Tarpon Fishing and Catching The Elusive Silver King - Megalops AtlanticusWritten by Greg Smith
Learn more about this magnificent ocean creature at http://www.tarpon-fishing-i.com/. Growing to lengths of more than eight feet and weighing more than 280 pounds, it is easy to see why tarpon is one of most sought after saltwater gamefish in world. It's habitat is close to shoreline so fishermen of all types and skill levels can catch them.If you have ever had priviledge of hooking up on a big tarpon then you know exhilaration and thrill of testing yourself in battle against one of most sought after gamefish in world. This distinction is easy to see at first glance as tarpon starts a series of spectacular acrobatic leaps in air that will have your heart pounding, your rod bending and your drag screaming. You better hold on! Since tarpon's habitat is so close to shoreline, fishermen of all types and skill levels can catch them. They can be caught from jetties, passes, docks, bridges, beaches, piers and rivers. Tarpon can be caught while using many types of tackle, rods, baits, lures and rigs either while fishing from a boat, canoe, kayak or walking and wading from shoreline as tarpon work up and down beaches. Live bait fishermen's bait of choice is 'dollar crab'. A small live blue crab about two inches across its carapace, hooked through one end of it's shell or underneath through a swimmer leg. Other extremely effective live baits include pinfish, threadfin herrings and pilchards. On days when tarpon is being finicky in it's tablefare selection, try these for best results, and oh, by way, don't forget about a live mullet. If you can get them, use them. Flyfishermen are not left out either. The stealth of casting right fly can sometimes be trick to hooking up. But Just What is a Tarpon? Scientific classification: Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Actinopterygii Order: Elopiformes Family: Megalopidae Genus: Megalops
| | Lightweight Backpacking: An ExampleWritten by Steve Gillman
I was in Weminuche Wilderness Area when snow came. It was my second day out of Silverton, where locals told me it rains or snows every day in August. I made a note to myself to do some research next time. Then I made a note to myself to find trail. I was lost again. Lightweight Backpacking I came to San Juan Mountains in Colorado to try my new gear. I used a tarp shelter, and a light down sleeping bag. The first rainy night I stayed dry. A good start, but now above trees, I was lost in rolling tundra, unable to find trail under several inches of snow. I had my ultralight rainsuit on, though, and I was fine. It was beautiful, with mountains appearing all around at every break in weather. Eventually I found myself on map. The sun came out, and there were white mountain tops rising out of green forests everywhere. Mountain goats played on cliffs with me. The fourth morning, I was on my way up Mount Eolus. In Colorado you can go up 14,000-foot mountains without climbing gear. They call them "Walk-ups," but some require more than hiking. The "catwalk" on Eolus, for example, is easy, but only if it's easy for you to walk a three-foot-wide edge, with a drop to your death on either side. I made it to top. Sunlight Peak, a couple hours later, required a leap across a thousand foot drop to reach summit. At least it was an easy jump. Chased off by a thunderstorm, I didn't get to go up nearby Windom Peak.
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