The data on the Tarpon is wrong.....

[archityler]

The record tarpon ever caught was just over 286lbs. i the discription of the Tarpon it states that they "usualy grow to 355lbs" Hey guys, just check Wiki. The adverage Tarpon is between 20 - 80 lbs. A trophy Tarpon is about 150lbs.... THERE HAS NEVER BEEN A 355LB TARPON.

[archityler]

Ive fished Tarpon for years on Fly and Spinn gear so ask me any questions Id love to offer my insite.....

[archityler]

Another interesting thing is that were there are tarpon there are snook. Id love to catch a snook on the tarpon dock!

[archityler]

Further notes on Tarpon for Developers consideration: I love fishing tarpon in RL. They are truly an amazing and worthy sport fish. The respect i have for the fish and the joy ive had fishing for them inspires me to offer my personal insite from years of hunting them.

Gernal Behavior - Tarpon breath air. They are frequently require to surface and breath. When tarpon do this its called a "roll". Because tarpon roll on the surface, estuary tarpon are almost always spoted rolling before the cast. Blind casting for tarpon is amost a complete waste of time. There is simply too much water and too few tarpon. It would be great if i could spot tarpon rolling in the game.

Feeding - Tarpon are very agressive opertunistic hunters. It is my experiance that getting them to stike is very easy (exeption for the monsters you find on the flats). Put any lure or fly in front of one and with any half decent retieve youll get a reaction and usualy a good bite. (The hook set is very difficult as the tarpon have a bone plate mouth.) Tarpon feed based on tides. Beacuse of this the time of day is not usualy a factor. I'd be suprised if a fish like a bass and a tarpon would be feeding at the same time. Tarpon cruse large areas in groups of up to 6. The biger the fish, the fewer in the school. Id loe to see tarpon bite mid day and at off peak bass times.

Fighting - The fight of a tarpon must be its most impressive and unique feature. Almost every Tarpon i have ever hooked has imediatly responded with a series of violent explosive jumps. Ive hooked tarpon that have jumped over 6' in the air and over 10 times in a row (this mkes them very hard to keep on the hook). Most tarpon are never landed because of this behavior. The guides say you must "bow to the tarpon". bowing to the tarpon is when you get a hook up, you need to instanly extend your rod forwards and downwards bending at the waist like a bow to bring tension on the line as the fish explodes into the air. It would be great to see tarpon put on a real areal disply in the game and require some fancy rod work to keep on the line.

Lastly if there are tarpon in the water there will also be snook, another great sports fish to add to the game.

I hope you find this informitive and intersting..... i got a lot more t share if your into it.

[[RB]Blackstang]

Record was 90 inches, 286 pounds, however one was caught and released that was 110 inches which using the same scale could have been 348 pounds....... and I'm sure there are even bigger ones that haven't been caught.

[Ecktos]

The same could be said for any species, but working from fact archityler is right.

[archityler]

One thing cant be argued, 355lb tarpon are not usual as the guide says.

[archityler]

Another point, almost all 150lb+ tarpon are cought on the flats. Once the reach that lvl of maturity they do not frequent estuarys.

[archityler]

In other words, catching a 150+lb tarpon off that dock is a realistic a simulation as safley landing an airplane upside down in a flight simulator.

[XentroDiMentro]

Originally posted by archityler:

In other words, catching a 150+lb tarpon off that dock is a realistic a simulation as safley landing an airplane upside down in a flight simulator.

Why exactly?

[archityler]

Once tarpon grows to maturity there entire behavior changes. During the tarpons juvinial years the stay safe in estuaries and mangroves, feeding on plentifull bait and getting protection from preditors. At breeding age, tarpon change behavior. The begin to migrate long distance along sand flats looking for mates and traveling to breeding grounds. As such, trophy tarpon will always be seasonal in any area. They will migrate past spending a few days at any spot, almost always large weed and sand flats.

Furthermore, the Everglades are not renound for large tarpon. The Florida Keys, Cuba, Belize, and Costa Rica on the other hand would be the place id expect to taget trophy tarpon at the right time of year.

[archityler]

Not many people have the opertunity to target large tarpon, the travel required, the gear, and how few of them there are all contribute. It is understandable that first hand information and clear data is hard to come by. But bear with me and lets make the tarpon a truly worthy and realistic sport fish in this game. I would very happy if i could catch a trophy 90lber. That would be very remarkable for that location in the Everglades.

[Jefferoo]

Very insightful information. Thank you very much as I knew very little about Tarpon. Although I hate the low tension feature of the game (lost 4 bass in one game day in FL), I think your suggestion might work for individual species. Would be nice if you lost 2 or 3 Tarpon as you suggest, that the 3rd or 4th one would be pretty much hooked.........

[archityler]

Hook more loose more. It would also be good if there were other ways to loose fish. Broken line on teeth and gill rakers, it is also possible to pull and straighten hooks. I know players that play for cash and xp wont like this type of realism, but i personly would get more pleasure from landing one or two hard to catch fish then hookig 10 and only caring about the trophys.

[koolhand]

as far as the tarpon,youtube florida everglades trapon,look it up, now line tension i to have lose fish to it as well , i found by
adjusting my gear with a faster recovery rate help't - that and not dogging the fish in - catching them and landing them - theres no guarentee. that being said i dont think their not done with the tarpon peg.out side of all that i do like some of your ideas in other ways of losing fish , but not really sure that would go over very well. ive been fishing the tarpon peg from the start trying to work it out my best day is 5 fish all on lures ,im injoying the tarpon and glade to see them back in game.

[archityler]

Bob LeMay •
"I spend a good bit of time in the interior of the Everglades and hunt tarpon from Flamingo to Fakahatchee. Some years the big fish will show in Whitewater Bay as early as two weeks before Christmas (if it's mild). You'll know when the inside fishing is at its best when the long time serious tarpon types appear... We do different things depending on where the fish are holding -out in the open bays, up inside shallow sheltered coves, or in deep rivers.
One thing is certain and that is in winter time - temperature is everything for the big fish. I think it's the only reason we have them inside then...."

Yes during winter months you can target the larger tarpon, but it is common to head out of the Glades into deeper and open water.