Tarpon Tournament Fever takes Trinidad!

Written by Contributing Writer Captain Jonathan de la Rosa of Island Yacht Charters Ltd.

Talk to a group of enthused sport fishermen, and nine out of ten will tell you that trolling the depths, in search of big Marlin, is the Holy Grail of sport fishing. A marlin popping up in your spread is without a doubt, the most exhilarating experience known to amateurs and professionals alike. However, we cannot all be born to places like Hawaii, Ghana, Panama etc. Destinations where some of us would give almost anything, just to spend a couple days mining five 130′s waiting for that “Holy Grail”.

Captain Johnny leaders a beast during a charter.

We are however blessed to be living in the Tarpon fishing capital of the world. That’s my biased opinion anyway and for good reason. If there is anywhere else in the world where you can leave the dock at four in the afternoon, spend ten minutes traveling to the fishing grounds and be hooked up on multiple Tarpon drift after drift…. Please…relieve me of my ignorance.

Trinidad also offers something unique to the rest of the Tarpon “hot spots” – Deep water. Deep water along with strong currents adds a whole different dimension to the tenacity of these incredible game fish. It is this cocktail therefore, that makes fishing Tarpon in Trinidad the next best thing to being hooked up on a Blue Marlin. Local anglers differ in their approach when it comes to gear. Whether light tackle or heavier conventional weaponry, you can be assured an epic battle. Captains also revel in the opportunity of putting the boat in reverse and sinking the transom. This is big game fishing!

Real 'Up Close and Personal' Action!

Just last year Sport Fishing magazine hailed Trinidad as: The 3rd best place to fish for Tarpon in the world. Pretty impressive when you think that not too long ago recreational fishermen regarded Tarpon as more of a nuisance than anything else.
It was roughly eighteen years ago when I was first introduced to targeting this species specifically. Very unpopular at the time, only a handful of boats were interested in catching a fish that had little monetary value and less pot appeal.

The fishery really started to take shape when Wabba (Iain Milne), introduced us to a childhood friend of his – Dan Jacobs. It just so happened that Dan worked for a little publication called Sport Fishing Magazine. Dan and his team from Sport Fishing were instrumental in getting this budding fishery off the ground. From the introduction of circle hooks and many other techniques so commonly used today, to magazine spreads and television shows, Dan has from day one, believed Trinidad to be the next frontier for traveling anglers in search of Tarpon.

The king of the Silver Kings..."Dellas" releases another beast!

Being a charter captain for the past eighteen years, I have personally seen an increase year after year, in both traveling anglers and locals wanting to get in on this experience. From professional anglers in search of world records to amateurs here on business, they all leave the boat with the same expression – “Wow”!

We have also had the opportunity of working with Capt. Bruce Ungar from the University of Miami in successfully tagging and tracking multiple big Tarpon, using both conventional tags and pop off satellite tags in trying to better understand the behavior of these fish. Yet still…. we have barely touched on the full potential of this sleeping giant.

Top Tarpon Angler and First Mate Michael de Freitas passes on the stoke of the battle!

The first Tarpon tournament was held in 2003 and was hosted by Wabba himself. Along with Captain Gary “Gaff” Story they held the first ever -Trinidad Tarpon Rodeo. The tournament was a great success; so much so, it again spurred the interest of Jacobs and Sport Fishing Magazine. In 2005 the first international Trinidad Tarpon Bash was held. Dan managed to seek the interest of 53 anglers hailing from the U.S. and Trinidad and Tobago. With 62 releases posted and the publicity and hype from the publication, the following year saw significant improvement with 60 anglers releasing 108 Tarpon.

A close call at the gunnel!

The Trinidad and Tobago Game Fishing Association took over the mantle in 2007 and have worked very hard in building on the foundation set by the tournaments before. The Trinidad Tarpon Thunder is now one of the most exciting and sought after tournaments on the TTGFA calendar. Last year the tournament attracted an odd 25 boats and 110 anglers from all over the globe.

The 2007 edition of the Tarpon Thunder saw the first Tarpon record initiated in Trinidad and Tobago – 186 pounds caught by J.P Agostini. Since then, the fixture has been named an “all release” tournament in hopes of promoting conservation and awareness.

A monster rolls on the surface during an epic battle.

2011 also sees the addition of a second Tarpon tournament in the Rotary clubs inaugural – Trini Tarpon Tournament. This tournament will once again re-introduce a live weigh-in scale and the services of Mr. Jacob.
Both of these tournaments are qualifying events for the 2012 Offshore World Championships.

Through the years local anglers have been constantly improving on their techniques, hence greatly increasing the numbers of Tarpon being released on a weekly basis. Trinidad and Tobago can very well boast some of the best live bait fishermen in the world. There is not a weekend that goes by where hot spots like Point Cura or Boos Bay, are not accompanied by scores of sport fishing enthusiasts: Men, women and children of all ages.

The powerful and unique Tarpon has a new found value to the Trinidad fishery... it worth way more alive than dead!

Like a hand full of other local captains, I have been privileged to play a part in molding this fishery to what it has become today. I have had the pleasure of imparting some of my experience onto many younger (and elderly) anglers and have gladly witnessed the increase in competition that each year brings.

So…who wants to go to Cabo?

Tight lines
Capt. Jonathan de la Rosa
Island Yacht Charters Ltd.

http://www.islandyachtcharters.net/

https://www.facebook.com/groups/112534198764273/

August and September will see two World Class Tarpon Tournaments being hosted in Trinidad. For more information on the up coming Tarpon Tournaments check out these links:

http://ttgfa.com/events/tarpon-thunder-tournament

http://trinitarpontournament.yolasite.com/

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