Saturday, 8 February 2014

Tips On Key West Tarpon Fishing

By Jayne Rutledge


Among the most sought after fish in Key West is the Tarpon. It is also called the Silver King and is known to grow to more than 200lbs. Key West tarpon fishing can be successful if the individual knows what to expect. The use of a fly rod is among the easy ways to get these fish. One of the very easy ways to get tarpons to eat when they are being picky is trying to feed them on flies.

With the wide range of colors and patterns available, the guide can offer some select choices to make hook up more successful. In the course of early migration, they travel most of the ocean side flats and tend to come in large pods. One thing that is worth remembering is that tarpons will rarely go out of their way to eat, thus one would have to take the flies to them. Some effort should be made so that they see them.

Setting up the hooks too hard is not recommended. They have very hard mouths, thus the best technique is to drop the live baits back about 10 feet of the line, then letting the line tighten up. On the other hand, there is the option of leaving the rod in the holder until such time that the tarpon strips the line from the heel. The other option is to put rods in water and then reeling first.

The drag should be set just right. Most anglers tend to set the drag too tight for fishing. Between 20 and 25 percent of the line weight would be fine. Knots usually weaken lines by as much as 25 percent. One effective way of ensuring the drag setting is right is using hand held scales for double checking the settings. A heavier line should be used in the event that the tarpons keep breaking it.

The drag washers are supposed to be kept clean and smoothly running through lubrication with STP. In the beginning, tarpons are supposed to be left to run. Fishermen and women should be ready for hard initial runs. When fishing is done in open waters, they should be left to run for some time until they get a bit worn out before pressure is applied. When doing fishing around obstacles, heavier lines and tackles are needed.

Before going fishing, one should learn to tie the best knots that should also be tight to avoid disappointments. When one hooks up with a tarpon in open waters, it is not the time to apply too much pressure. After the initial frantic run, one can start applying pressure. The rod is used for fighting tarpons and the reel to store the line.

It is always advisable to fight tarpons closely without having to get too much of the line out. This makes it much easier to control them. The commonest mistake made by most people is to underrate the power of tarpons. As a result, they are caught unawares, foiling the whole exercise.

Key West tarpon fishing will be successful if the right methods are employed. For the fish not to start running again, their heads should be kept up. Moreover, they should be held with enough pressure.




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