Big kingfish can be caught year-round in Key West, but in January and February more smokers migrate south from the Gulf of Mexico. With the right timing and tactics, anglers can catch the biggest kings of the year.

“It’s just so cool,” says Key West captain Casey Hunt, who grew up fishing in Pompano Beach, Florida. “Catching 20-pound kingfish here is like catching 5-pound kingfish out of Hillsboro Inlet. They’re so plentiful.”

And these big macks grow really big. A few years ago, Hunt caught a monster that weighed 71 pounds in his boat. He notes that the same fish, gutted, actually weighed 72 pounds on a fish house scale. In a fairly recent Key West Kingfish Mayhem Open Tournament, the winning fish came in at 51.7 pounds; seven other kings topped 41 pounds.

Kingfish Haven

Capt. Ron Mitchell, a well-known Florida angler who has fished Key West king mackerel tournaments for nearly 30 years, has caught many kings over 50 pounds, including a 63-pounder. He also got a firsthand look at a 78.66-pounder caught by another tournament team in 2015.

“There’s so much life there [in Key West], why would the fish leave?” says Mitchell, a member of the Southern Kingfish Association Hall of Fame. “It’s a big old ecosystem that’s holding tons of fish. It just seems like they get a little bigger and maybe they’re feeding a little differently, there are more in an area this time of year.”

Mitchell also thinks that improvements in boats, motors, electronics and tackle contribute to the increase in the number of big kingfish caught in Key West. For example, his boat Bandit, with quad 400-horsepower outboards, allows him to cover much more water. Mitchell says it takes him one hour to get to spots that used to take him three hours, allowing him to fish longer. His boat features six livewells, each with two pumps in case one pump breaks or if he wants to increase water flow to accommodate hundreds of baits.

Smoker Kingfish Tactics

To target big kings, Mitchell emphasizes making the extra effort to select the liveliest baits. “I tell my guys to always find the best baits in the livewell. Look in there and find that bright-eyed, crisp blue runner or goggle-eye or speedo or whatever and put him out. He’ll get hit quicker than anything you’ve got in your spread,” he says.

Hunt uses his Simrad sounder to find bait and slight changes in water temperature. He also uses CMOR mapping on his multifunction display to find wrecks and other structure. “Sometimes the current hits the reef differently and there’s bait that’s balled up there,” he says. “Sometimes the water will get really cold, and when you find it bump up a little bit, even if it changes a half a degree, it can mean fish there.”

Winter weather also plays a role as front after front rolls through. “If you go down there for a week, you’re going to have a couple good days and you’re going to have a couple horrible days,” Mitchell says. Before the front arrives, the kingfish start feeding, and then they shut down. After the front passes and the weather calms the fish start eating. “But I always think that if you put a beautiful bait in front of a kingfish, no matter what’s going on — they might not even be hungry — they see that thing and they’ve got to hit it.”

Finding Key West King Mackerel

Hunt, who runs CN-It Adventures, charters with his 26-foot Twin Vee and also guides anglers on their personal boats. He catches most of his big winter kings about 40 miles south of Key West along a ledge that drops from 60 to 120 feet.

“The bait is holding right where the ledge starts to drop down, and the kingfish are shooting up to eat the bait,” Hunt says, adding that yellowtail snappers also hang on that ledge. “You can fish for yellowtails there as well and hook a big kingfish. Someone caught a 61-pound king on a 12-pound outfit while yellowtailing. There are plenty of wahoos there, too, when the water is clean.”

Mitchell adds that most of his prime spots lie 40 to 45 miles out of Key West. Among his favorites include Tail End Buoy, the Rockpile, the Rocket, the Critter, eastern and western Dry Rocks, Cosgrove Shoals and the current hotspot, the Banana Bar.

Kingfish Tackle and Bait

When targeting big kings, Hunt prefers a 3- to 5-pound live blue runner (his 71-pounder ate a runner) or yellowtail snapper. He bump-trolls the baits, taking the engines in and out of gear to keep the bow edging forward, and fishes only three flat lines at a time. He staggers the lines 30, 60, and 100 feet behind the boat. “The bite is so fast and furious; if the fish are there, they’re going to eat,” he says. There’s no waiting around.”

He doesn’t employ a downrigger line, usually a popular tactic for kingfish anglers, because a deep bait mostly likely will catch a black grouper (grouper season is closed most of the year), an amberjack or a jack crevalle.

Read Next: King Mackerel Fishing Tips

Mitchell prefers to fish five lines: a big runner or bluefish 300 feet behind the boat, two flat lines, and two downrigger lines at different depths. However, when seas grow rough, he might not even set two baits. And when the bite goes off: “You throw a bait out the back of the boat, and it gets hit immediately. It can get that good.”

Like many kingfish tournament anglers, Hunt uses very light drag settings. Still, his 71-pounder took only 10 minutes to land. “We let them zip out 200 yards of line and wear themselves out, then we go after them with the boat,” he says. But even if a king bites through the leader or otherwise breaks off, chances are the fertile Key West waters will deliver many more opps to smoke one.

The post Winter Hotspot: Key West Kingfish appeared first on Sport Fishing Mag.

Capt. Richard Stanczyk stays busy overseeing everything at Bud N’ Mary’s Marina in Islamorada. But this time of year, when the weather cools in the Florida Keys, he always sets aside a few afternoons to take family and friends bonefishing.

