King of Kings

A celebration of fly fishing for tarpon from Florida to The Yucatan.

I want a girl with a shirt skirt and a long jacket

Four South Africans flyfishing for tarpon in the Florida Keys, jumping some big fish and losing most of them.

Silver Lining

From Captain Will Benson.

via: Way Upstream

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Tables Fish Protections

Florida state fishery rulemakers have thrown a plan to create rules for what's a game fish and what's a sport fish back into the water.

"They began changing things and making exceptions," said Tom McLaughlin, a Boca Grande charter fishing captain who supported the concept.

"It was a little rushed and got a little confusing.... Then it started to cave in on itself," said McLaughlin, a former Tavernier resident.

After more than two hours of testimony and discussion, FWC board members directed agency staff to "look into creating some type of parameters specifically for bonefish and tarpon," said FWC spokeswoman Amanda Nalley.

Concerns that other species, such as sea trout or permit, could wind up as designated sport fish or game fish apparently doomed the plan.

"This was entirely about permit," McLaughlin said. "Basically, the only opposition came from divers who spearfish out of the Tampa area. They organized and got about 20 to 25 divers to show up in Orlando."

The rule reaching the FWC would have created a recognized sport-fish designation applied to species so economically valuable to the recreational economy that only catch-and-release fishing would be allowed.

LINK (via: Keys Net)

New method to weigh tarpon

The new Ault-Luo ellipsoid formula allows anglers to use a simple measuring tape to get the fish’s fork length and dorsal girth (an all-around measurement of the fish’s body starting just below the dorsal fin), then view a spread sheet or Tarpon Master version 1.0 app on an iPhone to instantly find its weight.

The mathematical calculation that resulted in the model is a bit too long and complicated for the layman.

LINK (via: The Miami Herald)

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/01/20/3190901/new-method-to-weigh-tarpon-less.html#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/01/20/3190901/new-method-to-weigh-tarpon-less.html#storylink=cpy

Stay Classy PTTS

Save the Tarpon recently posted this telling picture of Silver King Entertainment/Professional Tarpon Tournament Series partner Rodney Taucher stepping on a dead tarpon that was later linked to the Women's PTTS tournament. 

Further evidence you should join some of the biggest names in angling and sign Save the Tarpon's petition to end the PTTS.