Discovering Tarpon Behavior

Also known as the Silver King, the tarpon is one of the most popular species for Atlantic deep sea fishing. Tarpon tend to fluctuate to two main areas, the Eastern Atlantic regions of Senegal, Angola, and parts of Europe. The other area that Tarpon fluctuate to is towards the Western Atlantic coastal region, mostly in the Southern United States. However, recently as you may have seen on a Canadian fishing show, the Tarpon have begun to migrate towards Atlantic Canada, showing up in places like Nova Scotia. Thanks to Ciamillio for the image

Silver King tarpon refers to a specific breed of tarpon, which has silver coloring along the side and belly. This type of tarpon is the most referred to by fishing experts. However, it should be noted, that the Silver King tarpon is not the only breed of tarpon. Rather, another breed of tarpon commonly sought after is that of the Dorsally.

The Dorsally tarpon differ from the Silver King, in that while the Silver King has a silver side and belly, the Dorsally varies in color from dark blue to greenish black. What’s more, because these two breeds of tarpon are at different stages of growth, they also have particular eating habits.

For instance, stage I tarpon larvae feed off of nutrients and directly within the seawater. Yet stages II and III larvae of tarpon absorb what is called zooplankton, along with small insects and other types of fish. Moreover, tarpon vary in size depending on stage from levels I to III.

Tarpon can grow to as big as 120 centimeters. As a result, the bigger they get, the hungrier they get. This means that with age and growth, the tarpon expand their eating cycle, from once a day to both day and night. In the Atlantic regions where the brunt of Tarpon is located, they tend to prey on marine fish, cat fish, and occasionally crabs and shrimp. Which all anglers should keep in mind when selecting tarpon baits.