Thanks to a combination of factors that has greatly improved the water quality in Florida Bay around Islamorada, flats fishing has flourished. “When I used to take people bonefishing, I would tell them, ‘I guarantee you one thing: a beautiful sunset.’ Now I can almost guarantee them a bonefish,” Stanczyk says. “The flats are better, there’s no question. The overall water quality has been the best this year that I can remember in many, many years.”

Best Flats and Conditions for Bonefish

Although anglers can endure the heat and catch bonefish during the summer, Stanczyk says fall ranks as his favorite time of the year to pursue the gray ghosts. “Temperature is important, and usually we’re just coming off extreme heat,” he explains. “You’ve got to fish real early in the morning because of the cooling effect that takes place overnight, and then there’s a window late in the afternoon.”

However, bonefish become difficult to catch on the flats when water temperatures dip below 72 degrees. When a November cold front approaches, Stanczyk says the bonefish leave Florida Bay and move to the deeper, warmer water on the ocean side of Islamorada.

While Florida Bay’s water temperatures remain comfortable for bonefish, Stanczyk hunts a variety of flats. With more than 40 years of experience fishing those shallow waters, he has a pretty good idea of where the fish should be based on the tides and the wind direction.

He looks for a mix of healthy, green grass and sand and gravel. He avoids flats with brown, matted algae and what he calls “rusty-looking dust,” which indicates low water flow.

“Sometimes you get big broad flats, and you’ve got a lot of sunlight, and those types of flats [the fish] don’t like to commit to them so much, so they’ll stay around the edges, and that’s especially during calm weather. The wind will help you a little bit,” he says.

He also finds fish around what’s called a strip bank—where a narrow strip rises up, and the water churns as it flows over the obstruction. Fish often mill around those locations and want to feed, he says.

Fishing Live Shrimp for Bonefish

When he first came to the Keys in the 1970s, Stanczyk exclusively fly-fished for bones. He’d propel his skiff across a shallow flat and look for tailing fish or the shadows from swimming fish.

Of course, water levels have risen over the last 20 years, he notes. Bonefish flats that once featured 6 inches of water now flood with 2 or 3 feet of water, making the fish harder to see.

Some sharp-eyed backcountry guides still pole across the flats, but at this stage of his life, Stanczyk prefers a technique known as dead-boating or staking out. “Instead of me hunting them down, I let them find me,” he says.

Stanczyk eases his skiff onto a flat where he believes he’ll intercept bonefish, and where the wind and current move in the same direction. He plants his push pole in the sandy bottom and secures the boat to the pole with a rope.

Once settled, he baits two to four spinning outfits with live shrimp and casts them to specific spots on the flat.

Stanczyk thinks of the flat like a road map with one route on and off the zone. With the right conditions, he knows the bonefish will travel that route and find the shrimp.

Rigging Light Tackle for Bonefish

One of Stanczyk’s other keys to dead-boating bonefish involves putting the bait on an edge with grass and sand. That makes it easier for the fish to find the shrimp by sight and scent.

He recommends using light spinning outfits with 12-pound monofilament line. “You don’t want to over-tackle bonefish,” he says. “It takes away the excitement, the challenge and the fun.”

He places an egg sinker weighing 1/8 to 1/2 ounce, depending on the strength of the current, above a swivel tied to 12 to 18 inches of 12- to 20-pound monofilament leader. He completes the rig with a 2/0 Gamakatsu Offset Worm EWG hook. A smaller hook could be swallowed by a bonefish.

Read Next: Bonefish on Artificial Lures

Stanczyk breaks off the tail off a shrimp and threads it tail-first onto the hook, so the entire hook is concealed. After casting the shrimp, he puts the spinning outfits in rod holders and watches the tips for movement.

“What you’re really watching is the bonefish trying to pick up the shrimp,” Stanczyk says. “As he’s nosing down on your bait, he’s sending you a signal. Pick up the rod, but don’t spook him.”

When the fish takes the shrimp, reel, don’t jerk. “If he’s not there, stop reeling. He’ll pick it back up,” Stanczyk notes. “If he is there, he’s going to be off and running. Let him make his first run, because you’re not going to stop him.”

After another run or two, the bonefish tires, and that trophy comes boatside for photos. Once you notch the first fish by letting it come to you, you can try hunting and scouting. Look for tails and shadows. But if you strike out, remember, you can always stake out.

The post Fishing for Bonefish in the Florida Keys appeared first on Sport Fishing Mag.

Streaking bonefish. Tailing reds. Rolling tarpon. Fishing shallow-water flats is the stuff of dreams. Countless destinations across the globe provide striking diversity and opportunities to fulfill any angler’s fantasy-fish wish list. In many cases, flats-fishing allows anglers to single out a specific species, eliminating much of the luck and boiling down success — or failure — to split-second decisions and actions. Choosing which flats to target and when can take some research. But some areas, including the following eight destinations, maintain world‑class fisheries.

Throughout the decades, each has attracted its share of world-record seekers and globe-trotting anglers, who spread the fame throughout countless tackle shops, watering holes, and marinas around the world.

