Tarpon are one of the most revered gamefish on earth. They jump, run, dive and charge, pulling all the tricks out of the hat. These tricksters manage to spit the hook or break the line about 70 percent of the time. That’s if you’re even lucky enough to get a bite, since tarpon are famous for ignoring everything in the tackle box. The payoff is one of the most spectacular battles in fishing with one of the most impressive fish in the sea. Many anglers focus on big tarpon, up to 200 pounds, but our sharpies target juvenile ‘poons in the heat of summer. Whether you’re fishing Florida’s east coast or west coast, these tarpon guides have you covered.

Photo: brandon barton 11 Expert Tips For Catching Tarpon

East Versus West for Florida’s Best Tarpon Tactics

1 East Coast

Angler: Dee Kaminski, Native Watercraft pro guide, reelkayakfishing.com

Location: Mosquito, Banana and Indian River Lagoons

Find the Fish: Backwater creeks and residential canals around dock pilings or a creek mouth. On a calm day, the fish move out into the open, but when it gets windy they retreat to the back of the canal or under the dock. Look for tarpon rolling and gulping air.

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Weather: Overcast, calm days. Early mornings and late afternoons are best.

Tactics: Cast into the docks or deadfall. Learn to read the roll. If the fish make a slow roll, cast in front of its back and keep the lure on the surface. If it makes a quick roll, land the lure four feet ahead and work through the middle of the water column. A tail splash means the fish is feeding deep, let the lure drop to the bottom.

Rod and Reel: Medium-heavy, seven-foot spinning rod, with a 3500 series reel with enough backbone and drag pressure to pull a tarpon out of the structure.

Line and Leader: 20-pound braid with three feet of 30-pound fluorocarbon.

Lures and Baits: Paddletails rigged weedless on a 1/16-ounce, 4/0 blood-red weedless hook. 1/16-ounce Buggs Bonefish lure. If you’re fishing bait, choose the biggest shrimp you can find and rig on a 2/0 circle hook.

Tips and Tricks: Bow to the silver king. When a tarpon leaps out of the water, point the rod tip at the fish, straighten your arms and slack the line to keep the hook from falling out.

Juvenile silver prince. | Feature photo: Eric Henson

2 West Coast

Angler: Eric Henson, Old Town pro, castingkayaks.com

Location: Sarasota, Florida

Find the Fish: Look for structure like deadfalls. When I snag on submerged tree limbs, I expect to get hooked up.

Weather and Water: Chocolate brown water. Both low oxygen and low visibility attract summer tarpon. Falling tide and low light are best. Be sure to fish a hot summer night right after a rain shower.

Florida Keys tarpon flips and almost lands in kayak Florida Keys Tarpon Jumps In Angler’s Kayak (Video)

Tactics: Spot rolling tarpon and anchor the kayak just inside casting distance. The fish are easy to spook. Make a long cast and land the lure past the fish. Start with a slow retrieve then speed up the action. When I find the depth where fish are feeding, I repeat the same retrieve.

Rod and Reel: Seven-foot, medium-heavy spinning rod and a 4000-class reel.

Line and Leader: 20-pound braided line with 30-pound leader.

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Lures and Bait: Monster 3X 2 1/4-inch Ultra Soft or -Move jig, Yo-Zuri lipped lures

Tips and Tricks: Land juvenile tarpon with a rubber-mesh net; a lip gripper will damage the tarpon’s mouth. Do not hold the fish vertically by the lip. Only keep the tarpon out of the water for a limited time.

Cover of the Early Summer 2017 issue of Kayak Angler MagazineThis article was first published in the Early Summer 2017 issue of Kayak Angler Magazine. Subscribe to Kayak Angler Magazine’s print and digital editions, or browse the archives.

Juvenile silver prince. | Feature photo: Eric Henson

 

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Ric Burnley
Kayak Angler editor Ric Burnley has been kayak fishing since the dawn of the sport. In 2007, Burnley wrote The Complete Kayak Fisherman, with chapters on how-to make a PVC rod holder and glue a fish finder transducer to the hull. In 2013, he landed his dream job as editor of Kayak Angler magazine. Burnley is a regular contributor to Salt Water Sportsman, Sport Fishing, Outdoor Life, In the Bite and other print and online publications. Burnley lives in Virginia Beach with his wife, adult daughter, daughter’s boyfriend and daughter’s two cats. Experience In 2004, Ric Burnley stole his first milk crate from behind a 7-Eleven and fashioned it into a gear crate for his Ocean Kayak Prowler 15. Many years and many milk crates later, Burnley has witnessed the rise of kayak fishing from a bastardized fringe element to a legitimate industry with millions of devotees. The journey to becoming an angler started early in Burnley’s life. His father, Eric Burnley, is a renowned outdoor writer and former fishing guide, so the boy grew up in the cockpit of a charter boat and in the pages of national magazines. After college, Burnley lost easy access to his father’s boat, but not his passion for fishing. Once he had exhausted the limits of land-based angling, Burnley decided to try out a new thing called kayak fishing. About the same time, Burnley was looking for extra work to pay for his expensive addiction. His father, editor of the Mid-Atlantic Fisherman Magazine, offered him freelance assignments for the weekly publication. That led to a position as regional editor at Salt Water Sportsman, publication of The Complete Kayak Fisherman and editorship of Kayak Angler. Meanwhile, Burnley and his partner-in-crime, “Kayak Kevin” Whitley were exploring the boundaries of kayak fishing. With the bountiful Chesapeake Bay and Atlantic Ocean as their playground, the two anglers were the first to target big red drum, cobia, trophy striped bass, monster black drum, sheepshead and many other species. Once inshore species were exhausted, Burnley loaded his kayak onto motorboats and fished for bluefin tuna, blackfin tuna, king mackerel and amberjack. All the while, Burnley shared his experiences and knowledge with anglers through print, photos, video, radio, seminars and online. Almost 20 years later, Burnley continues to fish obsessively and share the stories. His recent projects for Kayak Angler cover the latest trends in forward-facing sonar and remote-controlled electric motors. Over the past two decades, kayak fishing and Ric Burnley have come a long way from PVC rod holders and stolen milkcrates. Education ● Radford University: BA English; Virginia Teacher’s License. Highlights ● Other Interests: Mountain biking, traveling, hiking, surfing and skateboarding ● Day Job: High School English teacher at an alternative school for at-risk students Fun Fact Ric’s name is a contraction of Eric. Ric is named after his father, Eric Sr. To differentiate between the two Erics, Mrs. Burnley removed her son’s E. To this day, she writes the boy’s name ‘Ric, with an apostrophe replacing the E.

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