Tarpon

Atlantic Tarpon

The tarpons are large coastal fish notable as a prize of anglers. There are two species in a single genus Megalops in the family Megalopidae, one native to the Atlantic, and the other to the Indo-Pacific area.

The Atlantic tarpon, Megalops atlanticus (Valenciennes 1847), inhabits coastal waters, estuaries, lagoons, and rivers. It feeds on various fish and crabs. It is capable of filling its swim bladder with air and absorbing oxygen from it. Specimens have been recorded at up to 250 cm in length and weighing up to 161 kg. The Atlantic tarpon is also known as the "silver king".

In appearance, it is greenish or bluish on top, and silver on the sides. The large mouth is turned upwards, the lower jaw containing an elongated bony plate. The last ray of the dorsal fin is much longer than the others, reaching nearly to the tail.

The tarpon is considered one of the great saltwater game fish, not only because of the size it can reach and its accessible haunts, but because of its fighting spirit when hooked; it is very strong, making spectacular leaps into the air. The flesh is desirable but bony. In Florida, a special permit is required to kill and keep a tarpon, so most tarpon fishing there is catch-and-release.

Live bait fishermen's bait of choice is the 'dollar crab'. A small live blue crab about two inches across its carapace, hooked through one end of it's shell or underneath through a swimmer leg. Other extremely effective live baits include pinfish, threadfin herrings and pilchards.

The Indo-Pacific tarpon, Megalops cyprinoides is a lesser-known and smaller fish.

Read also:
• Catch the Silver King
• Tarpon On A Fly
• Tarpon Flies
• Crabs
• tarpon fly patterns

• Trinidad & Tobago Fishing

• This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
• It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Tarpon".