Cuba’s Everglades

A national park framed by mangroves and backcountry thicket featuring a treasure trove of inshore species—sounds like that famous chunk of Earth in South Florida we all know about. But this is no river of grass; it’s a peninsula of lagoons, islands, rivers and bocas in western Cuba known as Ciénaga de Zapata National Park. This is rarified air for anglers, a place where landing mutton snapper, bonefish, tarpon, permit and snook in one day isn’t unheard of. (It’s fly-fishing only, by the way.) The limited number of anglers allowed and the lightly pressured fish ensure that even greenhorns have a good chance of success. Yellow Dog Outfitters is one of the few American travel companies that can make it happen. —Shawn Bean

Contacts

Yellow Dog Outfitters
yellowdogflyfishing.com
888-777-5060

Quadruple-Layover Flats (Africa)

Pack the Dramamine and don’t forget your charger. On the other side of Earth, African Waters runs fishing camps and liveaboards across the African continent, including some of the world’s most remote and unpressured flats. Here’s its current menu of destinations.

Nubian flats liveaboard, Sudan: Seven nights on the gin-clear Red Sea flats of northern Sudan chasing triggerfish, giant trevally, bonefish and permit.

Faro River, Cameroon: This package includes six days wading through the Faro River and habitats of the West African savannah to cast flies at Nile perch up to 40 pounds.

Mnyera and Ruhudji rivers, Tanzania: It’s freshwater fishing for tigerfish done on the drift, searching out river structure like fallen trees and rocky outcroppings to target tigerfish in the 10- to 25-pound range.

Sette Cama, Gabon: West Africa’s most pristine coastline boasts monster tarpon. Other wildlife sightings include lowland gorillas, chimpanzees, and forest buffalo roaming the beach. —Shawn Bean

Contacts

African Waters
africanwaters.net
+27 33 342 2793

Seadrift, Texas

Seadrift, Texas, is a sportsman’s paradise on stilts, a salty community an hour’s drive from Corpus Christi known for its 365-day, 360-degree redfishing—a fishery that exists all year, in every direction. Bay Flats Lodge, the homespun hideaway with accommodations for 30, is the ideal home base.

Bay Flats sits on the front stoop of San Antonio Bay, a healthy ecosystem with ample bait and boundless opportunities for one highly sought-after, sometimes bronze, rarely silver and never-red gamefish. Skiffs and airboats depart the Bay Flats ramp at first light, with fly and spin anglers sight-fishing flats that shrink to less than a foot. At day’s end, a dinner menu featuring Black Angus ribeye, double-boned pork chops, fried quail legs and frijoles charros is the recipe for deep sleep deep in the heart of Texas. —Shawn Bean

Contacts

Bay Flats Lodge
bayflatslodge.com
888-677-4868

Turneffe Atoll, Belize

Mandating catch-and-release fishing only since 2009 for tarpon, bonefish and permit, Turneffe Atoll is the largest and most biologically diverse coral atoll in the Western Hemisphere. As such, extensive flats here offer a prime target for anglers who want to fly-cast their way to a flats-fishing grand slam by catching all three of these headline species in a single day.

The diverse selection and size of fish that reside on these flats make them unique, according to fishing guide Edison Gabourel of Turneffe Island Resort. “Seeing these flats is like looking at a nice slice of apple pie — you feast your eyes. You’ll see singles, doubles, and big schools of tailing bonefish, permit and tarpon. People who come here are thrilled with the fact that you can see schools of fish for hours; you can see your targets in the crystal-clear water, and then make your cast and do it right. After they fish Turneffe, people always say they’re coming back.”

Turneffe is relatively accessible for American travelers, only two to two and a half hours by plane from several southern U.S. airports. Anglers fly into Belize City, which features a large international airport, and take a 30-mile boat ride to the atoll. Several resorts lie on Turneffe; most offer pickup (some even via helicopter) from Belize City.

The height of the season is summer; June, July and August offer the best shot at catching a grand slam, but bonefish and permit prowl these flats year-round. Although there are some resident tarpon, most migrate away from the flats in winter.

Top tactics include wade-fishing and stalking, mostly while sight-fishing with fly-fishing gear. Seven- and 8-weight fly tackle is recommended for bonefish and permit. Reels should be spooled with at least 200 yards of 20-pound backing plus weight-forward floating line. For tarpon, size up to 11- or 12-weights and use 30-pound backing. Size six to 10 unweighted flies such as Crazy Charlies, Gotchas, and crab patterns work best for the bonefish and permit; use 3/0 to 4/0 Deceiver patterns for tarpon. Anglers can also use 10- to 20-pound spinning gear to cast plugs or live bait. —Lenny Rudow

Contacts

Turneffe Island Resort
turnefferesort.com
800-874-0118

Turneffe Flats
tflats.com
888-512-8812

Lower Laguna Madre, Texas

With low rainfall and little freshwater inflow, the Laguna Madre of south coastal Texas is one of just a half-dozen or so lagoons holding reliably hypersaline water. Add to that a shallow average depth of just over 3 feet and abundant sea grass, and you generally find gin-clear water. In the Lower Laguna Madre, on the east side in particular, white sandy flats intertwine with grassy areas. The area is best known for big schools of tailing redfish.

“The cool thing about the Lower Laguna Madre is that it’s unique,” says native Texan and captain Ben Paschal, of Laguna Madre Outfitters. “The water’s so clear that sometimes you can spot fish 200 feet out. When sight-casting, you often get multiple shots. And you can target species people don’t usually sight-fish for, such as big speckled trout.”

