The two species of tarpon, Megalops atlantics, and its Pacific brother, Megalops cyprinoides, range widely throughout the world. Come May, a middle-aged tarpon wintering somewhere below Key West might show up in the Keys milling around the 7 Mile Bridge or Islamorada where the early spring angling action using live mullet is amazing. With migration on his mind, he’ll decide to take a trip up to the Ten Thousand Islands then on to Boca Grande for a big get-together with the rest of the gang.

Many of his migrating cousins will decide to stay the summer living in the deeper waters of Charlotte Harbor following bait schools, visiting the passes and making offshore runs while dodging submarine-sized hammerheads and grey suited bullies.

This particular tarpon is a traveler and Texas is his destination. His twin took the east coast route after leaving the Keys and travelled north, now passing the Carolinas on his way to visit summer friends in Virginia and the Chesapeake Bay.

Locally, there’s another laid-back group that thinks all this migrating stuff is for the birds preferring to stay Cape-side year round and just take it easy. Easy to tell these guys as most are overweight and all wear gaudy scales stained golden from the tannins and who knows what else present in the river water.

What makes a below the Keys tarpon end up in Texas or turn right and be seen as far north as Nova Scotia? Why do some, like our easy livin’ Cape homebodies, not migrate at all?

Did you know a tarpon is an obligate air breather? Younger tarpon must come to the surface (roll) or die.

For a species that’s been here since pre-dinosaur times and so widely distributed throughout the planet, the tarpon still presents many mysteries.

Off the coast of Africa some of the world’s largest tarpon roam, some reported to top 300 pounds. We also have “down under” Australian tarpon, Vietnamese and Japanese tarpon. Schools of tarpon regularly use the Panama Canal to migrate from the Atlantic side to the Pacific and back again first observed 70 years ago.

The first documented tarpon catches on rod and reel in Florida was in the late 1800s. They were hunted, caught and killed at sea or brought back to the weighmasters scales, hung up for pictures and then simply discarded.

These days you can still harvest a tarpon with a $50 harvest tag; one per year, but according to our FWC, that tag can only be used “when the fish is retained for a potential IGFA record”

These days, with the quality and availability of replica mounts and the fact that over the years skin mounts dry out and deteriorate, choosing a great replica always makes sense. Get many great color photos highlighting any unusual markings or features so the replica painter can personalize your mount for many years of enjoyment. In the long run, replica mounts save money, will probably outlast you and more importantly, the trophy swims free.

Remember the FWC rule that any tarpon over 40 inches must “remain in the water during release.” Jumping in the shallow water and supporting your big tarpon always makes for a great lifetime memory-bragging photo. Be very careful when supporting this large powerful fish with huge armored scales and a lip as hard and big around as a bar rail, as it could explode on you at any moment dishing out a beating.

If you’ve ever had a green and mean powerful tarpon jump in your boat early during the fight and while onboard decided to do some rearranging (and a total slime job) of your boat’s interior, you already understand the power of one of the world’s greatest gamefishes. Hang on tight.

With tarpon come sharks and 5-footer on a heavy snook rod is nothing but fast action flats fun. Move over to the passes with heavy gear to tackle a several hundred pounder.

Capt. George Tunison is a Cape Coral resident fishing guide. Contact him at 239-282-9434 or captgeorget3@aol.com.