This morning I went fishing with my buddy to New Smyrna Beach, and while retrieving a Rapala x-rap with twitches right next to the pile cap wall under the SR 44 bridge, a Tarpon (14-16 lbs) came up and took my crankbait. I actually saw the fish coming up, and knew it was a tarpon, before it took the crankbait. I was swimming it through a school of small mullets.

I set the hook and got the tarpon to the back of the boat and as I was ready to net it, it broke my bass rod (6'6" MH-F) and took my bait.

Note to self: Tarpon tend to be a little bit more feisty than bass, and can ruin your gear if you are not careful! Always have that net nearby.

That had to be a lot of fun.

We don't have many Tarpon in Virginia.  But I've seen them and cast to them in North Carolina.  I was fishing on a friends boat about a mile or so off Oregon Inlet along weedline.   We were fishing for Cobia but saw several LARGE Tarpon porpoising along the weedline.  We were casting those red, rubber tubes that simulate eels, then finally tried some big bucktails.  Never even got their attention.  I would guess they weight upwards of 100 pounds.  They were huge.  

they are easy to spot because you will frequently see them surface ("the tarpon are rolling") for a gulp of air because I've read they have primitive air bladders