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Tarpon Fishing in Florida’s Everglades |
The byzantine wilderness waters of Florida’s Everglades can be as rewarding as they are tricky; this is one of the world’s finest backcountry fisheries for tarpon. Adrian E. Gray |
The untamed wilderness of labyrinthine rivers, creeks and bays that constitute Everglades National Park’s backcountry can be as intimidating as it is sublime. Despite their tricky navigation, these waters offer both amazing fishing and peace from South Florida’s concrete jungle just an hour away. It’s where you’ll find me in my skiff as often as I can get away, through winter and into spring, hunting for treasure — 100-pound ingots of living silver — the mighty tarpon. A friend introduced me to this world-class fishery in the late 1990s, and ever since, it has been an obsession of mine.
A high point in these years of obsession came during January when Carl Ball (a charter captain out of South Florida) and I found the mother lode of tarpon. We left the Flamingo ramp at Buttonwood Creek, cleared Coot Bay and Tarpon Creek and, within 20 minutes, were hooked up to chrome‑plated ballistic missiles in Whitewater Bay.
A single tarpon had given up its location when its mirrored back reflected the sunlight piercing through the mangrove treetops. Pitching plugs about the same size as Carl’s half-smoked Cohiba cigar on what could serve as bass-fishing tackle was the game. We jumped a dozen silver kings, mostly in the 80- to 100-pound range, landing four in two hours of fishing before we changed gears to target snook in the deeper recesses of the Glades. |
GPS technology makes fishing the winding maze of the Everglades slightly easier. Adrian E. Gray |
It’s never easy figuring out a fishery, especially one that takes place within a maze. The vastness of the Everglades is overwhelming. It truly offers visitors a reminder just how insignificant we really are. The place can’t be tamed but learned only slowly through hard work and persistence.
The latest GPS technology offers anglers the chance to navigate these waters in ways never available to early pioneers. My boat’s unit with satellite imagery opened wilderness doors for me. Having the benefit of satellite imagery in a GPS provides a bird’s-eye view for navigating and also offers an effective tool when trying to find lee shores on windy days. I wouldn’t venture there without it.
Even with such electronics, I file a float plan with family or friends before fishing the Glades. A current, registered, personal PLB (personal locator beacon) or Garmin inReach satellite communicator is also a plus in case of emergency. There’s no TowBoatUSA or SeaTow to help you in the thick of the Glades.
As an angler who fishes these waters, I’ve learned much by chatting with seasoned guides who obviously share the same passion for the park and its tarpon. Capt. Steve Tejera specializes in fishing the backcountry 200-plus days a year. Tarpon can be found all year in the many rivers, creeks, back bays, shallow mud flats, basins, mangrove shorelines and around oyster bars. Still, Tejera feels that knowing in which areas he’ll find tarpon during certain conditions and times of the year greatly improves his catch stats. |
While hooked tarpon might sulk deep when they’re able to, shallow waters in the Glades can deny them that opportunity — so they go airborne, a lot. Adrian E. Gray |
“During the winter months, from December through March, 100-pound-class tarpon can be plentiful in the backcountry,” Tejera says. When water temperatures rise between cold fronts, you can expect the tarpon to be active, according to Tejera. The tarpon funnel into the large back bays such as Whitewater, Tarpon and Broad River, moving in from the Gulf looking for stable, warm freshwater environments.
In cold, northerly winds, the fish move out of these bays or hunker down on the bottom and get lockjaw, but after a window of three or four days of warmer southeasterlies, especially after a cold front, the fishing can light up in those places, Tejera says.
When temperatures remain mild for long periods during February and March, coupled with winds from a generally easterly direction, the fish move from back bays to the outside capes — East Cape, Middle Cape and Northwest Cape, and also out in front of Flamingo.
Still longer periods of stable weather with water temperatures in the magic 72- to 74-degree range might create the perfect situation for laid-up fish, a spectacle that has to be witnessed firsthand to believe. Tarpon lying motionless in the upper part of the water column can be discerned by a telltale golden smudge a few inches below the surface. If you can distinguish the fish’s head from its tail, throwing a plug or soft-plastic jerkbait can end up in a tug-of-war of epic proportions. When things are really good, you might see the tips of tarpons’ dorsal and tail fins above the water’s surface. Witnessing scenes like this will get any angler’s heart racing.
