Best of Mike #76

Technically, this is not a great picture but I like it anyway.

It has a bit of an artistic feel to it ... and is pretty representative for what a Tarpon looks like when you see them underwater.

I took this picture on a dive to the Hilma Hooker.... a wreck that lays on it's side, up against the reef, in about 100ft of water.

The water was pretty stirred up that day so the visibility was poor. 

Tarpons are big, growing to be 5-8 ft and have very silvery scales. 

But they are a little stand-offish.... so they tend to be out their in the gloom, just like you see here.

They are predators and are comfortable in pretty much any kind of water ... fresh, salt, clear or brackish. Because of a unique swim bladder that they use for both a buoyancy and as a respiratory organ.

They are prized as a saltwater gamefish, not because of taste.... but because of their size and the fight they put up, including their great leaping ability.