Wednesday, February 5, 2014

Key West Tarpon Fishing Techniques

By Jayne Rutledge


The tarpon is one of the most sought after fish in the city of Key West. The fish is also known as the Silver King and grows to exceed 200lbs. For successful Key West tarpon fishing, there are useful tips and pieces of information that should be followed. One of the very easy techniques used in getting the fish is fly fishing. This will be used when the tarpons are picky and involves feeding them with 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.

Hooks should not be set up too hard. Because tarpons have hard mouths, the best approach with most live baits is to drop them back to about 10 feet of the line before letting them tighten up. The other option is to leave the rod in the holder until the fish strips the line from the reel. Another trick involves putting the tip of the rod in water, then reeling very fast.

Setting of the drag is also crucial and should be done just right. The majority of anglers have the tendency to set the drag too tight to fish with effectively. Preferably, 20 to 25 percent of the line weight is recommended. Most of the time, lines are weakened by knots. This happens by as much as 25 percent. To make sure that the drag setting is right, one may use hand-held scales to accurately check settings. Heavier lines are used in instances when lighter ones keep breaking.

Drag washers should be kept clean and running smoothly by being lubricated with STP. The tarpons ought to be left to run. They are really strong and one should expect a hard initial run. For persons fishing in open waters, the tarpons should be left to run until they lose some steam before applying pressure. A heavier line and tackle will be required when fishing is done around obstacles that may cut the line. More pressure will be required.

The ability to tie the best knots will come very much in handy. These should be tied in a way that they are not broken or do not affect the lines. An encounter with the tarpon in open waters should be handled with care, never applying much pressure at first. They are fought using the rod and the line stored in the reel.

Tarpons ought to be fought closely while taking care not to get too much of the line out. In this way, they become easy to control. Most people are caught unawares because they underestimate the power of the fish.

For those that look to go for Key West tarpon fishing, success will be determined by use of effective techniques. Heads of tarpons should be kept up so that they do not start running again. At the same time, enough pressure should be applied to keep them in position.




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