tarpon fishing in Goa

[deangonsalves]

Hey guys
I did go out fishing last weekend up the mandovi river in Goa and hooked up with some sea tarpon and barrmundi. The fish were caught on live bait - prawns on the ebbing tide.
Does anybody have more information on the tarpon, would these fish take readily on spinning, meps etc ? how big do they grow ? I believe the big one would make excellent game on light tackle.

[PanamaJack]

Hi Dean
Its scientific name is Megalops cyprinoides and it’s often referred to as an Oxeye Tarpon. There much smaller that their Atlantic ‘cousins’ reaching a maximum size of 18 kilos (40lbs) and a length of 1.5 metres (under 5’). (The current World record from Australia though is tiny, less than 3 kilos.) But they jump just like the ‘Atlantics’! So great sport fish. They’re probably even more of a challenge on a fly rod.

Atlantic Tarpon (Megalops atlanticus) apart from being found both sides of the Atlantic have also migrated through the Panama Canal. And fish up to nearly 270lbs in weight have been caught, in isolated pockets, in Panama and Costa Rica.
Dave

[PanamaJack]

Dean
The eyes aren't as large on the Atlantic Tarpon - a small fish taken on the fly and you can see how much fun they can be on a fly rod. I'm sure I've also got a jumping shot somewhere.
Dave
PS The fish were taken from Cuba.

[deangonsalves]

Hi Dave,
thanks for the info, the fish u caught I guess was an Atlantic Tarpon. There is very little info on the behavioural and migration pattern of the Tarpon here in Goa. They come in around the monsoons from the sea and make their way up the river. Some of the Tarpon caught by the locals reach up to 7 to 8 kilos caught on live bait . The tarpon I took was on live bait on the ebbing tide, lost another one which was easily in the 2 kilo range - the hook slipped off. If you say the world record of the Megalops cyprinoides is about 3 kilos then I have a good chance in a hope of landing one bigger. The tarpon was huntign along with barrmundi cause I caught a barrmundi soon after the tarpon. Will however make a record of all details this weekend when I am hunting them.
regards
Dean

ps I had caught a tarpon about the same size high up in the jungles streams off Goa some years ago. - could that be a river tarpon





Hi Dean
Its scientific name is Megalops cyprinoides and it’s often referred to as an Oxeye Tarpon. There much smaller that their Atlantic ‘cousins’ reaching a maximum size of 18 kilos (40lbs) and a length of 1.5 metres (under 5’). (The current World record from Australia though is tiny, less than 3 kilos.) But they jump just like the ‘Atlantics’! So great sport fish. They’re probably even more of a challenge on a fly rod.

Atlantic Tarpon (Megalops atlanticus) apart from being found both sides of the Atlantic have also migrated through the Panama Canal. And fish up to nearly 270lbs in weight have been caught, in isolated pockets, in Panama and Costa Rica.
Dave

[kendes]

Hi Dean,

I will be in Goa from the 25th June and would like some advice on the best spots to fish. My fishing is restricted to beach or bank fishing as I am prone to sea sickness when in a boat. How far up river did you go to catch the tarpon ?

I have fished in goa before off the beach but catches consisted mainly of cat fish. Do you have a meeting place for like minded anglers.? It would be great to meet.

[deangonsalves]

Hi kendes
welcome to goa, here is the latest information.
The monsoons have set in all its vigor, the sea is rough hence most of the sea shore fishing its unfeasible due to rough sea. Hence the estuary's your best option. There are 2 rivers which you can work with, one is the Mandovi which has Panjim on its banks, the other is the Zuari, a big river, which has potential but I haven't had a chance to fish it extensively.
The Tarpon we were hooked up was about 15 kms up river from the mouth on live bait, as lures don't seem to be working during this season. The best option is for me to take you out personally, but that can only happen on weekends. The better option is I could hook u up to a good fishing guide that I usually go out with, the guy is trust worthy, efficient and will takecare off the local logistic including obtaining the best live bait possible, which is the key into hooking up with a Barrumndi or Tarpon. Give me call when you are in Goa and we can meet up and we shall sort it all out.
cheers
Dean
ph: 9820172430









Hi Dean,

I will be in Goa from the 25th June and would like some advice on the best spots to fish. My fishing is restricted to beach or bank fishing as I am prone to sea sickness when in a boat. How far up river did you go to catch the tarpon ?

