boat for several years and they did a great job... they cast better and you can put more heat on the fish.

He's the one that turned me onto the Terarmars

Okay, so what's your question?

I just realized my old Teramar is a double XH.

[noles]

It's way too early to even mention the "T" word.

[ZeroSix]

So, with all of this said, if you were buying new rods, what would be your choice for kayak tarpon?

[Dustin]

For throwing plugs and big soft plastics, a St. Croix TIC70MHF or TIC70HF paired with a Shimano Calais ASV or Chronarch BSV.