Around March and April, the fish begin staging near river mouths and open bays to begin their migrations to spawn in the Keys, Tejera says. That’s also around the time cold fronts dwindle. From May through June and into July, the fish can be intercepted as they advance to the south in packs or strings over the cleaner-water banks — First National Bank, Sandy Key Basin and Oxfoot Bank.
From August through November, the bights — Snake, Garfield and Rankin — consistently hold fish in the 5-to-20-pound range. “Out front is better in the summertime,” says Tejera of Florida Bay. “The back bays heat up quicker, and it’s typically too hot for tarpon.” He believes they relocate out into Snake Bight Channel and Tin Can Channel and in all the large basins between shallow mud flats. “In late November and December when baitfish are thick, fun-size 40- to 50-pounders move into the channels and will even venture up on the flats,” he says. |
Tarpon might school up in channels, though often anglers sight-cast to solo fish laid up shallow. Adrian E. Gray |
“West wind makes fishing in the park tough,” Tejera says. “The water becomes turbid, and tarpon roll less because there might be more oxygen in the water.” When cool northern winds associated with an approaching cold front shut things down, he changes gears and targets snook and redfish. If they’re not blowing too hard, consistent southeasterly breezes are always a blessing.
The search for giant tarpon in such a vast place can range from minutes to hours. Start searching early because they roll less when the sun rises overhead or wind picks up. Rollers and free-jumpers offer obvious tarpon signs, but so do diving seagulls and nervous baitfish schools.
“If you find tarpon rolling in a river, you never want to idle your skiff against the current because they’ll feel your pressure wave,” says Capt. Bob LeMay. He fishes the tarpon in rivers the same way he fishes for Alaska’s salmon, observing where they are and casting up-current from them, starting his retrieve only when the plug reaches that zone.
For gear that can cast plugs all day but still handle 100-pound fish, I prefer a 7-foot-2-inch medium-heavy spinning rod. You want a rod that will handle 30- to 50-pound braided line.
Hurling plugs as far as you can in wide-open bays requires a reel that has sufficient line capacity yet balances well with the lightweight rod. For example, a 5000-size Shimano Stradic is a good fit, with good line capacity for 30-pound braid, plenty of drag and a fast gear ratio.
“Keep the rod tip low when fighting tarpon,” Tejera advises. “The rod tip down in the water creates drag on the line and resistance on the hook to help keep it lodged. Since tarpon stay near the surface for most fights, I tell my clients to keep the rod tip down, and if the fish jumps, don’t bow; relax your wrist to maintain light resistance with no slack. Bowing to them takes too much pressure off the hook, and more times than not, the fish eventually jumps off that way,” he says. |
While tarpon in the 25-to-50-pound range abound and offer fabulous sport on lighter lines, plenty of triple-digit behemoths prowl the same tannic waters. Adrian E. Gray |
In scientific terms, tarpon have a superior lower jaw, best described as a massive underbite. Because their lower jaw extends far beyond their gape, tarpon excel at hunting prey at or above eye level. Additionally, the extremely bony mouth of these prehistoric fish makes them challenging to consistently hook and land.
In fact, a study done by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission showed that only 37 percent of hooked tarpon actually made it to the boat. Having experienced similar results, I’ve learned a couple of tactics to help keep the odds in my favor.
Since the standard treble hooks found on most lures are not designed for big tarpon, you can change out the hooks to stronger versions. However, a better tactic — which helps keep tarpon hooked longer and is better for the fish — calls for replacing trebles within-line single X-strong large-ring hooks. In-line singles hold better, allowing more drag pressure with less chance of straightening, and are much safer when landing tarpon for fish and angler.
“If I had a personal choice for tarpon, I’d throw big soft plastics on single hooks over plugs,” says well-known Flamingo guide Capt. Benny Blanco. “We’re all more conservation-minded now, and treble hooks are simply not good for any catch-and-release fishery.” |
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