Tarpon fishing has been pretty good lately. We experienced a minor cold front that has pushed some of the migratory fish to deeper water, but they are still around. Each day seems to get better and better, with more tarpon showing up regularly. The migratory pattern for our tarpon in Key West is a little different this year than previous, primarily because we had a little cooler early spring. Things should be normal from here on out, finding them in our usual tarpon locations.
Here’s a little video from the other afternoon of tarpon fishing in the shallows!
Lately we have been using live bait, such as pinfish. We are rigging the pinfish on 5-6/0 offset j-hooks or circle hooks, with a 30-40lb leader.
Other than tarpon, we are seeing a lot of other species in the backcountry. Jacks crevalle, yellow jacks, cobia, mangrove snapper, lane snapper, groupers, mackerel, barracuda, and plenty of sharks are all on the list for a fun time aside from tarpon fishing.
Permit are still spawning on the reef, which we have been able to get out to on the calmer days.
The weather has been pretty comfortable lately, and we are experiencing typical spring time conditions. Slightly cooler winds some days, but primarily sunny and beautiful like our Florida Keys waters should be!
Don’t wait too long to book your trip, as days are becoming sold out regularly for this spring season.
**Tip for booking – call versus email, and leave a voicemail. Call using a cell phone that can receive text messages in case we are out on the water and cannot pick up the phone for a conversation. We may be able to shoot off a text here and there!**