Tarpon are among the most prized of all saltwater gamefish. Why? The answer is because they are challenging just to simply get on hook. To get past that first hurdle, follow these guidelines.

You can buy a Mustad No. 14 circle hook, 4 feet of 150-pound-test monofilament leader and an 80-pound-test barrel swivel and make your own tarpon rigs. However, use vise grips to open a hook up until it's a U-shape. Finally, snell the hook onto the leader.

Take a number of tarpon rigs with you when you fish. To decide the number of tarpon rigs you need to take with you on a tarpon-fishing trip, try to estimate the number of sharks you'll find on the days you fish. On a good day when not many sharks have come to where you're fishing, you'll probably use fewer than 50 rigs. On a day when numbers of shark swim with the tarpon, you may use many more than 50 rigs. That may seem like a lot of rigs, but to fish where the tarpon stay, you will catch some sharks.

Catch your own bait. If you can throw an 8- to 12-foot cast net accurately, you can catch all the free pogies - a bait tarpon love - that you'll need.