Because wildlife refuges or protected seashores comprise 75 percent of its shorelines, many of the best fishing areas are far from access points, and area lodging is fairly concentrated. South Padre Island is the most popular place to stay, and offers a number of good options.

The nearest commercial airport is in Brownsville, about 25 miles from South Padre. There are limited accommodations to the north in Port Mansfield and slightly inland at Raymondville. Some guides, including Paschal, commonly prearrange lodging for their customers in nearby rental houses, which are closer to the fishing, in areas such as Arroyo City.

Paschal says spring is his favorite time to fish the Lower Laguna Madre, but through the heat of summer, the fish continue biting. March through November provide top-notch flats-fishing. Many anglers cast from shallow-water skiffs and flats boats, but others prefer wade-fishing.

Anglers mostly sight-cast from skiffs along with wade-fishing, while using either fly or conventional gear. Popular flies include EP fiber crabs, gurglers and Clousers. The clear water dictates stealth at all times. When fly-fishing, use long leaders on 7- to 9-weight 9-foot rods, and limit false casts. Use 8- to 12-pound ­spinning gear to cast soft plastics rigged to jig heads, or bucktails (often tipped with shrimp). —Lenny Rudow

Contacts

Laguna Madre Outfitters
lagunamadreoutfitters.com
214-704-3158

Getaway Lodge
getawayadventureslodge.com
956-944-4000

Seabreeze Beach Resort
seabreezebeachresort.com
800-541-9901

St. Brandon’s Atoll, Mauritius

Ah, 2023. It was the year of Barbenheimer, the Chinese spy balloon over Oklahoma, the coronation of King Charles, and the year that (finally) St. Brandon, the 40-island archipelago roughly 300 miles east of Mauritius, reopened to international anglers. There’s good reason to rejoice: St. Brandon’s Atoll is the “finest bonefish destination on the planet,” according to Gerhard Laubscher, CEO of FlyCastaway guide service in Johannesburg. Giant trevally, triggerfish, Indo-Pacific permit, and bonefish up to 15 pounds roam St. Brandon’s flats, and its nominal tidal changes mean hours of uninterrupted tailing fish. Sure, you’re in transit for 24 hours to get there, but sometimes good things require three layovers. —Shawn Bean

Contacts

FlyCastaway
flycastaway.com
27-11-234-1450

Yellow Dog Flyfishing Adventures
yellowdogflyfishing.com
888-777-5060

Tourette Fishing
tourettefishing.com
27-84-622-2272 (mothership)

Florida Keys

It should surprise no ­enthusiast to find the Florida Keys on this list. And while anglers might continually bicker about the best flats in this string of islands, the Islamorada area south into Marathon often takes top honors. Tremendous diversity highlights this region’s fishing, and while species such as bonefish, tarpon and permit get most of the headlines, you never know what will end up inhaling your bait or lure. Jacks, barracuda, several species of sharks, snook, redfish, seatrout, ladyfish — the list goes on.

“Options are what make this area so great,” says Capt. Ted Benbow, who runs Skins and Fins Fishing Charters in Islamorada with his son Donnie, a third-generation Florida fishing guide. “I can run to the Intracoastal; I can fish around the islands close by; I can run to Everglades National Park; I can fish north; I can fish south; and I can enjoy some of the best bonefish and permit ­flats-fishing around.”

Capt. Benbow explains that no matter which way the wind blows or what time of year it is, fishable flats lie within reach. Thanks to the countless mangrove islands scattered throughout the area and the innumerable sandy flats between them, clear, sheltered water can always be found.

Fall offers anglers their best shot at bones and permit on the flats, particularly on days with a northwest wind when the Atlantic-side flats are sheltered and calm. Spring is usually the top pick if you have tarpon in your sights, although they can be caught any time of year.

Although the Florida Keys isn’t exactly remote, getting there usually requires a flight into Miami, followed by a two-plus-hour drive south. Anglers can also fly into Key West and drive back north. Traffic, particularly during weekends, on the Keys’ Overseas Highway can be tricky, with speed limits bouncing between 35 and 55 mph. But once you reach your destination, you’ll find plenty of hotels, resorts and offbeat lodging to choose from, ranging from five-star accommodations to rental houseboats.

Peak seasons include bonefish and permit in the fall, spring for tarpon

Anglers in the Keys typically cast from skiffs, with some wade-fishing and stalking, while using either fly or conventional gear. When targeting bonefish and permit, an 8- to 10-weight rod is appropriate; size up to 11- or 12-weight for tarpon. Use floating fly line with 12-foot leaders. Tie 12- to 20-pound tippet for smaller species and 20-pound tippet with a 60-pound shock leader for tarpon. Muddlers, gurglers, shrimp, and crab patterns are all popular and effective. Anglers casting spinning or conventional gear often use bait (most commonly shrimp) or cast plastic shrimp or grubs. —Lenny Rudow

Contacts

Skins and Fins Fishing Charters
skinsandfinscharters.com
305-393-0363

Bud ‘N Mary’s
budnmarys.com
305-664-2461

Hawk’s Cay Resort
hawkscay.com
888-395-5539

Ascension Bay, Mexico

If there’s a single sight-fishing nirvana, Mexico’s Ascension Bay tops the list. It’s a blissfully remote showcase of the Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserve, accessed mostly via a narrow road to Punta Allen and points well beyond the Cancun tourista traps. But the ride is absolutely worth every bump and pothole.

