Merry Christmas, fellow junkies.

Christmas, America, and tarpon from Thomas Edison's winter estate.


Thomas Edison's tarpon mount from 1904.


And can't drop a post without including this gem.
https://instagr.am/p/BdDxWLfFQrj

Hope everyone is having a wonderful Christmas season.

So I stumbled onto a decent deal on an 11wt GL Crosscurrent GLX off microskiff so I've decided to build up a tarpon rig. Anyone want to help me finish her out?

My plan is to get a reel/spool with floating and intermediate lines. I'm eyeballing a Tibor Gulfstream but I can already feel the death stare from the old lady at the thought of spending $1300 for reel/spool/lines.

Other options I'm looking at is a Galvan T-12, Nautilus CCF-X2 or going the opposite direction and keeping the rig ultra cheap with an Orvis Hydros SL (have one in an 8wt and happy with it but I can't find any testimony on how the drag holds up on poons). Thoughts?

Go Gulfstream and never look back.

And honestly, you have almost no need of the intermediate line for most tarpon chasing.

It's not my preferred but I caught my last two with an intermediate line. One they got into a deeper water column late in the day and the other was casting to rollers in dirty water. But they were the biggest two I've caught so I want to be prepared just in case.

And noted on the Gulfsteam. That's how I'm wanting to go. Maybe I will split the difference and get the Gulfstream rigged with floating line and keep an eye out for a good deal on a 2nd reel that can be rigged with intermediate line. From watching a video on changing out Tibor spools it doesn't look like the most friendliest of on water spool replacements.

I'd shop used and get two reels instead of one reel and two spools...

Here's one Gulfstream for 450.
https://www.microskiff.com/threads/sage-hardy-tibor-for-sale.48900/

I know folks do like the Gulfstream and I am not saying they are wrong. All I know is I have two friends who are guides that had them blow up. It could be two strange coincidences, I recognize that.

I have a Mako 9600 with an extra spool for tarpon and I love it. I also do like the Hardy big sticks for heavy lifting.

FYI- I was a little drunk last night when posting. We had a birthday dinner for a friend and the beverages were flowing.

That being said, I stand by my rec for the Gulfstream if that's what you want. But there are other, very, very good reels such as the Mako, the Nautilus NV-Monster, the Hatch 11+, and the Abel Super. Any one of those would be great. I just think when you're targeting tarpon in excess of 100# you cannot skimp on your gear or you'll be left crying when that fish takes your rod and beats the **** out of you with it. But in that class of reel personal preference will play a huge role.

Glad to see this thread getting bumped on the eve of SK season 4.

The only "big" tarpon I've ever caught didn't really smoke the reel all that much (50-100 pounds). My knuckles were a convenient and painful throttle and took some of the initial abuse for the drag. The guide laughed so damn hard it was impossible not to laugh as well.

Anyway, most of the battles were surprisingly close to the boat and I think the rod was more important than the reel. Especially when the fish is close to your feet and you use your pointer finger to hook the line & pull back. Really stresses the rod.

All mine were on intermediate lines in shallow water. That's just my rookie take on tarpon fishing equipment. Highly interested in the real pros point of view here.

I actually owe an apology here for a mistake. I said I had two guide buddies have the Gulfstream blow up. Speaking with one of them last night, it was the signature series that blew up and... blowing up isn't accurate either. He had two come undone where the reel seat meets the reel. He is actually a fan of the Gulfstream.

Sorry for the misunderstanding.

This is what it's like to grab the face of a 100 pound tarpon:

[url=https://imgur.com/nIkHEdq][/url]

If video not working:

https://instagr.am/p/BiHitahlSFd

texican08 said:

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So I stumbled onto a decent deal on an 11wt GL Crosscurrent GLX off microskiff so I've decided to build up a tarpon rig. Anyone want to help me finish her out?

My plan is to get a reel/spool with floating and intermediate lines. I'm eyeballing a Tibor Gulfstream but I can already feel the death stare from the old lady at the thought of spending $1300 for reel/spool/lines.

Other options I'm looking at is a Galvan T-12, Nautilus CCF-X2 or going the opposite direction and keeping the rig ultra cheap with an Orvis Hydros SL (have one in an 8wt and happy with it but I can't find any testimony on how the drag holds up on poons). Thoughts?

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I recommend the Nautilus NV Monster or if you can spend the money and wait for the reel, the Mako 9600 (they are heavy though). I have personal experience with both.

Also hear very good things about the Hardy Fortuna XDS reel but have never used one. The Tibor Gulfstream is a reliable choice but the new sealed drag systems on the reels I mentioned are more durable and maintenance free.

You want a strong drag and a large arbor (gonna be retrieving a lot of line and doing it fast) in a tarpon reel. As for lines, I prefer the standard Rio Tarpon line, full floating.

I agree with Finn, there's little need for intermediate lines unless you are dredging deeper water in channels. If that's the case, you might want a full sinking line. Floating clear tip lines are a bad choice in my opinion because you cannot see the end of your line and therefor cannot estimate your fly position when sight fishing.

