When reaching for the lower jaw, first look for the hook placement. I also learned this the hard way. Having a 7/0 Owner completely through my middle finger and the 100# leader still attached to a 120# tarpon is certainly "the hard way." Most of the time tarpon are hooked in the button or top lip (in the middle), but not always. When I grab the lower jaw I also try to do it slow and smooth to keep the fish as calm as possible.
As soon as you have the jaw, have the camera person bump the boat forward very slowly. Either with the trolling motor or the main engine. The momentum will lay the fish out next to the boat. Lift his head a little and take the photo. I then just put his head back down in the water and with a little pull forward the fish is on his way.
Tarpon can live more than 80 years. I try my best to respect the fish we all love so much. I think our method of releasing fish and obtaining a quality photograph, while decreasing the stress on the animal is the most effective and sportsman-like method of releasing a tarpon.
The Great
Lip-Gaff Debate
Capt. Bennett's comments concerning lip gaffing of tarpon are well taken. Doing no harm, or the
least amount of harm possible to the tarpon is the best practice. However, lip gaffing of tarpon is not as detrimental as many think. When tarpon are tagged for research, lip gaffs are necessary to control the tarpon. With all the tarpon satellite tagged, not a single one is considered to have died as a result of a lip-gaff. The hole heels quickly and does not interfere with feeding.
That is not to say that lip-gaffing a tarpon with a conventional gaff and pole and then raising the tarpon out of the water is a good practice. You will often see this practice at lodges in remote areas, such as Costa Rica. This practice can harm the fish and should never be done.
If you need a lip-gaff due to the lure you are using or due to hook placement, don't be concerned that you will kill the fish. Keep a quality swim gaff on the boat, but use it only when you must.
The video below shows how to effectively use a swim gaff to revive a tarpon. (Starting at 4 minutes into the video). This fish weighed 199 lbs. She was exhausted and refused to come to life holding the jaw. We used the swim gaff to allow the fish to swim free with the boat moving about 1.5 knots in forward. The fish revived and survived. In fact, over the next four months she swam from Texas to the Bay of Campeche.
Photos Courtesy of Capt. Mark Bennett