What awaits are massive schools of spunky bonefish eager to take a tan skimmer jig or a pink Crazy Charlie. Cooperative permit cruise the outer edges, while tarpon roll happily around the island moats.

Read Next: Fishing’s Most Amazing Dream Trips

A dozen quality lodges dot the bay’s perimeter, yet their limited capacities also limit the pressure. Guides are friendly and osprey-eyed, with a working Spanglish vocabulary. Peak months are March through June, with light winds; summer’s heat wave brings schools of big shiner tarpon transiting across the bay. —Capt. Dave Lear

Contacts

Red’s Fly Shop
redsflyshop.com
509-933-2300

The Palometa Club
palometaclub.com
888-824-5420

Pesca Maya Fishing Lodge
pescamaya.com
888-894-5642

The post World’s Greatest Flats-Fishing Destinations appeared first on Sport Fishing Mag.

How can you distinguish dyed-in-the-scales tarpon fanatics from other anglers? It’s easy. Broach topics like sports, politics, religion or business, and all you’ll get is a wan smile and an appeasing head nod. Mention tarpon, however, and it’s like plugging in the Christmas tree lights — eyes go ablaze and hearts go aflutter.

What accounts for this love of fishing for Megalops atlanticus, better known as tarpon, silver kings and poons? They’re big, they’re powerful and they’re beautiful. And, once the hook is set, the fight is like a choreographed scene replete with hole-in-the-ocean jumps and hold-onto-your-rod-for-dear-life runs.

A great aspect of Florida tarpon fishing is that, depending on the chosen method, even a rookie can land a 100-plus-pounder. That’s most often accomplished by fishing live bait on a circle hook in a channel where poons aggregate. However, the necessary skill level escalates exponentially when sight-fishing for silver kings. That scenario puts an angler on the bow of a skiff in shallow water, wielding the weaponry of light tackle or fly gear.

The best Florida tarpon-fishing seasons vary from one area of the state to another, by habitat and size of fish, and time of day (day vs night). The bottom line is that you can find/catch tarpon somewhere in Florida every month of the year.

Many passionate tarpon tamers progress from the bait-soaking stage to sight-fishing. No matter one’s style preference, however, Florida tops all states in presenting year-round opportunities for catching tarpon.

How to Catch Tarpon

Before the advent of circle hooks, it was difficult to master the timing needed to set the hook on a tarpon. Their bony mouths coupled with a penchant for quickly dispelling hooks with frantic jumps and furious head shakes usually left anglers with short-lived thrills. Circle hooks changed all that.

Live baits such as mullet, horse shrimp, pinfish, pilchards and crabs on a circle hook often seduce hungry poons. Freeline the offering so it floats with the current or tie the line several feet above the bait to a balloon that breaks away when a strike occurs. Cut baits weighted to lay on the bottom also get their measure of strikes, as tarpon are avid scavengers.

When you get a hit, remove slack and let the circle hook do its job as designed by turning and lodging into the corner of the fish’s jaw. Tarpon average 30 to 80 pounds, but big mommas and poppas can run double those sizes and more. Unless you’re deft at quickly landing a big fish on light tackle, go with medium to heavy spin or conventional gear and a sturdy measure of fluorocarbon leader. Avoid overly long battles if possible, as these often render tarpon too tired to escape the mighty maws of hammerheads or bull sharks. Catching tarpon on lures is big fun, especially fish less than 100 pounds, with sturdy saltwater hooks.

They will hit just about anything worked slowly with a bit of flash and color emulating minnows. Top-water, sinking and diving lures do well — go with single hooks rather than trebles to reduce jaw damage.

Once a tarpon is hooked, keep the pressure on when the fish runs. Follow if in a boat; if fishing from shore or a pier, you’d better have a large-arbor reel with plenty of line or you’ll be spooled.

When the poon stops running, pump-and-wind like a metronome on speed. At the first sight of the fish going airborne, “bow to the king” by pointing your rod at the fish and leaning toward it to create line slack. If a big fish jumps and lands away from you, a taut line often breaks.

Look for signs of tarpon such as rolling fish at the surface to gulp air or swirling at the water’s surface caused by their tails. Chumming by stunning live baits (squeeze the heads or bounce them off an outboard engine’s cowling) will quickly reveal if you’re amid poons or instead need to reposition. The following tarpon fishing locations are but a few of the many silver king kingdoms around Florida, but are among the best-known.

Tarpon Fishing in the Florida Keys

Almost all line-class and fly-tippet world records for tarpon caught in U.S. waters come from the Florida Keys (usually referred to simply as the Keys). These 43 islands connected by 42 bridges extend over 100 miles southwest of Miami from Key Largo to Key West. The Keys form a separation between the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico, including the shallow estuary of Florida Bay.

Flushed and nourished daily by ocean and Gulf tidal currents, the reefs, channels, canals, bridges and flats host a food chain from invertebrates to shellfish to baitfish. This abundance makes for an expansive game fish restaurant, and diners like tarpon don’t need to make reservations. While some poons are residential in nature and remain permanent locals, studies reveal that in the spring and fall, large schools of tarpon follow migrating mullet swimming up and down both Florida’s coasts and in and around the Keys.

