"TARPON STUDY UPDATE"
by Captain Steve Futch
As Seen in the Boca Beacon
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The latest Florida Sportsman ran an article on the research being done on tarpon by Dr. Ralph Turingan and a graduate student Cedric Guigand. They are studying the head movement of tarpon as they strike their prey; the speed at which they do this is amazing. It explains some of my broken rods. I had a chance last year to meet Cedric while attending a Symposium on tarpon in Texas last year. Another experiment not mentioned in the article dealt with the tarpons air bladder. While this bladder is known to help supply oxygen to the fish when levels are low, it has other functions as well. The bladder is attached to the ear stones and may help the fish to hear what's going on around it. The tarpon also uses the bladder much like a diver uses his B.C. The fish comes to the surface gulps air, then goes to the bottom and releases enough air to become neutrally buoyant, allowing the fish to rest at one level without exerting a great amount of its energy. In one experiment oxygen levels were brought very low, reflecting the levels the fish might encounter in the estuaries where they reside the first few years of their lives. The tiny tarpon came to the surface gathered air and continued to feed and school showing no signs of stress. After bringing the oxygen back to normal a small wire mesh was placed on top of the water and the fish weren't allowed to breath from the surface, the fish seamed to get disorientated. They lay at odd angles to the bottom and wouldn’t feed, all showed signs of sever stress. After the wire mesh was removed the juvenals began to surface and gulp air. They once again started feeding and acting like healthy tarpon. So this season when you see those large schools of fish rising to the surface taking a gulp of air and returning to the depths of Boca Grande pass, there’s more to it than what meets the eye. The recent cold fronts have slowed fishing on the worst of days, but those lucky few anglers who had the opportunity to go after the fronts have moved through, have been rewarded with some great fishing. Fish on the coldest days will often be holding in deep-water canals and around the grass edges of the harbor. Look for these fish to move into the white sandy spots as the sun gets higher in the day. With their metabolism slowed down they may not aggressively feed, but persistence will often pay you great dividends. So enjoy your day on the water, catch all you can, but keep only what you need. Read Past Articles By Captain Steve Information and Reservations. |