Tarpon Time!

By Bob Stearns
Catch the thrill of hunting Florida's acrobatic silver king in the bays and along the beaches.

The tarpon is Florida’s largest inshore game fish (unless you count sharks), reaching weights of 200 pounds or more. While the average specimen is typically 50 to 100 pounds, these fish are also available in smaller sizes ranging from five to 30 pounds. Regardless of weight, tarpon are by far the most aerial of all inshore game fish, and their sky-high antics are legendary. They’re available along various parts of Florida’s lengthy shoreline throughout almost the entire year, this highly sought-after species is most abundant during the summer months.

From the Georgia border to the southern tip of Florida, and then back up the Gulf coast all the way to Alabama, the Sunshine State has approximately 1,500 miles of inshore shoreline, and that doesn’t even include the Florida Keys. All of this (including the Keys) is tarpon country, and at any given time of the year the silver king can usually be found somewhere along this extensive seashore. The southern tip of the state is the preferred winter habitat, except for periods of unseasonable cold weather following a strong front which will send them to deep water until the weather warms again.

Water temperature is the key. Tarpon are rarely happy if it is below 75 degrees F. As spring and summer temperatures warm inshore waters, tarpon begin to follow the 75-degree isotherm northward along both coasts on their annual migration. By late summer they’re frequently found as far up the Atlantic coast as northeastern North Carolina, and throughout all of the Gulf of Mexico.

I have at times encountered tarpon in water below 70 degrees and on a few rare occasions in the high 50s. But my ence has been that when the water is below 72, getting them to bite is another thing. Even in the 72- to 74-degree range they can at times be a bit flaky. So, if I’m planning to fish for tarpon along those beaches and in the inlets, I look for that all-important 75- degree water temperature.

The typical annual migration pattern for the majority of Florida’s coastal tarpon starts when they show up in inshore water after spending most of the winter well offshore. They first appear around the southern part of the state, then follow their northward migration along both coasts from May through July. As winter approaches, typically in late September or early October, they once again head south, often following the large schools of mullet and other baitfish.

However, there’s a large and very fishable tarpon population over the winter along the southeastern tip of the Florida coast from Miami to Ft. Lauderdale. I’ve enjoyed superb action in that area from November through May and as a rule, the best winter fishing occurs in or near the three major ocean inlets from Miami northward to Ft. Lauderdale. As long as the water is warm enough, they will almost always be there.

Sometime in May most begin a short southward migration from there towards the middle of the Florida Keys, where they apparently join up with other fish migrating northward from that region. By June there’s usually a steady parade of schools of tarpon moving northward along the beaches of both coasts in 10 to 20 feet of water.

Find ‘Em First

But before you can catch tarpon you must first find them. When they’re schooled up in an inlet, you will very likely see them rolling actively on the surface in big schools. There may be many minutes between such appearances, so it’s important not to simply give the area a quick glance and then buzz off. And when they’re on the open beach or in large coastal bays, they often do not show up in schools unless they are migrating. Locating them there becomes a matter of moving slowly and quietly along, searching for even one softly rolling fish – which often really indicates the presence of many others, since tarpon are rarely loners in such situations. By far the best time for this is from first light until the sun has been up for a few hours.

Catching them can be another matter, especially with artificials. If the water is very clear, they most often will not bite aggressively during bright daylight – many anglers choose to put in most of their time at night.

There are some exceptions, especially in inlets where the outgoing tide brings with it bay water that is somewhat turbid, or along the Gulf coast. Then, even daylight hours can be very productive. Using live bait such as mullet, large live shrimp, or crabs often helps when the fish show no interest in plastic. Circle hooks will increase your hookup rate with almost no risk of gut-hooking.

Best Lures and Flies

When it comes to using artificials, tarpon have a strong preference for swimming plugs worked just a few feet below the surface, moved very slowly. In deeper water, jigs or a jig-and-shrimp combination works best at mid-depth or near the bottom. Almost any color will work, but I like those that mimic baitfish best, especially the newer plugs with the holographic colors. Surface plugs at times are also productive if the fish are holding or moving in water that’s less than ten feet. It may take some experimentation to find out what’s the most effective on any given day.

One major benefit of night fishing is there’s often a run of big shrimp exiting bays through nearby inlets with the falling tide. Whenever that happens all of the tarpon’s natural caution immediately goes out the window. On a quiet night it is often possible to locate fish by the explosive feeding noises they make. As soon as you’re within casting range, almost any lure or fly presented will be instantly eaten. There’s rarely any such thing as selective feeding when a shrimp-popping party is going full blast.

Daytime fishing definitely calls for more finesse. The shallower the water, the more important a stealthy approach becomes. When they’re ganged up en masse in the middle of a deep channel, even a passing ocean liner won’t disturb them for more than a minute or two. But when they’re surfacing quietly in ten feet of water or less on a reasonably calm day along a beach or in a coastal bay, even the slightest hull slap will send them scooting away. Running a twostroke outboard anywhere near them in such situation also makes for very unhappy tarpon very quickly, and their usual reaction is to go elsewhere. But in recent years, I’ve found that a four-stroke outboard’s softer underwater noise signature at low rpm is a lot more tolerable. And an electric motor is even better.

All in all, tarpon are truly one of Florida’s great game fish. And right now is prime time for finding and hooking them, then enjoying a spectacular one-on-one aerial battle you won’t soon forget.