If you like to play bridge, you can pick up tarpon in the Upper Keys at Bridge #2, Bridge #5, Long Key Bridge and Seven Mile Bridge. Florida Bay is a prime area, particularly the deeper moats around some of the small keys and in channels bisecting the myriad mud and grass flats. The Atlantic and Gulf “strips” — the edges of flats around Islamorada, Marathon and Key West — are renowned tarpon sites. Same goes for Key West Harbor.

Tarpon Fishing in Miami

Deep cuts with a lot of moving water excite tarpon populations off Miami and around Biscayne Bay. The most prolific haunt for tarpon year after year is Government Cut. It’s the manmade channel with a U.S. Coast Guard station on one side and, on the other, Miami’s port that features a slew of cruise and cargo ships. This wide and deep cut divides Miami Beach from Fisher Island, with a jetty at the mouth.

Late afternoons and evenings, with a moving tide, make for frequent tarpon encounters and a respite from the tropical sun. Full moons in April, May and June are notorious for tarpon action. If relegated to one choice of baits, go with a silver-dollar-size blue crab. If oversize live shrimp are available, try those second. It’s nice, though, to have a complement of offerings besides crabs, such as fresh-cut bait or diving/noisy lures.

Mullet migrate along the beaches during the fall, making for good shore fishing near Haulover Inlet. Bear Cut is known to hold poons, especially those loitering between Biscayne Bay and Key Largo.

Tarpon Fishing in Boca Grande

Calling itself the “Tarpon Capital of the World,” Boca Grande Pass’s tarpon action can become so frenzied at times with so many simultaneous hook-ups that it becomes quite a spectacle just watching skiffs winding in and around each other to avoid breakoffs.

Boca Grande Pass divides the southern end of Gasparilla Island and the northern portion of Cayo Costa. The pass is southwest of the outflow of Charlotte Harbor, which itself is a repository of spawning tarpon from spring to October. Boca Grande Pass is deep, ranging from just over 30 feet to nearly 70 feet.

From early April through July, schools of tarpon sometimes numbering in the hundreds migrate through the pass. Because of the swiftness of the current here, the drill is to drift the pass rather than anchor. Baits, lures (particularly tipped jigs) and flies of all types do well. Due to the large congregations of tarpon often present, fishing tournaments are popular, and a day’s fishing for an angler often results in multiple poon encounters.

I once battled a silver king in the 80-pound range on fly during a May visit, with scores of other skiffs present. Experienced guides were artful in averting tangles, but a few neophytes didn’t move their skiffs out of the way in time and a prop eventually dashed my clash. It didn’t make me very happy, but soon enough another battle ensued successfully.

Tarpon Fishing in Tampa Bay

Satellite tagging has revealed that tarpon migrate from as far as Mexico, following the Gulf coast to the Florida Keys and up the state’s Atlantic coast. At various times that brings silver kings off Tampa Bay, providing a number of haunts for anglers to check out.

One of the prime locations is Egmont Channel just north of Egmont Key at the mouth of Tampa Bay. It’s an ultra-deep channel by Florida standards, with depths exceeding 80 feet in some spots. An outgoing tide often flushes huge numbers of crabs from the bay through the channel and out into the Gulf. Tarpon know it well, and so do savvy anglers.

Drift with the tide and free-line a circle-hooked crab amid the fray. It’s some of the best tarpon fishing in the world when the action gets hot.

Other promising locations to pounce on poons include John’s Pass, Sunshine Skyway Bridge, Anna Maria Island, Fort De Soto Park, and beaches from Longboat Key to Pass-A-Grille. Dependable baits include menhaden, greenbacks (aka whitebaits), crabs and pinfish. If bait is scarce, cast deep-diving, shiny-and-noisy single-hook plugs.

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A permit swimming on a flat shallow enough to expose its black scythe-like tail certainly doesn’t seem “jack-like dumb” to fly fishers who suffer through countless fly presentations without a payoff. The most jaded fly fishers personify them, and call them [bleeping] dishonest, compared to tarpon, and maybe, bonefish. But a bait fisher who strictly plies offshore wrecks for permit loves that they act like jacks, more times than not. And yes, they are the same fish — revered wherever they’re pursued and caught.

Though far fewer Florida and visiting anglers target permit than they do tarpon, bones, redfish and others, the fish’s popularity is growing, as is the concern for their numbers and habitat. For starters this premier gamefish, released as an unwritten rule by flats anglers, is also a decent food fish, so a number do end up in the fish box. Or, unfortunately, the jaws of sharks.

The Project Goal

Bonefish & Tarpon Trust (BTT) researchers want to know more about the permit’s life cycle, its migratory habits, spawning activities and the threats to its habitat and very existence. The innovative project was launched in 2011. At the time, the Lower Keys Guides Association and BTT voiced concerns to the Florida Fish & Wildife Conservation Commission (FWC) regarding declining numbers of permit on the flats. Their suspicion was that overfishing of permit spawning aggregations, such as those at Gulf and nearshore wrecks, was the likely culprit.

There was little hard data at that time to support the groups’ claims, and FWC made it clear that data had to be provided in the future if the commission was expected to take the issue to the public. That was the impetus to ramp up Project Permit.

