Benefits Of Key West Tarpon Guides

By Winnie Ford


The tarpon is one of the fish that is most sought after in Key West. It is also called the silver king and grows to over 200lbs. The majority of the migrating fish seen between April and June are in the range of 70lbs. This however does not mean one cannot find larger ones. There are a number of techniques of fishing and one chooses what they feel is best for them. For those that look to fish in Key West tarpon guides are very vital.

Among the very easy ways to get tarpons to eat when they start being picky is attempting to feed them on a fly. Choosing the fly is an important part of the fishing. Such factors as shape, size and color are considered. In the case of water that is salty, size and shape are not as important as the action of the fly. The fly can float on water, be partially sunken or fully under water.

With the numerous patterns and colors to choose from, the guide will let the individual make the choice of the one they like most. Whatever pattern is chosen should be able to make hook up easy. When migration is just starting, tarpon travel mostly in the ocean side flats and therefore come in large pods. Some also stay in deep flats and channels.

The migrating tarpons are fun and more often than not, the guide will ask people to be up early so that they fish for rolling tarpon. During such periods, tarpons are excited and will even perform some dance, usually in circles. Fishing in the morning is exciting. Nevertheless, tarpon will still be found during other times of day, even after dusk.

A trip in Key West Harbor is one of the very common and interesting ones. Most of the time people will use multiple hooks and for those with charters for the whole day, they can fish throughout the day. They could also catch some fish to use for dinner. Doing night fishing is an interesting sport that most people find very enjoyable. There is the use of spin casting outfits and sinking plugs to reel through water close to deeper channels when it starts getting dark.

The guides will also help in setting hooks. With tarpons, hooks do not need to be set hard. Since the fish have hard mouths, the best approach is to drop back about 10 feet of line before letting the line to tighten. Alternatively, the rod can be left in the rod holder until the fish begins to strip the line off the reel. The other trick is to put the tip of the rod in water and pull fast.

Setting the right drag may also need the intervention of a guide. Most anglers tend to set the drag too tight. 20 to 25 percent is a good rule. The use of knots weakens lines by as much as 25 percent, which is something that should be remembered.

For individuals that look forward to fishing in Key West tarpon guides are very important. They insure fishing is effectively and efficiently done. It is one of the ways to ensure fishing tarpon becomes enjoyable.




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