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Tournament Tagging Results
This fall, three tarpon were tagged with PAT Tags on the upper and middle Texas coast. Two were tagged
during the Tarpon Tomorrow Pro-Am off Galveston. Both fish were tagged within minutes of each other on August 5th.
The final fish was tagged on September 10th in Matagroda Bay, just inside Pass Cavallo during the Tarpon Tomorrow Invitational
Tournament out of Port O'Connor. The following is the tag data obtained so far. This page will be periodically
updated as new data is obtained.
Tag #1
This tag was scheduled to pop-off on Christmas day. It has prematurely popped-off along the coast
of Matagorda Island about mid way between Port O'Connor and Port Aransas. This tag has not been retrieved as of this
date. Obtaining the tag is important so that we can determine why it popped off early. The tag popped off around
October 9th. As data is received from this tag, it will be posted here.
Tag #2
The second tag placed was scheduled to pop off in January 2007. It also popped off early. It came
off the fish at noon on August 9th. The fish had traveled over 150 miles since August 5th. The tag popped off
again in the area of Matagorda Island, about 10 miles south of Pass Cavallo. The pictures of this fish being tagged
and the data retrieved is posted below (as or if more data is obtained, it will be posted):
| Data Plot from Tag |
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| Plot Showing Depth as Percentage of Time Each Day |
Tag #3
The third tag was placed in a fish caught in fourteen feet of water about a mile inside Matagorda Bay.
The tag was placed on September 10th and popped off early. More detailed data to follow. What we know is that
the fish left the bay shortly after being tagged. The tarpon then swam north toward Freeport and returned to Matagorda
Bay where the tag popped off on November 30, 2006. The fish only spent three days during the entire 81 day period in
Matagorda Bay.
The results indicate that the tarpon left the Matagorda Bay about 3 hours after
being tagged and only returned to the Bay 78 days later on Nov 26. The fish was tagged around 8:30am on Sep 10 in about
5 meter (15 ft) depth. The fish left the Bay about 11:30am. Then, the fish spent next 3 days in offshore water as indicated
by deep depths of over 60 ft. From Sep 15 to Nov 15, the tarpon was in 10 to 15 m.
From the data collected, it is most likely that the fish was near Freeport, Texas.
From Nov 15 to 26, the tarpon was in 20 to 30 m (60 to 90 ft) offshore waters. On Nov 27, the tarpon returned to the Matagorda
Bay, and the popoff location 3 days after was inside the bay. The tag was detached from the tarpon on Nov 28 (Fig 5A),
and washed up to the shoreline of Bayucos Island on Nov 30.
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| Projected Fish Track Based on Tag Data |
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