Skip to main content

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

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Small Details That Can Make the Difference Between Getting Skunked and Landing a Trophy on the Water

It’s easy to forget the little details. Even experienced, professional anglers forget to bring everything they need or update their clothing every once in a while. It certainly makes sense to do research on your fishing territory, study seasonal feeding and spawning habits, and invest in specialized gear. As often as not, however, it’s the little details determining whether or not you’re getting fish in the boat. Never forget the basics. Sometimes that process is as simple as picking up a hook file and some performance fishing shirts . Performance Fishing Shirts Trade Out Your Line Many anglers put a lot of thought into the line they use. A lot of thought and time goes into deciding what pound test you should be using, whether to go with mono or braided, and whether to use a blue, green, or clear line. Switching out your line when it’s getting old is a step that’s easy to forget and overlook. That’s particularly true for anglers with a dozen different rigs in the...
Post a Comment
Read more

Tips for Keeping Warm and Staying Cool While Fall Fishing

Despite the likelihood of more moderate temperatures, achieving and maintaining comfort when fall fishing can actually be tougher than it is at other times of the year. It’s easy to prepare for the extreme but reliable heat and cold of summer and winter. In the fall, however, you could be watching your breath and shivering in the morning, pouring sweat by noon, and soaked by a downpour (or even a snowstorm, depending on where you live) by the afternoon. While the conditions can be tricky, successfully gearing up for fall fishing is no problem with a little foresight. Access to a reliable thermos and quality fishing shirts doesn’t hurt either. Fishing Shirts Pack Temperature-Appropriate Clothing, Food, and Drink Wearing a breathable long sleeve fishing shirt and a performance hat or fishing mask is a vital step. Make sure the gear you choose is breathable and moisture wicking with sun protection. Antimicrobial and cooling technology are signs of a superior, quality...
Post a Comment
Read more

3 Tips to Help You Reel in Bigger Fish Than Ever This Summer

It’s summer, and with the heat means changing up your strategy for fishing. From knowing where to find the biggest fish to how to handle the high temperature by using performance fishing shirts , here are some tips for making the most of summer fishing to catch the big one.  Performance Fishing Shirts Know Where the Fish Are Biting First, know where the fish are biting. Thanks to the blazing ball of heat overhead, there can be a lot of reflection on the water. First, cut through the surface with polarized sunglasses, which can help you see the fish. Next, you need to know where to look. Depending on what you are fishing for, they may change from their typical hideouts during the rest of the year. For example, bass seek colder water as they grow bigger, so warm water, closer to the surface, will only have small fish. Meanwhile, if you are fly fishing for trout, focus on the times when the water is coolest in the morning and late evening, as that is when they come out to feed. Much l...
Post a Comment
Read more