Capt. Robert Sloan prepares to unhook and release a huge 185 pound tarpon that hit a 2 ounce grub tail jig. Photo from Robert Sloan
Tarpon fishing along much of the Gulf Coast usually comes to life in June and gets better as we head in the hot months of August and September. Many are caught in October, or until the cool fronts begin to chill the water. In fact the Texas state record 210.70 pound tarpon was caught on Oct 4, 2006.
So where is the best place to fish for tarpon along the Gulf Coast? Based on personal experience, you can’t go wrong out of Venice, La. Along the Texas coast tarpon fishing can be pretty darned good from the Sabine jetties and south to Port O’Connor.
How good can tarpon fishing get along the Texas coast? One of the greatest days of Texas tarpon fishing was back in 1995 on Labor Day. That’s when Capt. Jim Leavelle jumped seven and caught five. Capt. Dana Bailey jumped 14 and caught five. And, Capt. James Plaag jumped 20, leadered eight and broke off four. Tarpon fishing doesn’t get better than that anywhere on earth.
Mobile is a key word when hunting Texas tarpon. You’ve got to stay on the move. The first tarpon I ever jumped was at the Port O’Connor jetties. That was in 1973. Since that time I’ve caught them while fishing out of Venice, La., Sabine, Port O’Connor and on down to the South Padre jetties. Heading farther south I’ve had some classic battles with fly fished tarpon at places like the Yucatan, Campeche, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, the Caimen Islands and out of Belize. But for numbers of big tarpon I don’t think the action gets any better than what you’ll find out of Port O’Connor from now through October.
My best day so far this summer was 23 shots at tarpon up to about 130 pounds while fishing the area of water from the Port O’Connor jetties and on over to Pass Cavallo, a few miles east of the POC jetties.
Great tarpon guides along the Texas coast have all their favorite options for baits. Many use fresh dead baits like shad, mullet, sand trout or pogies. Most of the time those baits are rigged on 14/0 to 16/0 circle hooks. A live mullet is excellent tarpon bait. Ditto that for big shrimp, piggy perch, croakers, sandtrout and hardheads.
The most exciting option for hooking up with tarpon is to use artificial lures. Some of the best are the 77M MirrOlures. A Coon pop jig has caught tons if big tarpon. Another good jig is a 3 oz. Texas Tarpon Pop (one of my favorites). The Coon Pop, Term Pop and Texas Tarpon Pop are very similar. Basically it’s a lead head jig attached to a plastic curl tail grub. The jig and grub are wired to something like a 16/0 circle hook. The Coon and Term Pops are rigged on 2-ounce lead head jigs. My personnel best tarpon, 185 pounds, was caught on a Coon Pop. Louisiana’s Capt. Lance “Coon” Schouest invented the Coon Pop. Many look-alike Coon Pops have been developed over the years.
Casting, trolling or bump trolling with a trolling motor are very productive ways to catch tarpon.
One of the heaviest tarpon ever caught along the Texas coast weighed an estimated 237 pounds. It was 6 feet, 9 inches long with a 49 inch girth. That one was caught on a dead shad. Just so you’ll know a 200-pounder will have a girth of 45 inches or more.
Of all the sporting fish in the world there aren’t many as profoundly beautiful and talented as tarpon. And guess what, the time is right for catching one off the Texas coast right about now.
Capt. Robert Sloan runs tarpon fishing charters out of Port O’Connor. He can be reached at 409-782-6796 or www.hightailangler.com.
Tarpon facts
Texas record on rod and reel – 210.70 lbs., 91 inches long, caught on Oct 4, 2006 in the Gulf of Mexico by Jeremy Ebert while fishing with a dead menhaden.
Texas limit – One per day, minimum length is 85 inches.
