The Cape Coral Tarpon Hunters Club History

50th Year Anniversary 2021

 

The Cape Coral Tarpon Hunters Club began in 1971, the same year that Cape Coral was incorporated. Prior to 1970, the Cape's members were part of the Fort Myers Beach Tarpon Club. The "new" club in Cape Coral continues today with several hundred members, some of whom have caught over six hundred Tarpon in their "career". Total Club catches and releases at the end of the 2021 season stood at 10,105 which averages about 200 fish per year throughout our fifty years.  Some recent seasons have seen releases of approximately 500 fish. The club also participates in tagging research programs and has tagged over 2000 fish, with some interesting recapture results.

   

In 1988 the club became a total "catch and release" club in order to enhance the survival rate of Megalops atlanticus (Tarpon). Steps for additional protection were taken a few years later with rules requiring the use of circle hooks which are much less likely to jeopardize the Tarpon.

The following (below left) is a summary by year that was assembled by Bob Locker in 2012 from available original notes, newsletters and articles. It includes available information on activity dates, officers, directors, milestones, organizational activities and fish caught statistics. Below right is an updated version of Bob Locker's work by David Quarles in 2024. The reader will notice that some names are probably misspelled year to year, but since DQ did not know for sure the proper spelling, he made little attempt at correction.

 

 

 

 

 

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