Tampa Tarpon Report is the Tampa Bay area's tarpon fishing headquarters 1855 FLA-TARPON. TTR provides tarpon fishing reports, facts, tips, hot-spots ,tarpon fishing charters and tarpon tournament news to Tampa Bay, St Petersburg and Boca Grande tarpon anglers. Get up to date tarpon fishing reports, tournament results and postings from South West Florida, the Tarpon fishing capital of the world!
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Tampa Tarpon Report - Tarpon Facts
Tarpon painting courtesy of John Houle www.Johnhoulefineart.com
Tarpon facts, male tarpon commonly live to thrity years of age while female tarpon often live past fifty years. Adult female tarpon are bigger than adult male tarpon; Two hundred pound PoonDaddy's are actually PoonMama's! All tarpon have air bladders which allow them to survive in poor water conditions (low oxygen & salinity) including some places that only a skeeter would call home. Tarpon haven't evolved much since the days of the dinasaur, in fact it would be fair to refer to the tarpon as a modern day swimming fossil.
The scientific name for tarpon is Megalops Atlanticus. Megalops translates to "large-eyed" in greek where as Atlanticus refers to the tarpon's habitat, the temperate waters of the Atlantic Ocean.
Common names for the megalops atlanticus include: Tarpon, Silver King, Sabalo, 'Ol Silver Sides, Bucket Mouth or Poon as they are commonly called on the west coast of Florida and here in Tampa Bay!
Description: The tarpon's last ray of dorsal fin is extended into a long filament similar to that of a threadfin herring; has only one dorsal fin; the tarpon's back color is dark blue to green or greenish black, shading into bright silver on the sides, may be bronze-brown or variants of gold which is often the case when tarpon inhabit tannic waters of rivers and backwater estuaries; huge scales; large eyes; big bucket mouth which points upward.
Similar Fish: (as juveniles) ladyfish, Elops saurus. Jokingly referred to as the poor man's tarpon. A great kids fish for aspiring future tarpon anglers!
Where found: tarpon are primarily an INSHORE fish, although adult tarpon spawn OFFSHORE where the ribbon- like larval stage of the fish can be found. On the west coast of Florida tarpon are usually fished for in bays, passes and along the beaches during the summer months May, June & July.
Size: most angler catches are 40 to 50 pounds. However, most tarpon catches in Tampa Bay are around the 80-100 lb range.
Florida Record: 243lbs.
IFGA World record Tarpon: 286lb 9 oz
Tarpon caught on fly: 202lb (20lb tippet)
PTTS tournament record: 216lb
Remarks: tarpon are slow growers; matures at 7 to 13 years of age; spawning occurs between May and September; female may lay more than 12 million eggs; can tolerate wide range of salinity; juveniles commonly found in fresh and brackish water; can breathe air at surface; feeds mainly on fish and large crustaceans. Tarpon candy-Pass Crabs!
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