I have fished in goa before off the beach but catches consisted mainly of cat fish. Do you have a meeting place for like minded anglers.? It would be great to meet.

[Estuary Perch]

Megalops cyprinoides, also called Ox Eye Herring is an exact miniature replica of its larger cousin the Atlantic Tarpon. I have fished for them since I was 10 years old and have not yet seen one larger than about 6 pounds. Here in Sri Lanka they frequent estuaries, brackish water rivers and occasionally upstream in fresh water. Basically, they are where you would find Barramundi. I have caught them on spoons, feathers and have seen them caught on flies too. The 90cm floating 'Surecatch Gobimaru' lure too is an excellent plug for them but is rather light to cast with. Remember, they have very soft mouths and any 'muscling' will tear the hook out of their mouth. They are very bony and therefore not much good for the table - so, catch and release, they are great fun on light tackle.

[Estuary Perch]

Correction regarding my post above - should read as 9cm floating 'Surecatch Gobimaru' lure. Not 90CM.

[PanamaJack]

Megalops cyprinoides, also called Ox Eye Herring is an exact miniature replica of its larger cousin the Atlantic Tarpon. …….

Remember, they have very soft mouths and any 'muscling' will tear the hook out of their mouth. They are very bony and therefore not much good for the table - so, catch and release, they are great fun on light tackle.

Hi Estuary Perch
That’s quite intriguing. Atlantic Tarpon (Megalops atlanticus) mouths contain a series of bony plates that are similarly difficult to get hook holds in. (I've even heard it described as likening to driving a hook into a cinder block.) Certainly amongst guides in Florida there used to be two totally different schools of thought in terms of hooks. Some would carefully sharpen them so that they would literally dig into your finger nail when drawn across them. Whereas others, and I have to say this is the school of thought I used to subscribe to, would use hooks ‘straight out of the box’ – the logic being, in that the Tarpon initially shuts its mouth, the hook would ‘skate’ around until it found a decent hold between the bony plates. Certainly using that method I found we lost far fewer fish when they jumped.

There is of course the old adage, and it still holds true, ‘bow to the King’. When the Tarpon jumps, and I understand Ox Eyes do, you thrust your rod tip towards the fish to prevent the head shaking dislodging the hook.

When I initially identified the ‘two totally different schools of thought’ though more recently most guides, both sides of the Atlantic now, are fishing baits on circle hooks. Obviously a totally different technique, in that you don’t strike just gradually tighten the drag. But normally the hook ends up lodging in the scissors with the barb pulled through to the outside of the jaw. Might be worth a try with the Ox Eyes?
Dave

[ms1000]

Dave,like you say ive had 2 different experinces with regards to hook points when Tarpon fishing.One guide i used in Mexico used to almost dull the point when using live bait and we landed a reasonable percentage.Then in Florida a guide we hired for the day used wet and dry paper to hone the point so it was needle sharp.

Horses for courses i suppose.

[Estuary Perch]

Hello Dave,

I have not tried circle hooks, since, for the last 15 years or so I have only used artificial lures and do not use a baited hook anymore. I am sure they work well for these fish and I have some fellow angling buddies who swear by them.

On the topic of circle hooks which we all seem to think are a new 'thing' here is a quote that may interest you, quote "The concept of a circle hook is almost as old as fishing itself. Archeologists have found ancient circle-style hooks made of reindeer horn in Japan, and similar designs of shell from Polynesia. In North America, Native Americans from the West Coast carved bone hooks that resemble some of today's designs" unquote.

The problem we encounter is not so much that the hooks don't readily 'set' in the Ox Eye Herrings mouth, but, the fact that though they are small in size they are very fast and strong for their size and if not played delicately on a light drag their acrobatic antics end up with them leaving a piece of their mouths behind on the hook.
I agree with dropping the rod tip and pointing it at the fish when it jumps to reduce the chances of the fish throwing the hook. A lot of our light tackle game fish here are very aerobatic - the Queen Fish and the Barramundi to name a few.