Tarpon Fishing

[bfisher]

In May, I am headed to Florida for Tarpon. I have been down before and caught them on spinning reels, but I am interested in upping my game. I want one a fly. I was wondering if anyone had a rod they were interested in selling. I remember last year someone posted a rod they bought with hopes that they were going to go but wanted to sell it. Please feel free to PM me or reply to the thread with any rods/reels people are willing to sell.

Brendan McGee

[LeeG]

Here is what you are in for:

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[ConnorR]

I'm hoping to go in June. Incredibly excited.

[haverodwilltravel]

bfisher....it might help to let us know where in Florida you are going and what size range you are chasing. The "Baby Tarpon" ( 50 and down) are great fun on an 8 or 9 wt. (In fact these days I enjoy it more than triple digit fish on a 12, because the fight is shorter, you land more fish and you aren't in for an hour long tug of war...but then again I'm also 58 :)).
The reel of choice down there is a Tibor, the line needs to be Tropic in the heat and overload your rod by one weight so you can roll the fly out of your hand and fire that fly with one maybe two backcasts (assuming you are on the Flats in the Keys). IMHO The Loomis GLX Crosscurrent is a great Tarpon "fighting" (ok casting) stick, with plenty of heft in the butt.
The Tibor, Tropic and GLX Crosscurrent gathered on E-Bay might run you about $1K used.....not alot if you if you are paying a Flats Guide, Hotel, Plane fare, etc..... If you can't gear up in that range....use the guide provided outfit. A good Tarpon can burn a decent reel out of round and shatter a rod if you fail to bow to the King. So keep that in mind, make sure you have a guarantee with the rod and reel or use the boat provided one...God Luck...it's adictive.

PS: Play them fast or break them off. Long fights leave them easy prey for the sharks.

[Koda]

And I thought a 40 pound King was the berries! Holly Hanah! That is an impressive "tube" Lee.

Don't believe one needs to break the bank for gear. There is a lot of impressive rods and reels on the market these days that will more than get the job done. If you're adamant that you are going to fish the name brand stuff you will pay, no way around it.

There's a lot of alternatives, shop it around and ask a lot of questions. The XPS is on record for stopping a motorcycle cold. It took 4 dudes on the rod to get the job done, but the brakes on the reel handled it in stride. The Explorer in a #12 is another good choice.

After watching that movie I just might have to throw the float tube in the back of the truck and head down!

[opechee]

I have a 10 weight rod, fast action and reel with a slow sink line I just used in Belize for $380. If interested email at Jas1@metrocast.net