Tuesday, 30 October 2012

Key West Tarpon Fishing Can Make For Great Sport

By Tonia Michael


Many anglers love travelling to Florida's southern tip to test themselves with some Key West tarpon fishing. A large number of boats offer this kind of fishing in the harbor there, often using by-catch from other boats as chum to lure the fish in. The fish are so plentiful that anglers can fin themselves with multiple hook ups, and anyone will catch at least something that they can take home for dinner.

Not that angling for tarpon is limited to daylight hours. Night angling is an exciting way for fishermen to test themselves against a fish which can put up a great fight at time. Night angling is often carried out by using a sinking plug, which is then reeled slowly past where the skipper believes the fish to be lurking.

Night fishing can be action packed, with many fish fighting hard to get away. The action is such that night angling like this for the fish can almost be considered a different sport. Tarpons are well-known for having mouths which are rough and tough, so setting hooks hard is essential when you head onto the water after dark.

Some real thrills and fun can be found by angling using flies for these fish. Using a fly is a good way to tempt fish into biting when they do not seem to be that hungry. There is no need for beginners in the sport to worry about choosing flies though, every boat will have an expert skipper and hands who can help you select the most effective fly for the fish.

Fly fishing is particularly effective during the early part of the migration season, when the fish tend to travel in large pods. Using a fly does not guarantee success with these fish though. Tarpon are not especially motivated to find any food which does not come to them at this time of year, so make sure that you get the fly to them accurately if you opt for this technique.

Another fun way of going out to catch tarpon is in the early morning when they are 'rolling'. These fish are swimming round in a circle and it can look sometimes as though they are dancing in the water. While early morning is the best time to find fish who are behaving in this way, you can sometimes also find good sport at dusk from fish like this.

Not that it is only one species of fish that you can catch in Key West. There are many species lurking in the waters here, including snapper, grouper and cobia among the wrecks that lie under the waves. In the deeper waters there are sailfish, wahoo and mahi mahi to provide great sport for anglers, so the chances of ever being at a loss what to do if the tarpon are not biting is unlikely to be an issue.

If you want a great angling vacation where you will have fun and also face a few technical challenges, then Key West tarpon fishing could be the choice to make. With great night life available on shore, as well as plenty of other things to do during the day, non-anglers should also enjoy the trip. Other species help it make the angling more interesting too, and there is little chance of anyone who comes to this part of Florida being bored during their stay.




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