Florida Keys Tarpon

The silver king reigns supreme here

Florida Keys tarpon can be caught year-round in our local waters and range in size from 2- to 200-pounds. That’s right I said 200-pounds.

They are strong acrobatic fighters that will attack bait with ferocity. Resident fish, the ones that live here all year, are generally smaller and top out at around 50 pounds.

This monster tarpon caught in Key West Harbor on shrimpboat trash is about to be released to fight another day.

The biggest tarpon can migrate through our local waters at any time but the big push occurs in the spring.

When actively feeding the silver king, as they are also known, will eat just about anything including shrimp, pinfish, crab, mullet, cut bait like a dolphin belly, or even a well-presented fly.

A large fish has a mouth the size of a bucket and eats everything in one gulp.

Expect any surface bite to be an instantaneous explosion of whitewater.

Depending on your tackle and tactics you should be able to hook and land a tarpon in a variety of Keys settings.

Top spots for daytime bait fishing include Key West Harbor starting as early as February and any one of the large bridge spans like Seven Mile, Channel Two, or Channel Five. The bridge fishing is best from April until August.

Fishing the harbor is a specialty and best done with a light tackle guide. At the bridges most anglers float a live pinfish or mullet in the current. Many smaller cuts and channels will also hold tarpon.

A large tarpon goes airborne after this angler managed to hook it up on fly tackle.

Fly fishers have their best chances on large migrating fish in spring time while hunting points in shallow backcountry waters. Many fly fishermen also stake out boats along oceanside flats to ambush passing tarpon.

Nighttime really turns things on for the Florida Keys tarpon. Many through-the-island channels, both large and small, come alive with baitfish at night kicking the tarpon fishing into high gear. Even fly can get into the act here blind casting in an area where bait is active.

In Florida, killing a tarpon requires a $50 tag. Nearly all tarpon caught by anglers in the Florida Keys are released. Take special care when releasing one of these prized fish.