GUIDE TO DIY TARPON: PART TWO, GETTING IT DONE WITH LIVE BAIT

Here’s part two of a three-part series on how to catch Florida tarpon without hiring guides or staying in expensive lodges.

I almost got knocked into Florida Bay when I hooked my first tarpon. As my father and I drifted live crabs beneath floats on an incoming tide, the tarpon ate my crab and leapt over our outboard like a pole vaulter, two feet from me.

Luckily, tarpon have exceptional vertical leaps, and this one cleared both me and the boat with its leap. As soon as it landed, the line peeled like my reel was free-spooling.

A monofilament wrap wrapped the propeller, the hook straightened, and the line became slack.

Greetings and welcome to the world of tarpon fishing.

Greetings and welcome to the world of tarpon fishing!

This article focuses on live bait, because live bait offers less experienced, DIY anglers a legitimate chance at success without breaking the bank.

Using artificial lures or flies to catch these fish can be fun, but it can also be difficult. You’ll pay upwards of $800 a day if you plan to catch tarpon on lures or flies.

Success rigging

Tarpon exploit every mistake you make. The weakest point between angler and fish is usually a sloppy knot. Make sure you re-tie your knots multiple times before casting.

With a Bimini twist tied at the end, I fish 30-pound monofilament (30- to 50-pound braid is also common). The Bimini twist tests around 100 percent of the line strength.

I attach a 3-foot, 60-pound fluorocarbon leader (Seaguar Pink Label) to the Bimini’s loop using an Albright knot. Lubricate the Albright knot before tightening, and leave a small tag to prevent slippage.

When drifting bait, consider a natural cork float, about two and a half feet north of the hook. The cork keeps bait out of the grass and in the path of patrolling tarpon.

A natural cork float looks like debris, and a fluorescent float looks like, well, a fluorescent float. Especially useful when targeting wary tarpon in shallow water, natural cork has an unassuming profile.

With a non-slip loop knot at the end of the leader, I attach a 3/0 J-hook to the bait for maximum motion.

The non-slip loop knot is trusted by tarpon guides and has helped me land dozens of tarpon over 100 pounds.

Snelling is a good alternative, but often cants the hook unnaturally if it doesn’t have an offset eye.

A circle hook in the 4/0 to 7/0 range is also effective. Circle hooks are designed to set themselves, so novices can use them since they don’t need to worry about setting the hook.

Because I have been conditioned to set the hook on a strike, I prefer traditional J-hooks (Gamakatsu 3/0 Octopus, or 1/0 SL12S Short). Plus, it’s more fun.

There is a chance that some tarpon will come unbuttoned even with the stickiest hooks available.

Tarpons have hard mouths, and they are adept at shaking hooks during their signature leaps. The smaller the hook gauge, the better it penetrates; tarpon don’t require a huge hook to be caught.

In May, I caught a tarpon with the 1/0 SL12S Short, a small, but sturdy fly hook that doubled as a deadly crab-drifting weapon.

For battling big tarpon, heavy-action rods and large-capacity spinning or bait casting reels are recommended.

Since you’re often fishing around bridges or other obstructions, thicker rods are particularly useful for novice tarpon anglers.

I’ve caught 80-pound tarpon on medium-heavy spinning gear, but lighter gear often lengthens fights and puts unnecessary strain on both the fish and angler.

The bait

As with the one that nearly jumped into our boat, tarpon are opportunistic feeders. In the Keys, they eat mullet, pinfish, pipefish, palolo worms, pilchards, shrimp, and crabs.

Fishing live mullet with a cork is an oft-used Keys’ technique, particularly around bridges. You’ll need to find a source for the live mullet.

If you are adept at throwing a cast net, that won’t be much of an issue; however, don’t try to learn how now as it’s tougher than it appears.

A few shops in the Keys will have them, but they don’t last long because they require oxygenated water.

Fresh dead mullet on the seafloor, or even a mahi mahi carcass can work if the tarpon are being lazy in the middle of the day. But if you ask me, nothing beats a live pass crab when it comes to catching tarpon!

Pass crabs, around 3 inches in carapace width, are the equivalent of tarpon candy. They hide in sargassum mats that drift in and out on tides.

Many novice tarpon anglers believe they need the largest crab in the tank, but smaller crabs actually get more bites because they fit the profile of Keys’ tarpon.

Ensure that your crabs are males by looking at the shape of their apron (the flap on the underbelly). Its males have narrow, pointy aprons that are tight to their belly, while its females have rounded aprons that often protrude (sometimes with orange or yellow pockets).

Crabs that are male are more hardy on hooks, while females sometimes open their aprons, scurrying uselessly at the surface.

Get your crabs early or you’ll have to pick through the daily delivery to find males. Ten or 12 crabs should last a few days, and the ones that avoid tarpon will keep in a fresh live well.

In the Drift

Every evening around supper time in the Keys, most boats head for the docks. With dim light and little boat traffic, it’s the perfect time to fish live crabs for tarpon.

When I encounter boats drifting where I want to fish, I give them a wide berth, never running over their drift path.

Once I’ve determined where I want to drift (factoring in tide and wind direction), I turn the boat sideways to the drift and kill the engine.

We can drift bait comfortably from both bows and sterns with plenty of room between each offer.

During the color change (from dark to light), hook the crab and drift it 80 feet or more behind the boat.

If we hook a tarpon, I leave the GPS on so I can replicate the drift. Set the drag tight but don’t lock it down. We’re on the water in no time.

A bite of the apple

This beautiful evening can lull you into a state of reverie, but stay alert, good things are about to happen.

A tarpon will tap your line when it takes a crab.

The tap comes when the tarpon opens its bucket mouth and draws in both the crab and the water surrounding it.

The tarpon takes your crab and, still unalarmed, turns to rejoin its buddies after the tap. After the tap, your line will tighten sometimes with excruciating slowness.

If you strike at the initial tap, you’ll pull the hook from the tarpon’s mouth. Let the fish turn and allow its weight to help you bury the hook.

With the rod tip parallel to the water, set the hook sideways when the line tightens. Nothing can prepare you for the chaos that follows.

The tarpon runs and boils; it leaps, hangs in the air, gills shaking. That massive fish is on your line and, if you’ve gotten this far, you should be able to catch it.

 

Sources:. themeateater