Episode 78 of the Tom Rowland Podcast is my conversation with Captain Russell Kleppinger, the angler who caught 814 tarpon in a single year. That number is what caught my eye, so I sat down with him to figure out what he is doing differently. The answer turned out to be an obsession with how tarpon actually see. Russell has dug deep into tarpon vision science with researchers, and what he has learned — about ultraviolet light, color cones, and even facial recognition — has completely reshaped the way he approaches the fish.
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Russell Kleppinger is a tarpon fishing captain and expert who caught 814 tarpon in a single year. He has studied tarpon vision science extensively, working with researchers and light-sample studies, and applies that knowledge to his fishing. His combination of scientific curiosity and practical, on-the-water application has made him one of the most knowledgeable tarpon anglers in the sport.
Russell caught 814 tarpon in a single year. That number is what first caught my attention and led me to invite him on the show. He attributes much of that success not just to time on the water, but to understanding tarpon behavior and vision at a level most anglers never consider.
Russell says scientists he has worked with estimate tarpon see roughly 5,000 times better than the average human eye. He explains that tarpon are born with rods for night vision, then develop five types of cones as they mature — compared to the three humans have — giving them both enhanced low-light vision and a far wider color spectrum, including ultraviolet light.
According to Russell, yes. He says tarpon can perceive ultraviolet light penetrating the water in a spectrum humans cannot see at all. He compares it to a dog whistle we cannot hear, except it is colors instead of sound — an entire range of the spectrum that is simply invisible to us but vivid to a tarpon.
Russell says light-sample studies indicate tarpon can facially recognize humans and tell individual people apart. He acknowledges it sounds almost unbelievable, and that customers often react with disbelief until he explains the research behind it. He ties this capability to their advanced five-cone vision system.
Russell's core point is that once you understand what a tarpon is actually seeing — ultraviolet colors, fine detail, and individual recognition — you fish differently. It influences how he thinks about presentation, fly and lure selection, and his own behavior around the fish. Applying that understanding is a big part of how he reached 814 tarpon in a year.
The number 814 is what hooked me. I have spent my whole life around tarpon, and catching that many in a single year is almost hard to believe. I wanted to know what Russell was doing that was different from everyone else chasing the same fish in the same water. What I found is a guy who has gone far beyond technique and into the actual biology of how tarpon perceive the world. He is not guessing about what tarpon see — he has studied the research and then tested it on the water, and the results speak for themselves.
When Russell starts laying out the vision science, the numbers are staggering. He has worked with scientists who study tarpon eyesight through light-sample studies, and the picture they paint is of a visual system that operates on a completely different level than ours. Tarpon do not just see better — they see in a different spectrum, including ultraviolet light that penetrates the water in ways we cannot perceive. Russell describes it like a color version of a dog whistle. Press play to hear him break down the full vision science.
One of the most fascinating threads is how tarpon vision changes as the fish grows. Russell explains that a newborn tarpon fry starts with rods — the cells that handle night vision and see in black and white. As it matures, it develops cones, eventually carrying five types compared to the three humans have. That combination of retained night vision and an expanded color system is what makes a mature tarpon's eyesight so formidable. Hear Russell walk through the developmental science in the episode.
▶ Watch the full conversation on YouTube · 🎧 Listen now
This is the part that genuinely stopped me. Russell says light-sample studies suggest tarpon can recognize individual humans and tell people apart — not just detect movement or shapes, but process detailed visual information about specific anglers. When he tells customers this, they usually react with flat disbelief, and then he explains the science. Whether it changes how you stand on the bow or how you approach a fish, the implications are wild. Listen to him explain it.
The vision science is fascinating on its own, but the reason it matters is that Russell turned it into results. He explains how understanding what tarpon can detect — ultraviolet colors, fine detail, individual recognition — shaped his entire approach to finding and catching them consistently. The 814 number is not just about hours on the water; it is about fishing in a way that accounts for what these fish are truly capable of seeing. Hear how he put it all together in the episode.
The day after this conversation, I kept thinking about how much is happening beneath the surface that we never see or understand. The idea that a tarpon might be looking at me and processing colors I will never perceive — maybe even recognizing me — changes how I think about every presentation I make.
What makes Russell valuable is the combination of curiosity and application. He did the work to understand the science, then proved it on the water with a number almost no one can match. That blend of study and execution is rare, and it is the through-line in every great angler I have ever interviewed.
Listen to the whole thing. If you fish for tarpon, Russell's breakdown of how they see is worth the hour by itself.
The Tom Rowland Podcast brings you long-form conversations with the most accomplished anglers, hunters, conservationists, and outdoor professionals in the game. Listen to every full-length Tom Rowland Podcast interview.
Captain Russell Kleppinger is a tarpon fishing expert best known for catching 814 tarpon in a single year. He has developed deep expertise in tarpon vision science, working with researchers and light-sample studies that, by his account, show tarpon may see dramatically better than humans, recognize individual human faces, and detect ultraviolet light. Russell combines a scientific understanding of how tarpon develop from night vision as fry to five-cone color vision as adults with hard-won practical experience on the water, making him one of the most knowledgeable tarpon anglers in the sport.
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