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Muskie Fishing -> Fishing Reports and Destinations -> Tarpon Fishing
 
Message Subject: Tarpon Fishing
gtaggart
Posted 3/27/2018 8:43 PM (#900308 - in reply to #887642)
Subject: Re: Tarpon Fishing




Posts: 117


Location: Northwest Wisconsin
I have fished for tarpon many times and have been lucky enough to land several. There is not a fish in fresh or salt water that I would rather fish for. I will be fishing for them again in May down in the keys. They are definitely a bucket list fish.
mtcook16
Posted 4/5/2018 3:19 PM (#901307 - in reply to #887642)
Subject: Re: Tarpon Fishing





Posts: 546


Location: MN
Mark Bennett knows his stuff and is about as good as they get. He is in the Tarpon capital, Boca Grande.

https://www.facebook.com/tarponsnook
http://www.tarponsnook.com/
R/T
Posted 4/6/2018 1:33 PM (#901432 - in reply to #887642)
Subject: Re: Tarpon Fishing




Posts: 76


Never fished tarpon and wanted to give it a try. Had a half day to go at while visiting my uncle down in Cape Coral. Came across Jeff Speros who owns Tiger Musky Resort on the Chippewa Flowage and booked him for a half day. We mostly anchored up and put out live bait. Nothing. Then moved to deeper water within sight of the Sanibel Causeway and we finally made contact with a very large tarpon. This fish spit the hook within seconds but as its entire body was out of the water close to the boat we got a good look. Only contact of the day. This was about 3 years ago so not sure if he is still at it.
Lake Of The Woods
Posted 3/30/2019 4:24 PM (#934167 - in reply to #887642)
Subject: Re: Tarpon Fishing




Posts: 63


My brother lives in the Sarasota area and I have been on his boat tarpon fishing almost every year for the last dozen or so. Boca Grande Pass between Gasparilla Island and Cayo Costa Island is by far the best area to fish as it has the highest concentration of Tarpon compared to other locations along the west coast. However , the boat traffic can be heavy especially on the weekends so to avoid the masses try fishing during the week. Try to fish during the Hill Tide times as they are some of the strongest tides of the year during spring. During a hill tide, the strong current flush crabs out from the Charlotte and Peace River Harbor to thousands of waiting tarpon. The season starts from the middle of April to middle of May and can stretch out as long as August to September with June being considered the peak time.

2019 Hill Tide Calendar
May 6th-10th & 16th-23rd
June 1st-7th & 14th-20th & 29th & 30th
July 1st-6th & 12-19th

We use crab as bait and they can be the purple legged, brown or blue. The ones we use 90% of the time are the blue crab as they are very abundant. Use a 6/0 or 7/0 circle hook and pierce the side wing of the crab from the underside then slowly work the hook through the shell being careful not to crack it. This allows the crab to swim freely, look natural and stay alive for very long periods of time and even to be used the next day. Make sure to remove the claws by taking pliers and squeezing them with medium pressure. The crab will automatically drop the claw from it's body at the base of the shell. If you do not remove the claws the crab will take hold of the leader line and not swim freely which in turn will not attract the attention of a feeding tarpon. Most bait shops sell the crabs de-clawed.

For gear we use 8 foot medium-heavy rods with ceramic guides and 5000 to 6000 size spinning reels loaded with 250 yards of 60 lb. test braided line and a 5 foot 80 lb. test fluorocarbon leader. Adding weight to get down deeper may be necessary depending on where the Tarpon are feeding on a daily basis. Watching a surface feeding frenzy when they are high is a rush and a great opportunity to drop your bait head on into the Tarpons face increasing the chances of hooking into one. When you do hook into a Silver King get ready for 30 minutes to 60 minutes plus of heavy weight fun depending on the size. A 100 pound fish is considered small as 200-250 pounders are lurking everywhere.

We have had big fish take us for a 45 minute slow cruise down the shoreline before it tired out enough to get it boat side for release,... that is a shark didn't get to it first,...which happens quite often.

There are plenty of public ramps and marinas to put your boat in and also purchase bait.

Aside from Boca Grande there are many other areas along the coast to fish.We have also had great fishing along Bradenton Beach, Siesta Key and Venice and the plus is low boat traffic.




Edited by Lake Of The Woods 3/30/2019 4:30 PM
bobbie
Posted 3/31/2019 9:42 AM (#934203 - in reply to #934167)
Subject: Re: Tarpon Fishing




Posts: 559


going in 3 weeks with Jason and SFP
UglyPike
Posted 3/31/2019 11:29 PM (#934262 - in reply to #887642)
Subject: Re: Tarpon Fishing





Posts: 101


Location: Niagara on the Lake, ON
Im in Naples FL right now. My wife lost a massive 125 lber boatside the other day. Call Peter Root and he will put you on tarpon. Great guide. Tell him Frank the Muskie podcaster from last week sent you.
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