Every summer around the big moons a phenomenon called the “hill tide” takes place… it puts anglers and tarpon on a collision course in the passes along the west coast of Florida. The “hill tide” by definition is a significant high tide that sharply falls and flushes tons of food out of the bigger estuaries (Tampa Bay & Charlotte Harbor) into the Gulf. The tarpon intercept this abundance of crabs and baitfish in the passes and the numbers of tarpon slurping up this buffet are staggering!
Avid tarpon anglers dip net pass crabs and drift fish the crunchy little morsels in these productive passes… jumping and fighting tarpon on primarily heavy spinning tackle. Both crabs & threadfins produce fish… but I prefer tossing crabs because the marauding mackerel will often scuff up my tarpon leaders on a regular basis. The set up is quite simple… a 5000 to 7500 class spinning reel, a stout 15lb-30lb 7’ heavy action spinning rod, 40# to 50# braided line (main line), a 5’section of 50# leader with a 1’ 80# bite tippet, and finally a 6/0 to 8/0 circle hook depending on the size of your bait.
The best technique is to drift these passes… keeping your crab or threadfin on a slack line so that it appears to swim natural; very attractive to the feeding tarpon. The problem with being anchored is that when the tide is running hard your presentation is often on a tight line (threadfins tend to spin & crabs pull their legs in)… that’s not a natural look and reduces your hook-up odds greatly. Another issue to consider if anchored is the additional time it takes to throw the hook (anchor) so that the boat can pursuit the hooked tarpon… this time can be costly and swings the advantage into the tarpon’s favor! Remember when fighting tarpon, the shorter the battle the better your chances of landing the fish… the longer the battle the advantage definitely goes to the tarpon (i.e. leader failure, a thrown hook, sharks, etc.).
There also are a few courtesies that must be extended in some drift fishing scenarios… don’t motor uptide through everyone’s drift for one. Make a long drift through the tarpon zone and once you’re well past that area… slow motor around the outside of the drift fishing traffic to get into position once again. Also once another boat has hooked a tarpon and the battle ensues be aware of that angler’s fish… that might require you to reel your lines in and slow idle out of the way. It hurts when a tarpon is lost because another boat wasn’t paying attention or doesn’t extend the common courtesy of moving out of the way. And finally once the tarpon is landed boat side… don’t bring him into the boat for pictures; keep the fish in the water for a quick photo and spend plenty of time reviving the fish so he lives to fight another day.
This style of tarpon fishing has always been a great summer pastime… it’s not rocket science, folks. This summer get out there and catch “tarpon fever”… it’s a chance to hook the fish of a lifetime!
Flats Class recommendations:
Daiwa Saltist 4500H spinning reel
Daiwa Saltist STE 70MHFS 7’ MH 15-30lb spinning rod
50# Daiwa Samurai Braid (main) , 50# Seaguar Fluorocarbon leader w/ 80# tippet
Owner 2X strong 7/0 circle hook
Until next time… keep’em bent!
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C.A. Frist of all thanks for the information reguarding the Tarpon Fishing/courtesy is a big key. I see you often in St.Pete would like to meet you 1 day. See you and your family at Babalu sunday and your truck at Oneils quit a bit. Thanks again.