I want to start by expressing my gratitude for being able to pursue my passion professionally and for the wonderful relationships I have formed with my clients, many of whom have become friends. I am truly thankful. I cannot imagine doing anything else and I enjoy every moment of it. We’ve had an incredible start to the busy season with many redfish, snook, and trout catches, and the fishery appears to be thriving. The water is warming up, and the most exciting fishing Anna Maria Island has to offer is approaching. Tarpon begin to appear in certain areas during early April, and I’ve caught them through October, but the prime migration for full-size tarpon is May to June. In this blog post, I will share some tricks and tips I’ve learned over the years, recount some intense stories from past tarpon trips, and provide some interesting information about these magnificent fish. People often ask me what my favorite fish to catch is, and I always reply with the same answer: Tarpon! There are many reasons why tarpon are my favorite fish to target. For one, they are the most exciting, hard-fighting, and unpredictable fish we target on our Anna Maria Island Fishing Charters. Tarpon make incredible drag-screaming runs, perform acrobatic leaps out of the water, and can be very challenging to catch compared to other fish, which makes the catch all the more rewarding when everything comes together.
Tips and Tricks for Catching Tarpon:
With some fish, you can be less precise and still have a chance to catch them, even with frayed leaders, oversized hooks, heavy leaders, or the wrong bait. However, tarpon are not that fish! What I have learned about tarpon fishing is that you must pay attention to every detail, from the size and length of the leader to the size and type of hook compared to the bait you’re using, and the bait itself must be what they are actively seeking. Everything must be done quietly, calmly, and without rushing. I would prefer to make one perfect cast or drift than a hundred rushed attempts. You must be very smooth, quiet, and give the fish plenty of space and distance to entice them to bite. A key aspect of tarpon fishing is having a trolling motor so you can move around the beach or fishing area very quietly.
Interesting Facts about Tarpon and Intense Tarpon Trips:
Tarpon have the fascinating ability to breathe air from the surface using their swim bladders, which allows them to survive in areas with low oxygen levels. Growing up, I used to catch juvenile tarpon in freshwater ponds, muddy creeks, and blocked-off waterways with water that definitely had low oxygen levels, which was always remarkable. Tarpon have been around for a very long time, which is why we call them “dinosaurs,” and they have a long lifespan, with males living up to 30 years and females up to 50 years old. I’ve had some incredible tarpon trips over the years, including triple hookups on fish over 120 pounds, and even having to jump into the water at the shark-infested Skyway Bridge to swim under the pilings so the fish wouldn’t break us off. One of the worst things that can happen when tarpon fishing is having your fish get “sharked,” which is when a shark eats your tarpon while you are fighting it. If you see a shark while fighting a tarpon, it’s very important to open the bail or break the line to give the tarpon the best chance of survival. Sometimes, there’s nothing you can do, and your fish gets sharked. I’ve seen it happen to other people’s fish, and it once happened to me while I was about to leader a fish. We were about to grab the tarpon to remove the hook when a huge hammerhead shark attacked our tarpon boatside and almost killed it, but thankfully we were able to shoo the shark away. We will have some very exciting Anna Maria Island Fishing in the next couple of months and would love for you to join us! If you are on Anna Maria Island and looking for a charter fishing trip, look no further!”
