This Lure Retrieve Works Extremely Well For Tarpon [Fishing Report]
- By: Luke Simonds
- on
This latest tarpon trip proved once again that a particular lure retrieve works extremely well for getting strikes even if the tarpon aren’t actively feeding.
My tarpon trip last month was an absolute blast, and this one far exceeded it in terms of strikes, jumps, and catches because I didn’t have to spend a lot of time switching lures and retrieves to find what the tarpon were hitting.
When I saw some tarpon roll up on the flat as the sun was coming up, I immediately put a Power Prawn USA Jr. on and started doing the glide retrieve with it, and they were quick to respond.
Check out this fun video to see the action and what I found after trying out the Gold Digger and the new FRED versions of the Power Prawn USA Jr.
Juvenile Tarpon Fishing Report
Tackle Used:
- Lure 1: Power Prawn USA Junior Gold Digger rigged on 3/0 Hoss Helix Hook
- Lure 2: Power Prawn USA Junior FRED rigged on 3/0 Hoss Helix Hook
- Mainline: 10 lb Fins Spin
- Leader: 20 lb Ande Mono with 6″ bite tippet of 30 lb Ande Mono
- Rod: Custom Prototype 7’6″ Medium Power Fast Action
- Reel: Daiwa Legalis 2500-XH
Conclusion
Juvenile tarpon are an absolute blast to target since they are so strong and have such energetic aerial displays when hooked.
They can often be found this time of the year up on shallow flats in areas where small inland creeks empty out into larger bays.
The best time to find them is in the early hours right after the sun rises because the water is usually at its calmest state which makes it easier to see them rolling to gulp some air.
The key to getting strikes in my opinion is to glide one of these Power Prawn USA Junior lures past the area where a tarpon just rolled, and hold on tight because they sure do strike fast and will quickly be up in the air trying to shake out your lure.
Your Feedback Is Needed
Please let me know if you have any lures and/or colors that you have found to work best for juvenile tarpon that are holding in shallow water.
Also, please leave a comment below if you have any questions about this trip or anything in the article. I always enjoy hearing from you, and I’ll be happy to fill in any gaps I may have missed in this post.
Tight Lines!
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G’day Mate! Haven’t fished tarpon here in FL yet, but am very much looking forward to it. Thanks for the great ‘on the water’ video and accompanying info. One point I might make….Hooks must be extremely sharp to win these fish. They have a really hard mouth, as you know. This is why you are holding & winning fish better with the initial fish – rather what with the later hookups on the same lure. Hooks must be sharpened between hookups and any other contact with the hook if you want success. In Australia we fished them (called Bony Herring / up to 6#) in group of 4 fishers, . 3 would fish, the 4th man in the rotation would sharpen hooks after each hookup and also man the cameras (still and Video). This is also common practice for Sails and Marlin. Thanks for listening……d
Thanks for making time to post the helpful comment Daniel!
Fun video Luke, from the sound of things you had a blast. Love fishing from my L2 Fish! I own 4 of them, two sky blue, 1 green and one custom, one of a kind, Red Bull model if anyone is looking to buy one. Happy to say I’ve caught Juvies from all of them. Nothing real big but the mullet run should start soon.
Thanks for making time to post the nice comment Scott! So glad to see that you’re enjoying the L2Fish boards too. I’m in the process of putting a small motor on mine, so that’ll be a whole lot of fun this winter for chasing fish way back in the backwaters.
Is there somewhere I can read up on what the glide retrieve is? That’s new to me.
It’s shown in this video… just a straight retrieve without any rod tip movements so the lure glides through the water.
What was the boat Luke used to catch tarpon?
I was fishing from my paddleboard. Here’s a review video I made about it a while back: https://www.saltstrong.com/articles/l2fish-paddleboard-review/
Good angling 👌🏻 Looked like great sport! 😎👍🏻
Thanks for making time to post the nice comment Dom!
That looked like a real blast. Looking forward to trying the new colors. Now if I can just get those guys to come to the Texas coast.
Thanks for making time to post the nice comment Mike!
Great tip, Luke! I have hooked and lost 3 tarpon this year. They are somewhat unusual for our area. There is one place that I have seen them several times, but have not found anything they will hit. I will try this setup. The ones I see are in a deep hole (15 ft.) I see them rolling. Would you alter you presentation in deeper water?
For deeper water, they often seem to feed closer to the bottom so I’d go with a jig head to be able to glide the shrimp lure closer to the bottom.
Awesome!
Thanks Jeffery!
Wow great job Luke, can’t wait to get my first Tarpon.
Thanks for making time to post the nice comment George! I hope you catch you first tarpon soon.
What knot were you using when you tied the prawn to leader?
I use a blood knot to connect the main leader to the bite tippet. And then a 2 turn non-slip loop knot to the lure.