Tarpon on Fly

[woolybugger]

Hey fellow fly fishers,

Can anyone out there suggest any techniques and flies etc for Tarpon?

Any information would be appreciated.

Tight lines...

[baldyhead]

sorry I cant help you M8 but i am interested in the responses too...cheers baldy

[rivermanau]

Ah tarpon, one of the best fun but most frustrating fish I know. they are crazy fighters - one in six to the leader is a good average. I dont like handling them as it stresses them too much.
They rise like a mullet but leave a small bubble trial and swirl again - some days casting to the rises is worth it, others just treat it as confirmation they are present and fish blind in the general area.
In SEQ the best ways I have found are
1) small fly about size 4, super sharp hook eg Aberdeen or
Gamakatsu, simple silver body and white wing on sinking line, fished fairly fast
2) fly popper trolled behind boat on fly rod - this gives them time to track it down and get excited and hit hard
3) or soft plastic grubs on spin gear either trolled or retreived.

Why are they frustrating/ cos some days they hit with abandon and other days ignore everything.
a heavy shock leader is essential (say 25 lb mono)as they sandpaper through ordinary line.
Robert

[vince]

As Robert said they are frustrating and unpredictable most of the time, thats why they are fun to catch,you can't say one fly is for tarpon you have to try several flies and stripping variations till you get lucky, mostly I have luck with white deceivers, even when the fish are working on the top, I fish as deep as possible, then 6 or 7 very fast and long strips,then stop for 30 seconds thats when you get your hook ups with some luck.
thats my experiance with them hope it helps.
cheers vince.

[Brett_Finger]

hay,
we use all types of flys for tarps,have had great sucess with small type baitfish type proflies as well as red wollybugger styles,not small trout styles but larger virsions.
here's a mate from up north with a good tarp.
Hookin,Brett

[barkerboi89]

i dunno if this will help but well here goes... in singapore, we generally use circle hooks by owner as they are sharp and tarpons take and turn so it sets really well... don't strip strike, just hold and the hook will auto set... hot colours here are pink or white... crazy charlies and tarpon flies work... i prefer not to use clousers as sometimes the tarpons hit the tail of the fly and u dun get a hook up...

I noticed that they are pretty bad at aiming and whacking the fly. like the ones in my aquarium sometimes miss the baitfish and end up slamming its tail instead... so yeah... hope this all helps..

tight lines dudes!