Florida is a favorite spot among fishing aficionados, well-known for its beautiful white-sand
beaches, rapid passes, and crystal clear flats. They flock here starting April, some staying until
the full moon of July. Bleary-eyed and all but patiently waiting with their fishing rods in these
fishing paths, these anglers are out for one reason: to catch the greatest game fish in the world:
the magnificent Tarpon.
The Best Time for Tarpon Fishing (According to Most People)
Tarpons roam the beaches, passes and saltwater flats of Florida for four months. The
southward spring migration is part of their pre-spawning then, as summer comes, they migrate
northwards for their post-spawning. Then, just as fast as they came, they’re all but completely
gone.
So right after that July full moon, all these tarpon anglers leave the area quickly since they
migrate elsewhere. Opportunities of chancing upon this game fish become inconsistent during
summer so it would be a huge waste of time for most fishermen to hang about the area.
But It’s Really About Knowing More about the Tarpons
Expert Tarpon fishermen don’t necessarily stop. They just know where to go next.
While most of the post-spawn fish go north, some of them break off from the After Dark path
and move along the coasts, in bays and rivers. Even experts are not quite sure why their
temperaments are so different from their springtime counterparts, why they prefer the
freshwater (sometimes mixed with salt, too). But it is part of their mystery. And it’s good too
because tarpon fishing doesn’t stop.
Summer tarpon stay here for one thing: to feed.
The Best Places for Tarpon Fishing (for those In the Know)
Charlotte Harbor, Tampa Bay and Pine Island are the preferred spots of these late-season fish.
I’m lucky I live so close to one of those mentioned areas, Tampa Bay, which supports the tarpon
population.
Oddly enough, a lot of people overlook the pre and post season occurrence of amazingly giant
tarpons in the areas of Charlotte Harbor and Tampa Bay, despite the fact that it is no secret.
Sure, the fish moves around a lot that you will have to find their spots every so often. But good
for those who stay, though. The fishing season is not over. And for those in the know and who
doesn’t like the crowds, it’s the best time to be here.
A Short Intro to Tarpon Hotspots and Fishing Techniques
There are so many other places for you to find summer tarpon in the area. There are even more
methods for catching them – so many, in fact, that it’s impossible to enumerate all of it in this
write-up.
The good thing is that tarpons show up practically in the same places and feed on the same
things.
So when it comes to spots where you could find them, these would include the following:
dredge holes, channels, docks, submerged rip-raps, mouths of rivers, oyster bars, deep flats,
grass edges, troughs, points and live hard bottoms.
And when it comes to techniques, you might want to employ the following: fly fishing, trolling,
plugging, live bait corking, drifting and bottom fishing.
Under the Bridge
If you ask me (or any expert tarpon fishers out there, for that matter), the most favored spot of
these tarpons would still be bridges. While this is a fact and, therefore, a guarantee that you
would catch one, it would still be good if you knew and understood how these fish move
around the bay.
We’ve got fifty miles’ worth, even more, of bridges in Tampa Bay. And these have been the best
spots for summer tarpons. The Sunshine Skyway, for instance, is one of the most reliable spots
for the whole season. The pilings and the shadows cast by these bridges on the water is a
favorite of live sardines and herring, especially during the big tides of new and full moons. Set
up on the bridge’s up-current side during quarter moon tides.
The Bait
The best tarpon bait for this is dead but still fresh menhaden. Before this fact was discovered in
the ‘70s, the large butterflied pinfish was considered to be the standard. Some still use this up
to this day. Now that it’s the menhaden, the location of large schools is a huge secret, known
only to a few experienced anglers who join tournaments.
All you need to do is sling the weighted bait into the pilings, making sure it lies flat on the
bottom. You see, the tarpon is very lazy. It will go for fresh, dead bait on the bottom. So this is
quite effective.
Next, do chunking. This is a fishing technique borrowed from tuna fishermen in the Northeast.
To sweeten the water and further attract the tarpon, ladle cut-up pieces of the menhaden into
the water. It is very oily so the tide will carry the chum slick where it should go – under the
bridge.
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