Tips On Key West Tarpon Fishing

By Jayne Rutledge


Among the most sought after fish in Key West is the Tarpon. It is also called the Silver King and is known to grow to more than 200lbs. Key West tarpon fishing can be successful if the individual knows what to expect. The use of a fly rod is among the easy ways to get these fish. One of the very easy ways to get tarpons to eat when they are being picky is trying to feed them on flies.

With the wide range of colors and patterns available, the guide can offer some select choices to make hook up more successful. In the course of early migration, they travel most of the ocean side flats and tend to come in large pods. One thing that is worth remembering is that tarpons will rarely go out of their way to eat, thus one would have to take the flies to them. Some effort should be made so that they see them.

Hooks should not be set up too hard. Because tarpons have hard mouths, the best approach with most live baits is to drop them back to about 10 feet of the line before letting them tighten up. The other option is to leave the rod in the holder until the fish strips the line from the reel. Another trick involves putting the tip of the rod in water, then reeling very fast.

The drag setting should also be done appropriately. A good number of anglers will always set the drag too tight for fishing. A value of between 20 percent and 25 percent is appropriate. It should also be remembered that lines are weakened by knots by as much as 25 percent. Hand held scales will come very much in handy in ensuring that drag setting is right. Heavier lines are used in the event that tarpons keep breaking weaker ones.

Keeping drag washers clean is also a recommendation. Further, they need to be kept smooth through being lubricated by STP. The tarpons are very strong and should be left to run during the first moments when they stage a hard initial run. When fishing in open waters, the fish should be left to run until they lose some energy. Fishing around obstacles should be done with heavy lines so that they are not cut.

Before going fishing, one should learn to tie the best knots that should also be tight to avoid disappointments. When one hooks up with a tarpon in open waters, it is not the time to apply too much pressure. After the initial frantic run, one can start applying pressure. The rod is used for fighting tarpons and the reel to store the line.

A tarpon should be fought closely while ensuring that not too much of the line is gotten out. This would make it much easier to have control over them. One should remember not to underestimate the ability of tarpons as this can make the entire exercise to fail.

Key West tarpon fishing can be hugely successful if the right techniques are used and the behavior of the fish known. The head of a tarpon should be kept up so that it does not run again. This is in addition to applying enough pressure.




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