iStockphoto / Daniel Smith
Tarpon fishing season in SW Florida is just heating up with reports of 100+ pound tarpon already being caught by countless anglers from Boca Grande to Tampa Bay and off of Sarasota and Anna Maria Island.
When the ‘Silver King’ shows up this time every year they bring sharks in droves as tarpon are to sharks what a tomahawk ribeye is to most of us, they are as delicious as it gets. It also doesn’t help tarpon that they stick to 10-20 feet of water and are covered in bright reflective silvery scales which can be spotted in clear water by sharks seeing the reflection off the sun or sensing disturbances in the water through vibrations.
Tarpon fishing can be accomplished year-round in South Florida from Miami to the Florida Keys to the Florida Everglades and Marco Island but the rest of SW Florida heats up this time of year. There are already many videos of sharks going after tarpon before anglers can reel them into the boat and release the fish, videos like this one of a truly gargantuan hammerhead shark going after a tarpon right as it was reeled to the side of the boat:
@captaintravisbenson Hammerhead vs Tarpon #twoconchs twoconchssportfishing#floridakeys#flkeys#marathon#tarpon#permit #bonefish#sailfish#reef#wrecks bay#keywest#islamorada #hammerhead hammerhead@Barstool Outdoors
Another video from 10kcharters out of Marco Island shows a tarpon getting destroyed by hungry sharks before it could be released:
It is worth mentioning that when tarpon fishing, if an angler is battling a fish and they spot a shark the guidance is to flip open the bail on the reel and allow the fish to swim freely so it can escape. Tarpon are already often exhausted from the battle with anglers but allowing them to swim freely is the least we as fishermen can do to keep the fisheries healthy.
And for what it’s worth, it’s not just tarpon that sharks are devouring. This wahoo got crushed by sharks!
For anyone out there looking to catch their first tarpon, I’d recommend targeting Boca Grande, Sarasota, or Anna Maria Island this time of year. Or visiting Capt. Jimmy at Everglades Fishing Co. in Everglades City, Florida year-round because he can always put you on fish in that estuary where juvenile tarpon hang out before they’re big enough to venture out into the Gulf of Mexico.