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The Fighting Tarpon: Prepare Yourself for the Ultimate Intense Florida Fishing Experience

The tarpon is a hell of a fish. They're aggressive hunters that can best 8 feet in length and 200-pounds, sporting hard, bony mouths with the gauge of a 5-gallon bucket. And they will take pretty much anything they can fit, living or dead, into that mouth. These silver-sided hunters will also give you the fight of your life. A Florida fishing experience this intense requires a bit of preparation. So get some water, pick up some high-performance fishing apparel, fire up your boat, and strap in for one hell of a ride.

Performance Fishing Gear

 Preparing for the Tarpon

While Florida is world-famous tarpon country, they're not just going to jump into your boat. Although, they are more than capable of doing so. Their notoriously bony mouths make them among the most challenging species for a good hook set. Do not be discouraged if you're watching more tarpon jumping (off) than you're landing. If you don't have a hook-sharpening file, get one, and put a good edge and point on every hook you'll use. Most importantly, prepare by researching the seasonal habits and hotspots of tarpon in the area you plan to fish.

 Keeping Comfortable on the Water

Tarpon put up some of the best fighting you'll experience, making for notoriously intense fishing. Under the glare of Florida's often relentless sun, that can be taxing on the open water. Bring along more drinking water than you think you'll need and enough food to keep your energy up. You hard-core tarpon-terminators intent on putting in 8-12 hours straight stalking silver kings will need fishing apparel that covers and protects you like a second skin. Pick up some professional-grade performance fishing gear fabricated from high-tech polyester. Make it a vented, long sleeve shirt for maximum coverage. High-performance polyester is a moisture-wicking, quick-drying, lightweight and breathable fabric that keeps you cool, covered, and protected from UV rays. In addition to a hat and quality polarized sunglasses, consider a fishing mask as well.

 Finding, Fishing for, and Fighting Tarpon

Specific tips for bait and tarpon strategy can be tricky, as the bait and approach can vary quite a bit depending on location, time of year, conditions, and more. But tarpon can be taken fly fishing, drifting and still fishing, trolling, and traditional casting. Although they'll certainly take lures, tarpon prefer bait. They'll hit pinfish, pass crabs, mullet and mullet chunks, pilchards, and other organic bait, live and dead. A fight with a tarpon is like no other angling experience. They are the predator-acrobats of the ocean. They fight like the devil, make hard runs, and love to jump, and jump high. They've been known to leap 10 feet out of the water and will rattle their gills at their adversary like a rattlesnake while doing so. It's a fishing experience anglers rarely forget.

 About Gillz®

 As long as he can remember, Kent Hickman has been an angler. He discovered his love for As long as he can remember, Kent Hickman has been an angler. He discovered his love for fishing at a young age and took every opportunity to do so. And growing up in his native Florida, there was no shortage of opportunities. That love inspired him to try his hand at going professional, and he joined the tournament circuit. However, Kent encountered an issue: the conditions professional anglers faced were often unforgiving, and he couldn't find fishing apparel that rose to the challenge. He needed gear that kept him cool, dry, and comfortable while protecting him from exposure to the elements and the harmful rays of the unrelenting Florida sun. Kent decided to meet the challenge himself, and in 2009 he founded Gillz® to provide his fellow anglers stylish high-performance fishing gear, shirts for fishing, fishing masks, accessories, and additional high-quality fishing clothes.

 Trust Gillz® gear to keep you cool, dry, comfortable, and protected from the sun while you fight it out with Florida's tarpon at Gillz-gear.com

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