Possible World Record Tarpon Caught and Released

Four anglers fishing with Florida captain Justin Moore landed a monster tarpon last week that could have broken the world record. Drew Denick, Ron Joyce, and Jeremy and Jan Tombl chartered a boat with Moore for a day of tarpon fishing on the Gulf of Mexico.

Tarpon was approx. 96-inches long with a 53-inch girth which would put it in the 300 pound range. The current world record is 286 pounds. 

LINK (via: Outdoor Life)

Good News for Bonefish and Tarpon

The Culture of Jig Fishing -

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission voted 4-3 to move forward with new rules that would change the definition of snagging as it relates to tarpon and would limit a specific type of fishing gear in Boca Grande Pass.

LINK (via: Save the Tarpon)

The ever lovable PTTS did not take kindly to the proposed new rule at the hearing.

An attorney representing the PTTS threatened legal action if commissioners went ahead with the gear ban.

In addition to the gear rule change the FWC also approved a new rule making bonefish and tarpon catch and release only fisheries.

LINK (via: Florida Sportsman - Who were against the tarpon jig ban.)

Two Bull Sharks Steal Trophy Tarpon Boatside

Two bull sharks rip tarpon to shreds boatside is more accurate.

(via: Pete Thomas Outdoors)

Tarpon Fishing 2012

Compilation of fishing clips from the whole summer of 2012 in Tampa Bay, Florida aboard Capt. Tommy Ziesmann's 240 Ranger Bay.

Boca Grand Tarpon Wad

They are still spear fishing for tarpon off Louisiana

Fly Life Magazine is calling out Hells Divers and their members who like to spear fish for tarpon off the coast of Louisiana.

As the comment thread in this 2008 post about the same issue illustrates, the spear fishing community will aggressively push back.

In what has to be one of the more ironic comments, given Save the Tarpon is getting involved, tarpon spear fishing advocate Louis Rossignol references the PTTS to call bullshit on those opposed to the practice.

For those that want to judge, take a look at that completely ridiculous circus they call the “Professional Tarpon Tournament Series”, where boats cram into the pass, live bait tarpon and feed half of them to the local hammerhead population. The ones that escape the big teeth get dragged over to a scale and then released, exhausted, to said hammerhead-infested pass.

In this video Rossignol,who owns 5 of the top ten Hells Divers tarpon spear fishing records, drills a triple digit tarpon off a gulf rig.