Fly Fishing for Tarpon: "The End Game"

Fish for tarpon long enough and you begin to realize that there is no perfect set of gear, no magic technique, no absolute level of skill. In fact the most common pitfall for tarpon anglers is lack of consistency. When we received a copy of Bill Bishop’s new book on tarpon fishing, we opened it hoping that we’d finally hear someone hammer that notion home. Bishop, who spends hundreds of days fly fishing for tarpon each year, didn’t disappoint. His High Rollers (Headwater/Stackpole Books, February 2009, 152 pages) is a plain-spoken guide to being able to find, fight and land tarpon based on decades of trial and error.
A tarpon’s initial take and jumps rivet us, and for many anglers, it’s all that matters. But Bishop likes to land fish quick and remove the hook. This week we excerpt a portion of Bishop’s description of the tarpon end-game, a little-considered topic that he covers extremely well.
High Rollers: Fly Fishing for Giant Tarpon on Amazon.