What are the secrets of livebait fishing for Tarpon?

The key to tarpon fishing is keeping your presentation as natural as possible. Tarpon are fish with a very keen awareness of their surroundings. I learned much about tarpon a long time ago in Florida. I was staying in a place off a saltwater lake that was teaming with tarpon in the twenty to fifty pound range. It was my first time fishing for tarpon. You could see them swimming in the water but whenever I place bait near them they would not grab it. I noticed they would swim by areas that I was fishing with a live pinfish or other proven tarpon bait. One evening I was cleaning a mess of snappers and other fish we caught that day. I took one of the carcasses and threw it into the water. As it slowly floated down I saw a large tarpon neatly grab it and eat it. I naturally then grabbed a fishing pole and tried to simulate the event with another carcass. A tarpon moved towards the offering but turned away. It was then I learned the importance of making your presentations seem natural. First you need to use light line, preferably a light invisible line that does not sink readily. Do not skimp on the line, use premium monofilament or fluorocarbon line. You will of course need a reel that hold several hundred yards of line. When using line this line for large fish you will have a lot of line stripped off in its initial run. Be sure also that you have a sharp hook and rod with sufficient backbone to handle one of these bruisers.