By Caitlyn Gatrell
May is a special time of year in the backcountry of the Everglades. The birds are flying around, wildlife is out, fish are active, the weather is beautiful, and most of all, the tarpon are rolling. While our area is known to have tarpon here year-round, May is a big peak in their season. They are migrating heavily during late spring and can be seen all around in schools rolling and thrashing on bait schools. It’s without a doubt, one of my favorite times of year!
I can attest that sometimes they will bite any time of day, even if its dead current in the middle of the hot day. But typically, they enjoy the early morning hours and especially the evening feeding around sunset when there’s a nice outgoing or incoming flow. As a matter of fact, when we fish for them around sunset we often see many, large ones too, lunging on bait. Sometimes they even fully jump out of the water for them. And not just for bait, we’ve even seen them do this for bugs and mosquitoes too! It’s quite the sight to see.
We’ve had tarpon bite on numerous baits like swimbait lures, large pilchards, etc., but the most productive I’ve seen are lively mullet or topwater lures. Each one gives a different vibe. I like to throw a mullet down if there’s a flowing current and I know it’s a deep underwater cut. Sitting there quietly with a finger on the line, when all of a sudden it gets yanked down and the drag starts to scream is a pretty intense feeling. On the other hand, working a topwater lure around rolling tarpon at a sunset bite, followed by a huge wake and a massive blowup then crazy line tension is also heart-racing. Both methods produce tons of drag screams, line pulling, and acrobatic jumps. Sometimes I can’t really say which I enjoy more!
Areas you can expect to find hungry and feisty tarpon include backwaters, mangrove lines, deep channels, bays, nearshore points, flats, and sometimes even near oyster beds. It’s a good thing the Backcountry has all to over! The opportunities are truly endless during this time of year.
If you’ve been waiting for a chance to get out there and hook up to one of your own, now is the perfect time. It’s great if you have access to a boat, but you don’t need one! They can also be commonly caught off the beach, under bridges, near docks, and more, on land during this time of year. I can say for sure as I’ve caught a few in these areas myself. I recommend having a medium to heavy setup, lively bait, pliers, and honestly, gear to cover up from the mosquitoes! Good luck to all looking to wrangle their personal best tarpon this spring!