Dr. Ross Boucek, BTT Florida Keys Initiative Manager, says permit were an especially “poor data species” when Project Permit was launched in 2011, incidentally, the same year that the FWC established the Special Permit Zone (SPZ) which includes Florida state and adjacent federal waters south of a line running due east from Cape Florida in the Atlantic, the waters of south Biscayne Bay, and south of a line near Cape Sable running due west through federal waters.

“Within the established Special Permit Zone, commercial take is prohibited,” said Boucek. “And adjacent to the SPZ we have the Pompano Endorsement Zone, sharing a boundary with the SPZ. So there is allowance for gillnetters that hold a pompano endorsement license to take an unlimited number of pompano.” The two species frequent the same waters there, so the state allows an incidental bycatch of up to 100 legal-size permit. Unfortunately, this commercial harvest exists very close to the permit spawning grounds.

“We closely monitor long-term trends,” said Boucek. “I feel the commercial bycatch numbers are
sustainable, especially in the SPZ bordering the pompano endorsement zone. But on the Gulf
wrecks that attract permit aggregations we did some sentinel studies that revealed a concerning
number of hooked permit are eaten by sharks, which is a problem in other Florida fisheries.”

Permit Travels

Can permit be considered homebodies?

When asked about the possibility that permit travel from the Lower Keys as far north as Florida’s Atlantic Treasure Coast beaches or the Indian River Lagoon, where anglers catch them mixed in with pompano, Boucek said that’s not at all likely.

“First of all, the mixing in with pompano in that region is a big information gap,” said Boucek. “But we are very sure that permit we catch and tag here in SPZ waters of the Lower Keys do not make the jump north across the SPZ boundary in South Biscayne Bay. We have tracked thousands of acoustically tagged fish to prove that. These fish are not as migratory as tarpon,” said Boucek.

“A prime example of restricted migratory behavior is a permit that I and colleagues from Canada tagged nearly 5 years ago in the Lower Keys. We used both an acoustic transmitter and an external dart tag on that fish, the dart being the external type of tag our fishing guide volunteers use. Three years after the tagging, Keys guides Nathaniel Linville and John O’Hearn caught that fish only 100 feet from where we originally tagged it! Granted, it did move around the region quite a bit in those years, but it never left the general region.”

A Downward Permit Trend

Besides hard science data derived from tagging, Boucek credits detailed anecdotal information, provided by anglers and experienced permit guides, with helping BTT better understand the fish’s habits.

“Capt. Pat Bracher, out of Cudjoe Key, keeps the most meticulous catch records I’ve seen which he has shared with us. In fact his notes on declining barracuda catches provided Florida fishery managers with evidence compelling enough to tighten barracuda harvest regulations,” said Boucek. “Bracher prides himself on getting his flats clients a Grand Slam. And he has literally thousands of them to his credit. His fishing trip journal, which he shared with BTT shows an unmistakable downward trend for permit around Key West, which started in the early to middle 2000s. The trend became apparent in the Lower Keys a bit more recently.”

Threats to Permit Numbers

Other than allowances for some commercial harvest, it’s become apparent that recreational harvest puts a dent in the permit stocks as well. Among light-tackle and fly anglers who enjoy sight fishing the flats for them, release mortality is low. Education and improved catch-and-release techniques, including minimal time out of the water, has helped immensely.

Ross Boucek hopes that anglers of all persuasions better appreciate the permit for its fighting ability, even on nearshore wrecks.

“We get the fact that this species is a legal fish for the table, but we think there is excitement to catching a big permit over a wreck, and satisfaction in releasing them. If the angler’s ultimate goal is to kill a fish for the table, that’s fine too,” said Boucek.

On the subject of shark depredation, Bouchek cited BTT’s studies of that situation on a few sentinel wrecks in the Gulf and some sentinel spawning sites on the Atlantic side of the Keys that hold flats permit.

“We found that about 35 percent of hooked permit are killed by sharks on Western Dry Rocks, out of Key West, and that has been a consistent number before and even after the closure period (April 1 through July 31),” said Boucek.

And the numbers are even greater (up to 80 percent of hooked permit killed) on some Keys Gulf wrecks and those in Florida Bay just outside the Everglades National Park boundary. The BTT feels these are not sustainable numbers. In light of these troubling numbers, which are anecdotal according to BTT, researchers are not sure whether anglers after permit (or snapper species) are changing their behavior by avoiding “sharky” wrecks or not.

The post Solving the Permit Puzzle appeared first on Sport Fishing Mag.

Admittedly, Capt. Brandon Storin first considered it an annoyance, but he soon realized that he had dialed in a cool Florida Keys fishery that goes largely unnoticed.

“During the time when we catch bridge tarpon in spring, sometimes we’d run into some bycatch of cubera snapper,” Storin said. “I think they’re chummed up because of all the people tarpon fishing; there’s a lot of scent in the water. It’s mostly just the scent of the baits. Some people chum for tarpon (with cut bait), but I don’t because it brings too many unwanted species like nurse sharks.”

Considered the most brutal of the snapper clan, the hard-fighting cubera is a straight-up string stretcher. As Storin notes, these aren’t the giant spawners that anglers catch at night over deep-water reefs with legal-size lobster as bait, but the 15- to 20-pounders common at Keys bridges will still give you all the fight you want.

