The Best Bait For Tarpon

 I'm fond of fishing for tarpon off Key West. And I've had a lot of luck on the flats just north of old Fort Jefferson. The area is known as 'The Battery.' It's got such a prolific population of tarpon that they used to turn them loose here following swordfish tournaments at the end of each season.

This whole area used to be nothing but pineapple fields, but now its mostly condos. It's one of the most expensive places in Key West. If you're really rich, you can even afford a penthouse apartment on top of Fort Jefferson itself.

But if tarpon are your thing, you don't care about all that fancy building stuff. All you want to do is catch tarpon. And what makes this so special?

The area has lots of big, flat rocks that the tarpon like to hang around under. It's not unusual to come across a four or five-footer here, even if they tend to be a little smaller than those I've found further south. But I'm not complaining- I think the smaller fish are more beautiful and they put up a great fight!

So what's my secret for success? Well first, I take my time and let the tarpon get used to me before I even cast a line. They won't hang around if you're rushing things. All you have to do is find a nice school of tarpon and just start casting out your bait in the area.

The two best baits to use are squid and cut mullet. In my experience, I've found that 80-pound test has been sufficient for all but the largest fish here. The key is to make sure that your hook is as sharp as possible. The idea is to let the tarpon snag itself if it can't fight itself off. That way you're not dealing with too much resistance and they won't know what's hit them!

The first thing I do when a tarpon bites my line is reel it in right away and try to get the line as slack as possible. Then I start a slow-paced retrieve which is usually enough to lure it in pretty close. Once you've got one tarpon hooked, its important not to go rushing things.

If you do, there's a good chance that you'll lose it. But if everything goes according to plan and you keep it calm, you'll soon feel the tarpon start to run with your bait. When this happens, let it go until you've reeled in enough line so that your lure is just over its head. This is when you should strike!

The key at this point is to use all of your strength and maintain steady pressure. Don't whine if you feel a bit of resistance. That's pretty normal and you'll find that the more pressure you apply, the better. If it's a big one, you want to get it into shallow water as quickly as possible before trying to bring it ashore.

If things go according to plan ,you should soon feel your line go slack. At that point you'll know that you've got a clean shot at pulling it in. To make sure that things don't get out of hand, keep your line tight and be prepared to go chasing after it if necessary!

The Battery is a great place to find trophy-sized tarpon. I hope this helps!

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