Without doubt the best, big fish, travel spin rod, in the World today!
by Jim O'Donnell

Nine years ago I set myself a goal – to catch my first 100lb Tarpon – and seven years ago, in the Florida Keys, after a few failed trips to North Africa, I finally did. That day my world turned upside down. I quote Frank Sargeant’s book – ‘The Tarpon Book’ – “It’s an addictive business and one that has lead men to spend fortunes, marriages and lifetimes in the pursuit”. Yes that’s me. After my first boat-side encounter with the Silver King, on my return to the UK it wasn’t long before I sold my boat here and purchased a purpose built, specialist Tarpon boat in the Florida Keys! Today, I now run a small holiday company, organising package holidays to the Florida Keys for UK and European anglers seeking to catch big Tarpon. We, of course, target other Keys species like Goliath grouper, Permit, Bonefish, sharks and the likes, but you could say that Tarpon are my vice!

Six years have now passed since I caught my first 100lb Tarpon and I’ve lost count of the number of big ones I’ve caught. Having said that, I’ve always felt that we could have caught more. For the last five Tarpon seasons I’ve been using rods that I wasn’t 100% satisfied with. Don’t get me wrong, they were expensive rods, from world renowned manufacturers, but with each new set-up I bought I always found something wrong - they were either too light, or too heavy, and until now I had yet to find what I would class as the perfect Tarpon rod.



After the 2010 Tarpon season I received an email from a good friend and fellow angler, angling TV star and photo journalist, Henry Gilbey, saying “Jim, have you seen the new travel rods by Fox Sport Fishing – they’re awesome”. Thinking he was talking about the standard Fox Sea range, I replied, “Yeah, I have a few”. Henry came back with “So you’ve seen their Tarpon rod?” – “What Tarpon rod? We are talking about the same Fox aren’t we – Carp/Coarse/Predator giant, Fox International?” I replied, which Henry confirmed. Following that conversation I immediately Googled Fox Sport Fishing and was blown away by what I saw – a complete range of overseas travel gear, designed for all manner of tropical species, including Tarpon! Needless to say within weeks my boat was kitted out with Fox Sport Fishing Bonefish Trek rods, Permit Trek Rods, Diablo reels and of course, Fox Tarpon Trek rods!

The key factors for a Tarpon rod are:
1. A light tip, if the fish feels any resistance, she will spit the bait quicker than you can blink!
2. A through, forgiving action - this gives two things – one its more fun, and two, if the mid-section is too stiff, it encourages the leader to wear through too quickly.
3. And lastly the rod has to have backbone in the lower section. If you ever want to see your Tarpon alongside, the hardest part is bullying it the last few meters to the boat and keeping her there!



Until now I had yet to find the perfect rod that was light in the tip, forgiving but fun through the mid-section without being too light, and with enough backbone in the lower section to finish the fight when the time was right! Without naming and shaming some big companies who are supposed to produce top quality gear, my first quiver of Tarpon rods were like broomsticks, my second set I broke most of them in the space of six weeks, and my third set were so light and flimsy, that it was almost impossible to land one unless you were lucky. And I haven’t even got onto the subject of reels yet, but I’ve burnt out and blown up a few of those too!

The Fox Tarpon Trek Spin is rated as a 20-50lb class rod – like any other 20-50lb class rod, yet it is unlike any other Tarpon rod in the world today as it is made in five equal sections so it packs down to 21 inches, which is perfect for travel. My initial thoughts, before seeing the Tarpon Trek Spin were that it would be impossible to make a 5 piece travel rod, in spin style, that could actually handle over 100lb of fish with ease, without ruining the action. Being brutally honest, I actually thought I’d actually break one too, but I couldn’t have been more wrong!

So how did the new Fox Tarpon Trek Spin perform?
In February the annual migration of Tarpon through the Florida Keys started to arrive early, increasing through March and April, and by the time I arrived at the beginning of May, the action was already starting to show signs of slowing up, but despite this, my hook-up ratio, and the amount of Tarpon we actually got to the side of the boat for a photograph, was up on May 2010! Not including “Technical Releases” (I.G.F.A. leader touches), in May 2010, I fished a total of 30 days and my hook-up ratio was 4/10 and my landing ratio was approximately 2/10 of those hooked. This year, May 2011, in just 25 days, that increased to a hook-up ratio of nearly 7/10 and a landing ratio of 5/10, in five days less fishing, during what was the toughest Tarpon season in over a decade. And all I did differently from 2010 was to use different rods!!!



The improvements in my hook-up ratio and landings this year I can only put down to the Fox Tarpon Trek Spin 30-50lb class. Its light 20lb tip section is nothing less than perfect for a weary feeding fish like Tarpon, which will spit a bait quicker than you can blink if it feels any resistance! Its progressive 30lb mid sections are not only sporting and fun, but by the time the fish has taken the bait and these sections load and lock over, it’s game over! And lastly, the butt section, the only part of this rod that could truly be rated as 50lb class, means that this rod has enough backbone to subdue the biggest of Tarpon, or any other big fish for that matter, and bring them boat-side!

Oh, and by the way, just because this rod is named the “Tarpon Trek Spin” DO NOT go thinking that its use is exclusively for Tarpon. This rod will be happy fighting any fish in the 80-200lb class, where a spin rod is required. Since seeing mine, quite a few of my angling friends have already purchased them to take to Norway in search of Giant Halibut. And as well as big Tarpon, mine have quite happily coped with some huge sharks, to approximately 250lb.



The Fox Sport Fishing Tarpon Trek Spin is without doubt the best, big-fish, travel spin rod, in the world today!

Find out more about the Tarpon Trek Spin!

You can watch Jim in action via the Boat Fishing Monthly video "Florida Tarpon on the Fox Sportfish Trek Tarpon Rod"