We went tarpon fishing November 10th and in 4 hours we caught 3 tarpon. Two of these were small fish and the third was about 50 pounds. The important thing about this trip was that this was our first successful tarpon trip of the 2013/14 winter tarpon season.
We were using our most consistent method for winter tarpon fishing. That was three 20 pound spinning outfits with medium action Penn Torque Jigging spinning rods, Penn International V 7500 reels and 20 pound Prospec monofilament line.
These were rigged with 7/0 VMC circle hooks on 15 foot 50 pound monofilament wind-on leaders. Before dark we used 50 pound test waxed thread to tie 3/8 ounce Hook-up jigs tightly up against the bend of the circle hooks and then baited the Hook-up with a live shrimp hooked up through the mouth and out the top of the head. After dark we removed the Hook-ups and baited the circle hooks by hooking the shrimp up through the mouth and out the top of the head.
We drifted with the 15 knot winds from 300 to 100 yards off of South Beach till dark and caught the biggest tarpon. This area will be great from now through June as will the beaches off Bal Harbor and in late season off Fisher Island.
This area can also produce fish casting lipless plugs like the Rattlin’ Rap, Mirrorlure 65 and 66m and soft plastic fish or shrimp like the DOA Terroreze and Baitbuster.
On nights when the shrimp are running, fly casting can be crazy. Sight casting at tarpon busting shrimp is super hot with simple white flies in the 2 to 3 inch range. Daytime fly casting will usually require sinking lines, but we have caught some monsters on the fly in April, May and June.
You don’t need giant shrimp, just big enough to look good on that 7/0 circle hook. When shrimp get small, it is time to switch to live crabs.
When using crabs, if the wind is light you will need a float to keep the crabs from diving into the rocks along the bottom.
Other good bait choices can include pinfish, grunts, mullet, herring, big pilchards and for a blasting strike, try a live mullet or goggle eye on the kite.
Remember it is now against the law to remove a tarpon from the water for pictures or trophy. Catch them, revive them and release them. They live over 50 years so you can have years of fun.
Story originally published in the Fort Lauderdale Edition of Coastal Angler Magazine.