Last week anglers began to report catches of tarpon. You can also bet there were many anglers that were taken by surprise by the silver king while targeting trout and redfish. Several years ago I was fishing with a friend with some pieces of shrimp trying to find a stray trout or redfish. We were in the cooper river and we really not having any luck. Suddenly he jerked his rod tip up and set the hook on a large fish. The rod bent hard and the line began to sing. About that time a tarpon came flying out of the water and that line made a loud twang noise and then snapped just as I said, “loosen your drag!” Not thinking he was going to run into a fish of any size he had tightened his drag on his 15lb outfit almost all of the way down and was lucky that the strain did not break his rod.
Each year everyone hears about the hot spots around the inlets and the jetties for tarpon, but unsuspecting anglers also hook them in some of the most unlikely places and usually the result is an empty reel or destroyed tackle. The amount of time we had to react that day was very short and there was really no way to keep from losing the battle, but it was also some of the most exciting few minutes of fishing I can remember. While most of the time your battle with a tarpon that comes upon you light inshore outfit, there are a few things you can do to make the battle last and possibly win the battle.
Always keep in mind that the fish you are targeting may not be the fish that takes your offering. Having your drag tightened all the way down is not a great idea. Your drag is an important part of your reel and if a large fish like a tarpon, shark, or even a big redfish hits your inshore rod and reel, chances are the fight will be over until you have time to react. Keep your drag set to allow you some time if you do hook into a large fish. Always be ready to follow the fish if you need to. We keep a quick release and a buoy on our anchor line and can quickly dump it if we need to crank and a give chase. Last, but not least,