Go with a good guide that knows this but while making your booking, tell them your intentions. Tell them “I want to go Key west tarpon fishing using a fly rod”. But when you do, make sure that they will come prepared as well for the day. These good guides will be ready for whatever presents itself for your fishing pleasure. Make sure they will carry along a full array of gear for these occasions and not just your fly rod. A proper guide will carry the variety: spinning, casting AND fly rod. I consider myself a pretty avid fisherman and if you’re like me, you like to catch fish and don’t care what rig you use as long as they are on. Sure I have my preferences, buy why pass up the “golden” opportunities along the journey while you’re Key West tarpon fishing.

Here’s a scenario for you. Say you go fly fishing Key West for tarpon. You’re back in the flats and the guide/buddy/whatever is poling you around looking for that “special” fish. Up next to the shallow banks of the coast, stalking the quiet giants, rod in hand, tarpon fly tied on, poised for the action. You’re tooling along and then off to the left of you is a little school of permit and a little bit ahead of you is another huge school of bonefish. What are you gonna do? Throw a tarpon fly at them? Good luck with that. You’ve got to be prepared and your guide should be prepared and have a couple of extra rods baited up for the right circumstances just in case.

Bottom line is be ready and make sure you ask your guide that same thing so that he will know your intentions while your on your dream trip fly fishing Key West for tarpon. You just simply never know what you’ll see on these flats. Maybe permit, maybe bonefish, maybe barracuda, maybe sharks, maybe jacks….well you get the point.

There are three main methods used to capture these elusive beasts of the deep while Key West tarpon fishing (as with most other species): live bait, artificial lures and by the fly. In Key West, nearly every one of these situations is at your disposal. You can target harbors and bridges with live bait (plus a little chum slick). You can fish the shallow flats with fly rods. You can even go after the deep channels where you can’t see them but know they are there with artificial bait. It’s an absolute plethora of fishing entertainment at your beckon call. Just remember, don’t be dead set on fishing a certain way when you go Key West tarpon fishing. They are picky at times and if you can roll with the flow, you could possibly have a much better outcome than you ever expected.

One of the most productive ways for Key West tarpon fishing is by using live bait. Guides know this and good guides know where to find them. Don’t be set in your ways of how you wanted to fish for tarpon when you get there. Let the guide be your guide. Chances are he fished yesterday when you were trying to get there and knows where they are located. One of the more successful approaches for Key West tarpon fishing that these guides use when fishing live baits is off in the back country channels where the tarpon are holding. The guide typically positions the boat in front of the fish, or upstream, so the currents will take the bait directly to them. These baits float unknowingly through the current and down the deep guts to the awaiting tarpon. If they are the slightest bit hungry, hold on to your rod for a sure treat. Typical live baits include crabs, pinfish and mullet.

For a little more adventure during your Key West tarpon fishing trip, artificial lures comes a close second. Most of the fishing accomplished with this method is by sight casting, or presenting the lure to fish that you see. It’s that ol’ courtship ritual. I can see you, can you see me. Look at what I have to offer. There are days when this produces more hookups than live bait but on the norm, for a beginner, you probably won’t catch as many fish. However, if you fish for the hunt so to speak, this method of Key West tarpon fishing is the method of choice. This type of fishing is typically done with a spin-casting outfit.

For the ultimate transition, you could try your hand at another popular method Key West tarpon fishing, flyfishing. Due to the sheer size and weight of most of these outfits, you’re not going to want to be blind casting to no fish for very long. So once again this is mainly a see-it before you catch-it situation. The guide will point out the fish to you and hopefully you’re fairly decent with casting a fly rod. It’s not something a beginner should do, period. You have to place the fly in front of the fish and with the instructions from an expert guide on stripping and setting, you can have the experience of a lifetime. Catch numbers will typically be lower using this method but boy what a feeling when you do get hooked up.

I know the night time (night and day, oh)
Whoa, is the right time (night and day, oh)
To be with the one you love, now (night and day)
I said to be with the one you love (night and day)
–Ray Charles: Night Time Is The Right Time

Simply a classic song that certainly hits the nail on the head. Fishing in the dark for tarpon is altogether another sport in and of itself. In fact, fishing for these bohemoth’s is easier at night as they are mostly a nocturnal species. There are two well known facts that can help you in deciding if night time tarpon fishing is for you. First, it’s a proven fact that most tarpon fishing is done during the day when an angler can see the fish. Second, Tarpons feed best when tides concentrate their food. When does that normally happen? You guessed it, at night for the most part.

If the conditions are right, there is no better type of fishing than Key West tarpon fishing at night. Keep in mind though, you will lose more tarpon than you will catch. The plus side of it all though, with an experienced guide, you should hook more than you ever would during the day. That being said, count your “jumped fish”. Where would you go to catch tarpon at night. Simple. If there are tarpon at the bridges and passes during the day, these same bridges and passes will hold tarpon at night. In fact, it’ll probably be even better at night. These places become “raves” for tarpon after dark and they just get plain silly.