EyeFixer said:

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texican08 said:

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So I stumbled onto a decent deal on an 11wt GL Crosscurrent GLX off microskiff so I've decided to build up a tarpon rig. Anyone want to help me finish her out?

My plan is to get a reel/spool with floating and intermediate lines. I'm eyeballing a Tibor Gulfstream but I can already feel the death stare from the old lady at the thought of spending $1300 for reel/spool/lines.

Other options I'm looking at is a Galvan T-12, Nautilus CCF-X2 or going the opposite direction and keeping the rig ultra cheap with an Orvis Hydros SL (have one in an 8wt and happy with it but I can't find any testimony on how the drag holds up on poons). Thoughts?

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I recommend the Nautilus NV Monster or if you can spend the money and wait for the reel, the Mako 9600 (they are heavy though). I have personal experience with both.

Also hear very good things about the Hardy Fortuna XDS reel but have never used one. The Tibor Gulfstream is a reliable choice but the new sealed drag systems on the reels I mentioned are more durable and maintenance free.

You want a strong drag and a large arbor (gonna be retrieving a lot of line and doing it fast) in a tarpon reel. As for lines, I prefer the standard Rio Tarpon line, full floating.

I agree with Finn, there's little need for intermediate lines unless you are dredging deeper water in channels. If that's the case, you might want a full sinking line. Floating clear tip lines are a bad choice in my opinion because you cannot see the end of your line and therefor cannot estimate your fly position when sight fishing.

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I have a Mako 9500 and 9600 and love them both. I have also fished the Fortuna XDS and it was a great reel for the $.

Nice fish!

It's tarpon time y'all!

Post up if you've gotten into them already or will soon.

https://instagr.am/p/BlhF8uHnqM1

Been watching the new season of Silver Kings so I thought this may need a bump.

DV04 said:

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Been watching the new season of Silver Kings so I thought this may need a bump.

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I've been watching and wishing. I've got my trip scheduled for late June, be my first time. Can't wait.

Definitely on the bucket list.

I scratched some pesky projects off my to-do list that dominated my time last year or two. I'm going to do better in 2019.

So the plug finally got pulled on my Belize trip for next month. Still got a bone for tarpon and TX tarpon has me intrigued.

Looking into heading south and came across Tim O'Brien for snook/tarpon. I know it's going to be low probability and condition specific but does anyone know anything about him as a guide? I hadn't heard of him until the other day.

To keep it poon related, doesn't look like he's doing so hot in the Gold Cup.

texican08 said:

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So the plug finally got pulled on my Belize trip for next month. Still got a bone for tarpon and TX tarpon has me intrigued.

Looking into heading south and came across Tim O'Brien for snook/tarpon. I know it's going to be low probability and condition specific but does anyone know anything about him as a guide? I hadn't heard of him until the other day.

To keep it poon related, doesn't look like he's doing so hot in the Gold Cup.

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I'm assuming this is a fly trip?

I don't know enough about the Lower Laguna tarpon fishery to say whether or not it's worth a trip and never heard of O'Brien as a guide. That doesn't mean that he's not a solid guide, I've just never heard of him.

But, if I were you I'd look at trying to find a guide over in the FL Panhandle. I go every year there and know a number of the guides.

On fly.

I thought about Pensacola area. Needing to scale the PTO taken for another trip later in the year.

texican08 said:

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On fly.

I thought about Pensacola area. Needing to scale the PTO taken for another trip later in the year.

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You will get a better chance at taking good shots at fish in FL. Not saying it cannot be done in Texas but the weather is tricky and the winds recently on the entire Texas coast have made it a tough year even for busting Jacks... You almost need a guide that will call you up when the conditions align and be able to pick up on a whim and go chase them.

Good luck!

Oh yeah, I put 1% odds on even getting a shot. Worse comes to worse there's the reds on the LLM.

I was more wondering if anyone heard of this guy before. After all I don't want to go with him if it could be another Kevin Stubbs - Expedition Outfitters

Daaaaaang! What a fish!

Had a shot at beach tarpon on Weds. Dropped a fly about 10 feet away from a pair of cruisers. They came up on a sand bar and inched over it slowly. The fly sank and drifted towards certain interception, but for some reason the tarpon changed direction when the fly was 2 feet away. A few seconds later and the fly would have hit a 50 pounder in the face.

Not sure if it got too shallow for their comfort level, or if my fly annoyed them. Either way, I got that special high like it was about to go down.

No pics of the tarpon, but here's a string of snook coming through.

That pic looks different somehow.....

Went out fishing around Captiva the last 3 days. Saw thousands of fish, jumped one and had another eat. I forgot how to cast when staring at a string of 100+ fish over and over again (magically could cast again when no fish were present).

Trying not to hijack the thread, Ayto could you send me an email ( email address is in my profile)
Thanks!

Getting to be that time again...


...I'm getting all twitchy.

I've been looking forward to this thread coming back up. I hope you all keep us "bucket listers" entertained.

Yep, saw some white butterflies and swallow-tail kites last week. Sure signs it's tarpon season.