How to Target Cubera Snapper in the Florida Keys

If you’re game to actually target these cuberas near the bridges, Storin offers a few tips.

When: April-May is prime time, but the small to midsize cuberas hang around the bridges throughout much of the year. Colder weather will slow the bite when big winds muddy the water; during these conditions don’t waste your time.

Storin said he’s caught cuberas on incoming and outgoing water, but the fish seem most aggressive at the change of the tide. The fish can feed much easier during slower water compared to when the tide is screaming — ideal conditions are when that heavy bridge current slacks up and starts moving again.

“They’re definitely more nocturnal, so the night action is great, but also, the first and last hour of the day can be good,” Storin said. “If you’re fishing for them during the day, I’d bet that you wouldn’t run into many of them during the full moon.”

Where: Storin does most of his tarpon guiding around Islamorada’s Channel 2 and Channel 5 bridges, and the Long Key area. Most of Florida Keys’ major bridges will attract cuberas.

How: Based on his tarpon fishing thefts, Storin can attest that cubera snapper like a big deboned mullet on a fish-finder rig or pinfish drifted near pilings. If he’s targeting cubera specifically, Storin would fish a smaller deboned mullet or a live pinfish on the bottom.

“I’d definitely fish the baits close to the pilings and close to the bottom,” Storin said. “You’ll want to make an upcurrent presentation so the scent will come down to where the cuberas are.”

Tackle: A 7-foot medium-heavy spinning rod with a 6500 series reel carrying 65-pound braid will handle most bridge cuberas, along with the abundant mutton snapper. Storin uses 60-pound fluorocarbon leader for tarpon, but he’ll drop to 40 for the wary snapper.

Cubers Snapper Fishing Tips

Land-Based: For anglers perched on Keys fishing platforms like the popular pedestrian-friendly Channel 2 and Channel 5 structures, a chum bag and a jumbo live shrimp can make big things happen.

What to Expect: Storin says bait size will determine how long an angler should wait to set the hook. A hefty meal might require a little chomping, but these fish are super aggressive, so they’ll snatch up a smaller offering and try to yank the rod out of your hand.

“If you feel them picking it up and turning the bait in their mouth, give them a few seconds,” Storin said, “but once they get a good bite, they’ll run hard. If you feel them batting at it, open the bail open to let them get it. I use the Owner Mutu circle hooks, so once they get the bait, I just let them come tight. Then you just have to (tighten) the drag and handle that run.”

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Key Largo is the gateway to some of the best fishing destinations and is known as the dive capital of the world. Its low profile makes for the least pressured bonefishing in the Keys. The marshes and saw grass flats are home to redfish and snook. Offshore, amberjack, dolphin and tuna cruise reefs in hundreds of feet of water. However, only 3% of living coral remains in the Florida Keys. A big idea was hatched when marine scientists paired up with special operations veterans to perform conservation missions. Force Blue founder and CEO, Patxi Pastor, talks about the assembly of these vets doing extraordinary work including coral restoration. Through the leadership of NAUI, these vets can receive scientific diver recognition to continue restoring reefs globally. After four decades of marine conservation and education in the Keys, Pastor has seen the effects on the habitat. Force Blue is working to reclaim the reefs and make an impact in the lives of these veterans. Restoring the reefs is going to take consistent collaboration and dedicated fighters, Force Blue has both.

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As you head west on the seven mile bridge, a panorama of aquamarine fills your field of vision. It’s quite the welcome to the Lower Keys, the low-key island chain, free of high-rises and hustle and bustle. Preferred past times include diving, birding, and fishing – all of which typically end with a life-changing sunset. The Dolphin Fish Research Program is the world’s largest angler run investigation into the life and migrations of the species, and when it comes to tagging dolphin for this initiative, one captain in the Lower Keys is heads and tails above the rest. Meet Captain Don Gates, who has tagged hundred dolphins over 21 years.

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Diving, snorkeling, boating, and fishing are all daily occurrences in Marathon. Anglers know Marathon for its variety of fishing, both offshore and inshore. Around Marathon’s reefs, life abounds. The reefs in the Florida Keys are under attack amongst rising water temperature and human impact. Cindy Lewis of Keys Marine Lab, a coral recovery center, shares how important these reefs are to all fisheries. Without a vital and vibrant reef that attracts fish, this eco system could become nonexistent. Keys Marine Lab is a hub for marine science, academics and students around the world. Plans for a major expansion are underway after a long 75 year history. This coral comeback will take time but the Keys Marine Lab is an important part of the story.

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Key West is a destination that bills itself as close to perfect but far from normal. Its seascape rivals any exotic locale around the world. Key West is the main attraction of the Florida Keys and is home to more than two dozen species, holding a variety of international game fish world records. From blue marlin, to tuna, to red snapper, the fishing is endless offshore. On the flats, you can find the trifecta of tarpon, bonefish, and permit. From spring to summer, many species spawn in the area and are easy to catch. The IGFA has been putting in work to protect the western dry rocks from over-fishing. Bruce Pohlot explains IGFA’s role of closing off the area to conserve and sustain the fishery with the help of other environmentalists. As time goes on, they hope to see more of the species spawn across the east coast of Florida.

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