“Come to the light”, I’m sure that’s what the tarpon are hearing. The bridges that have lighting act like bug zappers to tarpon. Come on, you know you’ve seen’em. That unsuspecting bug hovering around that bright green flourescent light. One little slip and “whammo”, another one bites the dust. Key West Tarpon are the same. They hover around the little lights waiting for that unsuspecting bait to stray a little to far out into the danger zone and “bam”, you get the picture. If you do go out guided at night for some Key West Tarpon fishing, you’ll notice the guide probably talking alot about the shadow-line. That’s where you’ll want your bait to be. That simple little cut between light and dark on the edges. That’s where the tarpon will be. Best part about it all, if you aren’t using artificials you will probably catch your bait right there under the lights. Typically either a pinfish or ladyfish. Reel’em in, hook-em up on your tarpon rig and float it back to it’s destiny.

If you have a really good guide, you might even be in for a special little treat. Some of them will motor up just under the bridge in the “light-zone”. That’s when the fun can really begin. Who cares about sight casting for tarpon when you can get the tarpon to come to you. Putting a little live pinfish out in the zone and actually watching a tarpon tranced like motion as it creeps up to it only to snatch it and get that satisfied feeling of an evening meal is quite a sight. However, it gets even better when you whack it and set the hook and it realizes somethings wrong. Stand back for the aerial show of your life when it goes airborne just feet from you. No worries though, you will still more than likely have enough light and backlight for when he reels off a hundred or so yards to still see his spectacular jumps on the water.

A key thing to remember when Key West tarpon fishing at night is that tides are critical as in any other form of saltwater fishing. Probably the best time for this type of fishing is during a high outgoing tide. These outgoing tides carry all those little goodies that Key West tarpon feast upon. Crabs, shrimp and little fish, just float along unknowingly meandering along until they reach the mouths of these giants. It’s not uncommon under full moons to see these tarpon picking there prey right off the surface. One specific piece to note is look for the high tide to be just after sundown. That’ll make for some great Key West tarpon fishing throughout the first several hours of darkness. If it lands during a full moon then even better.

If you are going to go Key West tarpon fishing at night though, I’d suggest getting an experienced guide for the trip instead of going at it alone. Get someone experienced at operating the boat at night, has been on the water a lot and knows the lay of the land. The water can get very shallow in parts and there are plenty of obstructions including pilings that can really fowl things up.

If you’re an angler with a heartbeat, there’s no doubt that at one time or another you’ve probably heard of the annual tarpon migration. If you haven’t, than here’s a little history lesson for you. Tarpon can be caught in Key West year-round. However there is a special little time of year when these bruts of the water congregate in massive numbers along the florida coast and Key West. The absolute best months for Florida tarpon fishing is from March thru July. Nobody really knows where these migrating schools come from or where they go when they leave. Much has been said around that fact. However they don’t all go “home” so to speak. These migrating beasts are older, the younger generation tend to remain until they reach maturity. Laying around in the back country and flats. One thing is for sure though, they show up here, year after year, in huge numbers. The first schools of these migrating tarpon typically show up sometime in January around Miami. Time goes on and sometime in the early part of February schools are spotted throughout Key West. Over the next 3 months, these schools disperse into smaller schools and soon flood the entire Florida coast and the expanse of the Florida Keys. After July, these huge tarpon schools slowly disappear back into parts unknown leaving behind the next generation of these great monsters and their older siblings making for a light tackle angler paradise. There, if you hadn’t heard of the annual tarpon migration, now you have. Bottom line is this, Key West tarpon fishing is bar-none the absolute best place in the world to sight-cast to large tarpon during these migratory times. Key West is famous for it’s tarpon fishing during the migration every spring.

Fly fisherman come from all over the world to cast to these fish on the flats. Others fish for them on light tackle gear in Key West Harbor. During the thick of it all, April, May and June are by far the best months for Florida tarpon fishing in Key West. If you are a light tackle fisherman, be ready. Most boats use by-catch from local shrimp boats to stir up the waters and get that tarpon biting. Bring a friend, go with a group, multiple hook-ups are not uncommon and oh what a sight when you’ve got 2 or 3 fish on and all wanting to go different directions. Just remember, the person getting spooled takes priority until enough line is brought back on the reel. Experienced guides will get the job done for you so don’t freak out when the boat starts to move in the other direction away from your fish while your line is screaming. Just hold on, your turns coming.

For anglers who do come to Key West, a tarpon trip to Key West Harbor is one of the more popular ones. If you’re lucky enough to snag a full day, don’t forget all the other lovely species you may come in contact with. I’d suggest tarpon fishing for part of the day and when you’ve hooked and caught your fill till your arms hurt, have your guide turn his attention towards putting you on some of the more tasty morsels that swim in that area. Some of the best tasting seafood you can ever imagine putting in your mouth can be found while Key West fishing. Try your luck at catching some of that for dinner.

Key West Tarpon has to be one of the most sought after fish that roam these waters. These tarpon can grow to over 200lbs. The average fish though that you will see during the migration will be in the 70 to 90 pound range. That’s not to say that the 100-pounders aren’t on the prowl cause they are definitely there as well. Trust me, you’ll know when one of these bigger fish are on by the fight he puts up. They don’t give up easy. Keep in mind that there are a few different methods that you can use while Key West tarpon fishing. It’s your choice, but I will say that fly fishing for tarpon is not for the beginner in my opinion. If you’re in it for the hook-ups, light tackle is the way to go.

If any of you would like more information on tarpon fishing in Key West that you don’t see here, please feel free to let us know. Thanks again for the visit and make sure to check back often to receive updated and additional information on Key West Tarpon Fishing.