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Hooking Up Anglers Since 2011.
Episode 7 - Targeting Tarpon In The Keys Region With Capt. Randy Towe
May is the pinnacle of the tarpon season in the Florida Keys. You have fish on the ocean, fish on the bridges and fish in the backcountry, so any of the styles of tarpon fishing can be done in May in the Keys.
On the Oceanside of the Keys a lot of anglers target the fish with fly tackle. It’s a clear water, sight fishing scenario with a high degree of difficulty to get the fish to bite, but when you do, the visual aspect of it creates lifetime memories. Usually you have to throw at a lot of fish to get the bites.
Then there’s bridge fishing, which usually takes place with live mullet or crabs. That can be Bayside or Oceanside depending on the tide, with places like the Channel 2 Bridge, Channel 4 Bridge, Long Key Bridge and the Seven Mile Bridge some of the more popular spots, although you can catch tarpon around just about all the bridges in May. Most anglers fish the bridges with bait, and there’s someone on those bridges every day.
Bridge fishing for tarpon requires a medium heavy to heavy 20 to 30 pound spinning tackle with a 60 pound monofilament leader. You usually can’t go any heavier with the leader in any of the areas with clear water. A 5/0 to 7/0 VMC Circle Hook is used depending on the bait and its size.
The backcountry represents areas of Florida Bay like Flamingo, Nine Mile Bank, First National Bank and Sandy Key. These are shallow, sandy areas that have a lot of fish pouring across the flat and if you get I front of them, they’ll usually eat a fly. You’ll also see a lot of anglers fishing live pinfish or mullet in the cuts, channels and along the drop-offs on the edges of the flats. Those guys won’t be using crabs, which are usually restricted to bridge fishing.
Most fly anglers use 11 or 12 weight rods and reels, and very small flies. The trend the last couple of years has been to go to light bite tippets, often 40 or 50 pound test, and very small, sparsely tied flies on a 2/0 hook. Anything heavier or bigger and you just can’t get the bites.
May is also the time of the Palolo worm hatch in the Keys, which goes off in places like Bahia Honda, Long Key and Craig Key on the new and full moons. The worms come out of the sponges and swim along the surface and the tarpon eat them ravenously, with total disregard for everything around them. This year the full moon is in late May, and everyone is predicting that time frame will be fantastic for tarpon fishing. Those worms will show in big numbers three or four days after the moon, late in the day, usually from 6:00 p.m. until dark. It’s a really cool sight to see hundreds to thousands of tarpon slurping these worms off the surface from one end of the bridge to the other.
Depending on how severe the worm hatch is, the tarpon population will start to thin out by mid-June, although we have a year-round population of fish. The average tarpon in the Florida Keys in May is around 100 pounds downtown, with larger fish in the backcountry.
You can watch the full episode and others on our website, www.chevyfloridainsiderfishingreport.com, and click on the Videos Tab.
This Fishing Report was submitted on 5/19/2013 1:55:07 AM by Seamus and last updated on 5/19/2013 1:55:07 AM.
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