# Anyone ever eat tarpon? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 7, 2004, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-ever-eat-tarpon/278552 "2004-12-07T15:08:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2004, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-ever-eat-tarpon/278552/1 "2004-12-07T15:08:40Z")
Tarpon are known for being a great game fish, but according to everything I’ve read they don’t make for good eating because they have a pretty strong taste, the flesh is oily, and they are very bony. OK, so it’s not particularly “edible,” but it is still “eatable.” Anyone ever tried it? ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Scrappy\_Hero\_Pup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ea5d25/32.png) [@Happy\_Scrappy\_Hero\_Pup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Scrappy_Hero_Pup)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2004, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-ever-eat-tarpon/278552/2 "2004-12-07T15:11:00Z")
Dude. That’s just nasty. Put “TMI” in the header or something. (oh. taRpon. carry on, then.) ---
**Author:** ![usar\_jag](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f0a364/32.png) [@usar\_jag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/usar_jag)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2004, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-ever-eat-tarpon/278552/3 "2004-12-07T15:13:00Z")
> [@Happy Scrappy Hero Pup](#): > > Dude. That’s just nasty. I’m glad I’m not the only one… ---
**Author:** ![Wonko\_The\_Sane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/258eb7/32.png) [@Wonko\_The\_Sane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wonko_The_Sane)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2004, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-ever-eat-tarpon/278552/4 "2004-12-07T21:06:35Z")
> [@Happy Scrappy Hero Pup](#): > > Dude. That’s just nasty. > > Put “TMI” in the header or something. > > (oh. taRpon. carry on, then.) I was too slow… ---
**Author:** ![Hal\_Briston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2004, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-ever-eat-tarpon/278552/5 "2004-12-07T22:32:12Z")
Heh…think it might be time for another one of [these](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=286131) threads. ---
**Author:** ![Ignatz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/3be4f8/32.png) [@Ignatz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ignatz)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2004, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-ever-eat-tarpon/278552/6 "2004-12-08T01:31:14Z")
Oh, I thought you meant tarpaulin. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2004, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-ever-eat-tarpon/278552/7 "2004-12-08T04:39:16Z")
For a second, I thought it said _tampon_!!! :eek: ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2004, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-ever-eat-tarpon/278552/8 "2004-12-08T04:59:41Z")
It taste’s… ummm… kinda cottony. ---
**Author:** ![js\_africanus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/87869e/32.png) [@js\_africanus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/js_africanus)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2004, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-ever-eat-tarpon/278552/9 "2004-12-08T14:11:54Z")
Never had the fish; but I, too, am pleased to know that I wasn’t the only person misreading the title. ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2004, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-ever-eat-tarpon/278552/10 "2004-12-08T15:40:04Z")
I keep checking back in here for a serious reply. [Tarpon](http://marinefisheries.org/FishID/tarpon.html) are [very impressive](http://www.g-feuerstein.com/Allgemein/tarponWR.htm) fish and I believe that most anglers either release them or keep them as trophies. I do know that other bonefish which might otherwise be considered inedible are okay if you smoke them (waits for the smartasses to come back in on that one). But any fish as big as a tarpon seems bound to have some “oogy” parasites. ---
**Author:** ![hawthorne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@hawthorne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hawthorne)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2004, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-ever-eat-tarpon/278552/11 "2004-12-08T15:41:11Z")
No wonder they’re so easy to catch.