FISH & BOAT, February 2019- P43 Fishing From previous page bump through your line before re- With this technique, I’ll often start Tarpon of this size are a load of fun on light tackle and from one feeding pattern to an- alising you’re connected to a leaping with a slow retrieve and change to a can help you to hone those skills and prepare you for other. So, to become more consistent tarpon. quicker one if the fish don’t respond. fighting and landing larger fish, like the barramundi. with your catches it’s important to A great variation to this technique If a constant retrieve doesn’t work have a variety of techniques. is to periodically stop your plastic then try pausing for a few seconds, While there are any number ofand let it sit for a few seconds. this often triggers a response from subtle changes you can make, I’ve This pause will allow the current to any interested but wary tarpon. found three primary techniques that slowly lift your plastic through the If you find that a particular type seem to work in most cases. water column and is extremely suc- of retrieve, which had been working The first technique is what I call cessful when tarpon are feeding very well, suddenly fails to get a response, the drop and feed technique. Simply close to the surface. don’t be afraid to switch it up again, drop a lightly weighted soft plastic The second technique is to make even throwing in the odd erratic at your feet and allow the tidal flow long casts out past where tarpon are twitch from time to time. to feed it out to the fish. feeding and then simply retrieve The last of my preferred tech- This works well in moderate toyour plastic. This works best duringniques, which is particularly useful high tidal flows and presents your low to moderate tidal flow when fish when fishing structure such as a offering to the fish in a very natural are sparser and actively foraging for jetty, is used when you’re targeting way, as they sit in the current waiting food, rather than waiting for the tide tarpon that are feeding deeper in the to pounce on passing food. to bring food to them. water column. I stumbled upon this Because there is a certain amount This is also a great technique for technique during one of my many of slack line at play with this tech- sight casting in creeks, particularly visits to the Lucinda service jetty a nique, you often only feel a light when fish are easily spooked. few years back when the fish seemed to be shut down. Last light at the Lucinda service jetty as the artificial Tarpon often feed aggressively at the very top and bottom of big tidal lighting starts to take effect; prime time for a tarpon flows, but for anglers, the window lift your plastic back up through the you land. Tarpon have hard, bony feeding frenzy. of opportunity during these periods water column. If your plastic doesn’t mouths that, when combined with can be small. Over time, I discovered lift slowly in the current you may a fast, furious and acrobatic fighting that either side of these feeding win- need to adjust your jig head weight. ability, will more times than not re- dows tarpon gathered close to struc- The basic rule is to have enough sult in tarpon 1, angler 0! ture and deeper in the water column. weight to get below the fish, but not Instead, look at everything else As peak tidal flow started to wane, too much that your plastic doesn’t they have to offer. Tarpon are gener- these fish would transition out of rise back through the water. If the ally clean fighters, are awesome fun their feeding dormancy before they tarpon are in that transition phase, on light gear, and once hooked you move from their place of rest. from resting to feeding mode, your will be too, so just chillax and enjoy By targeting these fish as they’re plastic will be hit as it passes up and the ride! transitioning you can effectively ex- through the schooling fish. Catch Ya! pand your window of opportunity. The Fight To target these transitioning fish, I thought I’d finish up by say- you may need a slightly heavier jig ing a few brief things about fight- head, to cope with any extra cur- ing tarpon. Firstly, don’t get too rent, and you’ll also need to posi- disappointed if you lose more than tion yourself upstream of their ag- Right: My favourite tarpon gregation. Once in position, allow outfit; a 3-5kg rod with a 2500 your plastic to fall to the bottom (or Shimano Stradic ci4 spooled as close as possible) before flicking with 2-4kg braid, 20lb Sunline your bale arm back over. Once your FC rock and a container of line pulls tight, the current should juiced up Gulp baby shrimp. 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