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Florida Tarpon Fishing Charters Info.
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Florida Tarpon Fishing Charters Info.
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Whether you refer to them as Sabalo, Silver King or Megalops Atlanticus, the tarpon is one of Charlotte Harbor’s most popular sport fish. While we do have tarpon that hang out up river all year long, Charlotte Harbor and more specifically, Boca Grande Pass are known for the large influx of tarpon that arrive around the latter half of April until about mid July. These beautiful fish come from all over during this period and conglomerate in the Boca Grande Pass in order to prepare for the spawning season and also to eat. There is a phenomenon known as hill tides and during these tides there is an influx of calico and blue crabs. These crabs get flushed out of the harbor and through the Pass during the hill tides. The tarpon get together and wait for this to happen and then go on a feeding frenzy like you’ve never seen. With their acrobatic displays and vicious strikes, tarpon can take the sturdiest of anglers to their knees. Fisherman from all over the world travel to Boca Grande to get their shot at a trophy Silver King. Fishing the pass during the “season” can be challenging. Picture hundreds of fish rolling on the surface being chased by dozens and sometimes hundreds of boats. Throw on top of that mixing water currents that can create some pretty heavy chop and you have a recipe for disaster. This amount of traffic can be chaotic, but believe it or not, it is an orchestrated chaos. On normal, non-hill tide days our main tackle is size 30 conventional reels loaded with 40-50 lb. monofilament line and 50-80 lb. fluorocarbon leader. Rods range from 15-30 lb to 20-50 lb. class rods. We are forced to use circle hooks by Florida regulations and I usually use size 7/0 hooks. We use tarpon jigs and artificial bodies and jig them just off the bottom. During hill tides we’ll usually sight cast to the tarpon using size 50 to 60, or 5000 to 6000 size spinning reels loaded with 50 lb. braided line and 50-80 lb. fluorocarbon leader. Rods are 7’6” to 8’ 15-30 lb. class rods with plenty of backbone and a light tip to feel the tarpon’s gingerly bite. When sight casting we’ll use a wide range of live bait from crabs to white bait but we’ll also use artificial lures and flies. We do, occasionally use light tackle in the pass but it’s usually reserved for ideal conditions. It’s harder to stay on the fish due to chasing the pods of tarpon and dropping 4-6 oz. jigs constantly. You also run the risk of not being able to control your fish in such tight quarters. Another drawback to light tackle is it unnecessarily tires the tarpon to the point of exhaustion and the tarpon either dies from the fight or becomes easy prey to the local sharks. Again, light tackle is only recommended when it can be used responsibly. While the influx of trophy tarpon to this area draws anglers from all over the world, it also draws charter captains from all over too. While these captains are just as professional as the local guides, they don’t have the knowledge of the harbor that local captains do. If the pass bite is off, many don’t know where to go to pick up smaller schools of tarpon inside the Harbor. Biologists speculate that there are up to 10,000 to 20,000 tarpon in the Boca Grande Pass in an area the size of 4 football fields at the height of the pass “season”. However we also have many fish migrating around the Charlotte Harbor area. We have fish moving up the Intracoastal Waterway and fish moving into Charlotte Harbor from the Pass. There are also resident tarpon from up the Peace River and Myakka River moving down into the Harbor and towards the pass to mate, spawn and eat. This gives the local guides with knowledge of the area and the fish more opportunities to put you on the fish of your dreams the non-local guides just can’t provide. Fishing outside the pass in the Harbor, the Myakka River, Peace River, the Matlacha area, Punta Gorda Isles and the Punta Gorda Canal system is completely different than fishing the Pass. There isn’t the traffic, the fish are under much less pressure, there can be fewer obstacles and sometimes the view is gorgeous. It also gives the angler the chance to fight his trophy tarpon on light tackle if he so pleases. There are many ways to target tarpon once the move into the Harbor. Fish between 20-150 lbs are usually the size of fish that get hooked in the harbor. We fish for them with a wide range of baits, tackle and techniques. We can drift baits behind the boat or sight cast live and artificial bait to them. Trolling is even an option. Tarpon are mainly a catch and release fish. Sometimes a picture just isn't enough. A tradition down here is take a scale from your tarpon, the leader and hook used to catch the tarpon along with a picture or two and have them all mounted in a frame as a permanent reminder of your spectacular catch. Here is an example (click the picture for a larger version):
To create your memento you must cure your tarpon scale. To cure the scale, take a paper towel and lay down a good bed of salt. Place the scale on top of the bed of salt and cover the scale with more salt. Cover the scale with another paper towel and place everything between two flat heavy items (large books work well) for about three weeks. If this isn't done the scale will wrinkle, curl or crumble. Also keep in mind that this is going to create a bad smell until the scale is fully cured. Once the scale is cured you can develop or print your pictures and place them in the frame with the scale and the leader. If you don't feel comfortable doing this on your own, I also offer this service for a small fee. The fee will depend on the number of pictures and of course, shipping to your address. Our goal is to put you on the fish of a lifetime. We offer the tools and the knowledge to guide you to complete that task. If you have any questions or concerns about catching your tarpon please feel free to email me at: |
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