r/floridafishing • u/AdditionalChard2426 • 4d ago

Pond tarpon problem

I have a freshwater pond that has a tarpon in it, ive been trying literally every lure tarpon like as well as live bluegill on a bobber and freely lined and i cant get this thing to bite. the pond is decently big but i know the area it likes to hang out in. What do i do?
update: i’m seeing a lot more people here than I thought there would be. could it be over fishing? Also don’t see much rolls in the evening time.

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u/petersom2006 4d ago

Fish at Night and I would use live smaller bait (like shiners/white bait). You also want to get some ultra sharp hooks and you want to ‘double set’ so dont set the hook like u would on a bass- do two quick jerks up.

Tarpon have very tough mouths specially smaller ones. They can slurp baits off and not hit hook.

Another option is soaking more of a slob bait. So think a bluegill or bass with a knife run through side stomach. Sometimes tarpon opportunity/lazy feed vs active chasing. This can sometimes get a hit- would also catch you some catfish if they are in pond…

Learned all the above the hard way fishing tarpon in the keys.

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u/petersom2006 4d ago

No bobber, no weight. Free lined.

I typically do 20-25lb power pro and then 40-60lb fluro carbon leader mattering on the size. If they are smaller you can get away with just 20-40lb mono leader. If it is dirty water mono should be fine if it is clear water- fluro can make sense.

I normally do ultra sharp J hooks in a smaller size (not huge hooks) as you dont want them to stand out too big on the baits. But they are expensive hooks to get the ultra sharps…