Key West Tarpon Fishing Methods

The Florida Keys was absolutely blessed with the perfect geography for anyone hankering to do some Key West Tarpon Fishing, as they lay smack dab in the middle of the annual tarpon run. Literally thousands of tarpon meander through the keys in it’s crisp, clean shallow waters every year making their habits fairly predictable. The predictability of this fish makes it so that guides and anglers alike can setup ideal situations for an epic battle.

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.

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