DIY Florida Tarpon, Part II

Bridge structure always provide reliable areas to find tarpon staging up to feed. 

Picking up where we left off in Part I, when it comes to structure fishing, big tarpon love bridges and docks both big and small, so those should be obvious points of attack. Of course, here you’ll have to figure out if the fish are holding high in the water column (near the surface along nighttime shadow lines or parallel to abutments and just off the bottom, for example). For fish feeding near to the surface, the same long, skinny choices as on the flats can be productive. Add an appropriately sized jighead to your soft-plastic if you need to get down a little deeper.

Swimbaits work well in this situation, too, with 5”and 8” NLBN Straight Tail Soft Plastics impaled on jigheads having the edge in faster currents and NLBN Paddle Tail Soft Plastics a sure way to connect in milder currents, pocket waters and eddies. The same size Lunker City Shaker Paddletail Soft Baits  also score well in this scenario when impaled on a jighead. For any of the above choices, be certain to head out ready with a couple of different jig sizes so you can match the current and sink your lure into the strike zone.

Baitfishing is another option which can work just about anywhere from the flats to drains, and natural or artificial structure. Large livebaits like mullet, plus pilchards, pinfish, mahi belly strips, shrimp and crabs are all worth a shot. You’ll find the tarpon most willing to inhale artificials and live baits when the water temperature has been relatively steady for a couple of consecutive days. Hit them with a cold front, however, and that preference can quickly switch to cut mullet, pinched shrimp and a decidedly slower presentation with those long, skinny, soft plastics.

Lisa hooked up to a big tarpon that ate a live bait. 

With bait, in particular, keep in mind that every situation is a little different – so you’ll want to match the hatch as much as possible both in terms of the baits you choose and their size. Islamorada, for instance, can be very mullet centric. Trophy fish here might not want to switch off those big baitfish to something else, but when they decide to slow down as a cold front crosses the island a cut mullet is likely to bring more hook-ups than a live one.

Undoubtedly, tarpon bait preferences vary from place to place. Moving further down The Keys, live crabs may provide an edge. Around Bahia Honda Key, on moon tides during the mid-winter months, a big live shrimp hatch can make those crustaceans the default fodder of choice. The point is, you have to be in touch with the waters you fish and be ready to adjust your presentations and offerings based on the immediate preferences of the fish you seek.

As for tackle, there is a surprising degree of flexibility based on local conditions and the size of the fish you target when setting out to catch tarpon on your own. On the flats or when fishing dockside shadow lines while targeting relatively light, wintertime resident fish, a 7’, 15- to 30-lb.class spinning setup with a TFO Tactical Inshore TAC IS 706-1 spinning rod and Shimano Stradic FM 5000, 20-lb. braid and a 30- to 40-lb.-test leader might be all you need.

Stepping up to structure and bigger fish while throwing large livebaits or heavy lures in stronger currents, you’ll want to beef up to something like a Shimano Saragosa 6000 SWA spooled with 30- to 40-lb. braid and a 50- to 60-lb. leader. In some cases, you might even need an 8000 size reel – but that’s probably overkill in most situations. That said, a good reason for taking the heavier choice is that structure areas can get a little “sharky” these days, so getting your fish in and quickly released can help avoid bad outcomes.

As for fly-fishing gear, you’ll want different setups for smaller resident fish vs. large,  migrating giants. In today’s modern age of ever improving equipment, a Thomas and Thomas 11-wt Sextant Series fly rod paired with a Hatch 11 PLUS fly reel is strong enough to handle most tarpon you’ll hook in these waters. For a lighter choice when targeting smaller, resident fish, a Hatch 9 PLUS fly reel teamed with a 9-wt T&T Sextant paired to a Hatch 9 PLUS, or a TFO Axiom II-X with a Redington Rise 9-10 reel are solid selections.

Searching along the edges of islands in the backcountry in 4-6 feet of water is a good way to sight-fish for tarpon when you need to get out of the wind.

In terms of patterns, everyone seems to have their own favorites, but the Palolo Worm Hatch, which is similar in use to our local cinder worm imitations, is one fly you want to have on hand in case you walk into a serious hatch. A Home Slice is another good choice. It’s a stocky, blunt-faced sub-surface mixed baitfish imitation that can also pass for a live shrimp. For a more traditional baitfish pattern, it’s hard to beat a Bush Pig, a streamer which can be used to imitate a wide variety of baitfish wherever you fish it.

One last thought on gear: Don’t skimp on your hooks when targeting tarpon. If you are using lighter tackle for smaller fish, a quality laser-sharp hook should suffice. But once you step up to a 6000-class outfit intended for beefy quarry, go with a heavier duty option like the Owner Mutu Hybrid, so you can put some real heat on those fish and get them in quickly. It’s important in this day and age of “sharky” waters to get those bigger fish under control as quickly as possible to avoid unfortunate outcomes.

In terms of getting on the water, wading and dock fishing are both available options, but we also see a surprising number of serious tarpon fans at White Water Outfitters who prefer to trailer their own serious custom flats boats down south each winter. That may be the ideal route, but you can also do pretty well in a standard 18- to 22-footer. Grabbing a rental boat for a day or two is another D.I.Y. option for getting off the shore, and plenty of anglers’ rent or transport kayaks to get in on the fun.

Whichever method you choose to pursue the silver king, make your move soon while the window of opportunity is wide open. With more tarpon arriving daily in the waters across south Florida and the Keys right now, you could have a monster thrashing at the end of your line within hours of arriving at your chosen destination.

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