Spring arrives and you're out fishing and something akin to a silvery rocket takes your fly.  Tarpon!  It's likely that the encounter will end with a broken leader and the sound of your racing pulse pounding in your ears.  Maybe it's a little tarpon and you land it but realize that it falls short of the 20-pound minimum to qualify for the 2010 Founder's Award and you release it.  Or maybe it's over 20-pounds and you bring it home to be documented as an entry. 

If you land a tarpon you can help advance the state of scientific knowledge on tarpon on the Mississippi Coast.  Jim Franks at the Gulf Coast Research Laboratory would like to hear about any encounter with a tarpon in this area.   Jim recently received a grant from the Department of Marine Resources to work with tarpon.  HOSSFLY folks who catch a tarpon (of any size, released or sacrificed) or know of anyone who catches a tarpon can contact Jim at 228-369-4301 or 228-872-4202. 

To qualify for the Founder's Award the tarpon must weigh at least 20 pounds and it must be weighed by a qualified person to qualify for a state record.  That's almost certainly going to mean killing the fish. Jim Franks can act as weighmaster and biologist for your state tarpon record application.  And he'll have a valuable opportunity to examine the fish in detail and take tissue samples for research.  You'll still be able to have the fish mounted if you like.