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New Record?

10K views 21 replies 14 participants last post by  Bullitt 
#1 ·
#4 · (Edited)
When I saw the original photos on Facebook, I doubted it was a 245 lb fish. My guess was about a 210 lb fish. The article says the fish was 81 x 46. Even if the length measurement was fork length, which most anglers in Texas measure overall length, the fish comes in around 225 lbs. (assuming all measurements are correct and they actually had a tape measure). I find most anglers guess measurements using spare leader/fishing line or trying to use some other highly inaccurate measurement, since most don't carry that length of tape. Giving them the benefit of the doubt that they had an actual tape, the fish comes in at around 225lbs. (check it here - http://www.itarpon.org/how-much-does-it-weigh-.html) No doubt a big fish but not 245 lbs. Sorry. Wish the author of the article had done some simple homework on that one before publishing information which is inaccurate. The fish will not be certified as a state records. Still, nice fish.
 
#5 ·
PS - I did some standard calculating to try and determine how they might have come up with 247.6 lbs as a weight. Best I can figure, the numbers were close to 81x46 and running the historic Length x Girth(squared)/800 you still are weight short of 247 lbs. My guess is they did it by dividing by 700 and not 800. That lands you really close to the 247. Again, that is all speculation.
 
#11 ·
Just FYI - I don't mean to be knocking these guys. Any way you slice it, this is a fish of a lifetime and a couple lifetimes on the Texas coast. Measuring large tarpon is an art, even for guys that are fully equipped to land and measure big fish. It is difficult under the best of circumstances. Over-estimating is very common and totally understandable. Everybody just needs to remember that all the weight calculations and weight graphs for tarpon are FORK LENGTH, not overall length. Texas is an odd-ball state in that we measure fish to overall length, not like most states that use fork length. This creates lots of confusion and confusion on the water as to what the fish weighs. The original Length x Girth(squared)/800 was originally designed for tarpon and has been used on all different types of fish. While close, research has shown that once the fish get bigger, it is less accurate. The guys I work with at the University of Miami have really done a lot of work. The weight graph (click here) that we use now is based on a lot of catch data just for tarpon. The formula is way to complicated to try and do by hand. BTT has/had an app for that, but it was using an older version of the formula and is not as accurate. We are hoping to get a similar app prepared using the new formula for 2018. Stay tuned.

The only thing I will add is that if you intend to release a large tarpon (over 70 lbs), it is best to leave it in the water. Tarpon are tough, so we can't say one way or the other if this fish died, but the chances go way down if they are pulled from the water. Also something that many anglers do not know. Based on the messy deck, I don't feel positive about this fish's chances. Even if a tarpon looks good when it swims away, it can die quickly thereafter.
 
#14 ·
http://www.chron.com/lifestyle/trav...d-breaking-tarpon-13290117.php#photo-16297241

If they released her, where did they catch her? Port O, but that certainly looks pretty far inshore. Anyone hear anymore details than the article?
The article states that they were catching bull reds and sharks, which means they were likely fishing at the jetties. The fish was probably hooked at the jetties and then swam inland. The shore in the background could be Chester Island or the backside of Matagorda Island.
 
#19 ·
Looks like it was caught by accident in Saluria Bayou. If they killed it, they should have weighed it back on shore. If they dropped it overboard, it's doubtful it survived. One thrash of that tail, and those guys would have dropped it or been knocked overboard. It doesn't look that big to me.
 
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