Flyfishing the Florida Keys with Capt. Rick Carl

TARPON

• Introduction
• Locating Tarpon
• Spotting Tarpon
• Casting to Tarpon
• Feeding Tarpon
• Fighting Tarpon
• TarponTackle
• TarponFlies & Food
• Conclusion

Tarpon at 11 o'clock! You make a great cast, Your fly lands in front of a 100 pound silver king. You make a few short strips. He sees your 4 inch streamer, turns on it, opens that monstrous mouth that looks like a front end bucket loader, he closes it and turns - you strike! Image what happens next.... Perhaps there is a greater thrill in light tackle angling than sight fishing for tarpon, but I haven't' done it yet. The sheer size of these magnificent creatures clad in bright silver scales the size of a drink coaster is a sight to behold. The acrobatic jumps and sizzling runs that they make when hooked leave a scar on your soul that only more tarpon hook-up can heal. BEWARE - Tarpon fishing is addictive!!!

Tarpon a found in many places around the world but there are only a handful of places to sight fish for 100 pounders in shallow water. I feel that the Florida Keys is the premier location for sight fishing for tarpon. The annual tarpon migration in the Keys starts slowly in late winter. In February , March and April during periods of calm warm weather the tarpon start to appear. In May large masses of tarpon are making their way down the beaches of the Florida Keys. During late May and June the tarpon migration is in full swing and lasts into July when it starts to slow down and taper off. Although the window of prime tarpon fishing opportunity is relatively short, the action can be fast and furious. The Keys offer many different opportunities to catch the silver king. There are fish cruising the Oceanside flats as well as the massive array of banks in Florida Bay during their annual migration. In the back country or bay side you can find "laid-up" fish - that is fish floating near the surface while resting in a quite pocket of water. You can fish with live bait in the channels that run between the flats and even night fish around the bridges. A dancing tarpon in the light of a Q-beam with the backdrop of nightfall is a spectacular sight. All methods share one common characteristic - sheer excitement. On the following pages I will share with you some of the knowledge and techniques that I have learned fishing for the Silver King.

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