Marie with big tarpon, from the late 70's courtesy of George Parham

I'd be almost scared if I ran into that one, even with a speargun.

About 7 years ago I was up at Basil Jones in a boat. We saw a tarpon jump almost all the way out of the water and then abruptly flop over on it's side. We took the boat over to the floating tarpon, and discovered that the tail had been bitten off - so cleanly that the tarpon was not yet bleeding (but definitely dead). We hauled it into the boat and took it back to San Pedro. Without the tail, this tarpon was over 5 feet long .......... if you snorkel at Basil Jones, do it in a group and watch your back.

I've seen a pile of Tarpon, but nothing remotely that big. They do have a cavernous mouth, but I don't think they attack people.

Monster of a fish

Thanks god we now have learn't to catch and release to allow such a behemoth the luxury of life after we have had our fun catching it and allowing it to be caught again another day.

Gaz

From a friend...

There was a time in my twenties, when big fish were normal in Belize. 36 lb lobster, 600
pound Jewfish, a three hundred pound jewfish was considered a baby. Conchs that were 18
inchs across.

That was Belize had even a smaller population than today. 40 years ago, just think Belize
had 60,000 people or thereabouts. Game meat was the food on the mainland, venison, gibnot
and such. I had a girl tourist of twelve years old, speared a Hogfish that was twice her
weight and size. She was unable to get it in the boat it was so big out at Caye Bokel.
One time I speared a black snapper that towed me a hundred yards underwater like I was a
tinker toy.

I'm afraid like the American Indian and the Buffalo, the days of plenty and living off the
land, bush and sea are gone for the next generation in most of Belize, except Toledo. You
still get plenty of fish and game, but they are things we would have rejected and thrown back
to grow up, when I was in my twenties. People lived subsistance. It was a great life back
then. Such nostalgic memories. I'm glad I lived through those years to see what it was in
old British Honduras. As population grows the complexity of life gets more expensive and
while the material things make life easier, it consumes a whole lot more labor. There is not
the leisure time for socializing we had back then.

from another friend...

As a matter of fact Tarpons that size still exist. My wife and I were lobster fishing just before the second pregnancy (about 8 months ago) and a tarpon of this size almost made me run on top of the water. No kidding, I first thought it was a shark since I had never seen one almost double my size in the water.

How is the tarpon fishing in March?
I was in AC 2 years ago and my guide talked me out of going for tarpon b/c he said they were sparse in March. Thanks

If I remember, the tarpon come into the Reef and on the flats in August and sept. Once we saw this a huge school of tarpon off by Mexico rocks. We were snorkeling and we followed them. Of course everything looks bigger under the water, but these tarpon were as large as me. I am 6 feet and i weigh about 185 pounds. There are somewhat landlocked tarpon, they spend a good part of their lifes in the lagoons in Belize rural. I have caught several of them in the back of the old northern road near Maskall. We used Belam, or freshwater sprat. These tarpon are great jumpers and can spit a hook in a split second ! Best-Wishes, Mel S....by the way, watch out for ESPN's listing this coming week about fishing in Belize.

Oh, that's right Mel, I wrote them down for our son-in-law. He went this past October and loved it in Southern Belize.

Feb. 12 @ 10 AM and Feb. 17 @ 9:30 is what I have written and that's on ESPN 2.

If I remember correct, Belize River Lodge will have representation too, Mr. Mike.
Thanks for the reminder.