By: Capt. Greg Poland
The spring migration is underway, and the silver kings are in the Florida Keys and Everglades National Park. I absolutely love this time of year and try to spend every minute of every day on the water chasing tarpon while they are here. I can still remember the first tarpon I had on a line, as it jumped out of the water like a gymnast doing summersaults while throwing water all over the place and at that very moment I was hooked and have been chasing that high since grade school.
If you want to experience the fun of tarpon fishing, get out on the water either with a fishing guide that knows how to catch them or take one out on your own boat. You will need to get a bait well full of live mullett and your trusty fly rod and start hunting as they will be around through July but use caution because it just might start a lifelong passion! I have some prime dates open in the calendar as do most of my fellow guides if you want to get out with one of us, as we would love to show you a good time out on the water. If you are going to give it a try on your boat, I recommend a sturdy 20lb spinning rod or a light conventional rod in the same size. In my area, I get my gear from Islamorada Fishing Outfitters in Tavernier and they along with most of the local tackle shops sell all the right stuff to get you rigged up properly. You will want to use 60lb fluorocarbon about the length of the rod and I like a 5/0 or 6/0 circle hook under a bobber with a live mullett as my first choice for tarpon food. Look for rolling fish and anchor up current of them and if you see other boats fishing, please give them plenty of room as there is no reason to crowd another boat. Most guides use a great away anchor so when we hook a fish, we simply leave our anchor on a float and give chase, some fish can take an hour to bring to boat side. If you are new to the game and see an unattended anchor its best to move down the bridge a bit. Hope to see you out on the water this season and lets all have fun out there trying to keep the poon out of the concrete!
— Contact Capt. Greg at 305.393.3327 or email gregpoland@icloud.com