Tarpon what do they eat

A tarpon can gulp air on the surface because they have a swim bladder that has a direct connection from the specialized bladder to its esophagus throat. Yes, they do. They have an enormous mouth, often exaggerated by anglers as being the size of a five-gallon bucket, tarpon have extremely small villiform i.

You can use casting, drifting, still fishing and trolling to catch a Tarpon. Live bait mainly small crabs and small fish in the passes and inlets are used by Drift-fishermen. Dead baits, such as a Mullet head or half Mullet, fished patiently on bottom will entice all Tarpon. For trolling or surfcasting with heavier gear, large jigs, spoons and lipped plugs will work. Tarpon roll at the surface during an extended flight on a fishing line because they are trying to get oxygen.

Once the air reaches the swim bladder, oxygen is removed by lung-like tissue called alveolar. Yes, sharks will eat Tarpon.

In Boca Grande Pass, big bull and hammerhead sharks show up in the pass to eat tarpon. Looking for a fun and exciting day on the water? Book your fishing charter today or call at Read below. What are Tarpon? Where are Tarpon? What Size is Tarpon? The faster they are swimming usually the more they will surface making it easy for Florida tarpon Guides like my-self to locate them.

I always tell my guys early in the morning on the first tarpon charter to look for something that looks like a porpoise surfacing without the long fin and more of a shine to them. Sometimes all you will see is one fish rise; sometimes it may be 20 or 30 all at one time rolling violently. Many times you will just see a small fraction of the fish roll that is actually in the school. The tarpons primary predator, especially as they get larger, is the shark.

Hammerhead, Bull, and Tiger sharks have a particular sweet tooth for them. The good news is that tarpon are poor for human consumption. The only people that really eat them are a few natives in Panama and Africa, where they are actually considered a delicacy, and sold on a small local scale.

Lucky for us fishermen tarpon are not sought after for food, this is the biggest reason they are so plentiful and in such fishable numbers. When it comes to pound for pound explosiveness, endurance, and jumping ability the only fish that can compete is a blue marlin. The big difference between the two is that someone can spend weeks and thousands of dollars to catch one marlin while trolling. I have seen kayakers hook 3 or 4 full grown tarpon in a single day.

My boat has lost count of great days with over 25 hook ups. You also have to factor in the fact that tarpon fishing is more exciting, site casting to schooling tarpon, while marlin fishing requires hours of trolling.

Same as the tarpon, there is nothing that makes the saltwater catfish inedible. Some say that the gafftop is supposedly more enjoyable than the hardhead. Despite them being edible, they are not too enjoyable to process and cook.

This is primarily due to two main things: they are disturbingly slimy, and the spine along their dorsal fin is poisonous. The fish thrashes around, and the angler is caught by one of the barbs.

Both species do have this mild toxin, but what makes the gafftop worse as a potential meal is that it is notably more slimy than the hardhead, lending itself to a much more unpleasant experience in processing. One recipe you can try is preparing the fish like a standard fish fry : roll it in flour and panko bread crumbs along with your seasonings of choice and fry it until its lightly browned.

Some have found that this recipe is actually quite good! The choice of whether or not to cook the tarpon or catfish is completely up to you. Regarding the tarpon, unless you enjoy drowning your meals in strong spices and other flavors, preparing a meal from this catch may not be for you.

On the other hand, many anglers choose to cook their catch out of tradition and respect for the animal. In the way of the catfish, the choice to cook it poses more of a challenge because of the hazards it presents. The presence of the serrated fins and the toxin make for a hazardous experience if deciding to harvest this species for consumption. Along with that, there is not much meat to make it worth the trouble. That said, you also want to consider the age and experience of the person catching and processing the fish.

Someone who is new to the experience or a young child definitely does not want to be poisoned by a saltwater catfish or exposed to the offensive odor of the tarpon and the hefty challenge of reeling one of those monsters in as their introduction to fishing. The most important thing to keep in mind when deciding to eat a tarpon or a catfish is safety: eat your catch if you please, but always take the necessary precautions.