Shrimp, mullet, crabs and pinfish are all good options for live bait Key West tarpon fishing. The technique involves anchoring the boat and freeing a line of bait into places where you know the fish are. Weight the bait to get it as deep as possible.
Weights vary according to the speed of the current. A heavy weight may cause the hook to pull out. To prevent this, use light copper wire to secure the weight to the line. It will drop off easily and not cause any hazards while fighting the fish.
Tarps are very strong and their mouths are hard and rough, their gill plates are sharp and their scales are abrasive. You use the size and/or brand of your bait to determine how big the hook should be. A circle hook (6/10 to 11/0) is usually enough.
You need to rig the live bait to make it look natural. Crabs, for example, should be hooked in the corners of their shells. Pinfish or mullet can be hooked through the mouth - either in a horizontal or vertical direction.
Here's a good tip for shrimp - head or tail hook it to a hook-up jig to prevent the current from spinning it. In the old days and even now, guides tend to only take a dozen or so mullet when they fish for tarp because crab and pinfish work well.
Give yourself lots of options because tarps are hard to catch. Sometimes, they only go for small pinfish, and sometimes they only go for crabs. As mentioned, success depends largely on tidal current speed. If it's fast, mullet is preferable because spinning will be at a minimum.
An experienced key west tarpon fishing guide uses various types and sizes of bait. You can now see that there are many variables to consider when going for tarp. However, one thing to always ensure is that you keep one bait on the bottom with one or two others free-lined at various depths.
Weights vary according to the speed of the current. A heavy weight may cause the hook to pull out. To prevent this, use light copper wire to secure the weight to the line. It will drop off easily and not cause any hazards while fighting the fish.
Tarps are very strong and their mouths are hard and rough, their gill plates are sharp and their scales are abrasive. You use the size and/or brand of your bait to determine how big the hook should be. A circle hook (6/10 to 11/0) is usually enough.
You need to rig the live bait to make it look natural. Crabs, for example, should be hooked in the corners of their shells. Pinfish or mullet can be hooked through the mouth - either in a horizontal or vertical direction.
Here's a good tip for shrimp - head or tail hook it to a hook-up jig to prevent the current from spinning it. In the old days and even now, guides tend to only take a dozen or so mullet when they fish for tarp because crab and pinfish work well.
Give yourself lots of options because tarps are hard to catch. Sometimes, they only go for small pinfish, and sometimes they only go for crabs. As mentioned, success depends largely on tidal current speed. If it's fast, mullet is preferable because spinning will be at a minimum.
An experienced key west tarpon fishing guide uses various types and sizes of bait. You can now see that there are many variables to consider when going for tarp. However, one thing to always ensure is that you keep one bait on the bottom with one or two others free-lined at various depths.
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