Bow to the King!

Patterns for Tarpon from Miami to the Keys
Text by Capt. Gavet Tuttle & Capt. Brian Cutchins

Tarpon fishing can be extremely rewarding, and times it'll leave you scratching your head. Here's an example. One day this spring I was fishing with my buddy, Gator, on what was a beautiful April morning. A nice crisp morning chill, not a breath of wind, nor a cloud in the clear blue sky. We were seeking Gator's first silver king. With two hours of the incoming tide left, I felt confident. With a well full of shrimp and crabs, I took a few minutes to net some mullet for good measure. We headed out of Government Cut and discovered we weren't the only ones who had the brilliant idea to fish there.

Before I could get upset at the four other boats for setting up in our "hot spot," I saw a 100 pounder roll 20 feet off my port side. OK, we were ready to get it on! For the next two hours we tried everything I had in the boat while hundreds of huge tarpon rolled, popped, and occasionally free-jumped. With only one quick little run-off and no hook-ups from the other boats, we were off to chase trout on the flats. I left scratching my head.

The very next day Mother Nature changed things up a little bit. We had steady 15-knot winds from the southeast and intermittent rain showers. On this day I was one of 10 boats taking out a corporate charter. We donned our rain gear and headed out. With the seas pushing a couple of feet, we had the area all to ourselves. Before I could get the second bait out, the first rod started screaming--fish on! My anglers had never caught a fish before and now they had 70 pounds of angry tarpon on the line! After about 30 minutes of serious coaching we managed to get the fish about 10 feet from the boat before it made one last jump and shook the hook.

A gentleman named Jack was on deck and I set out two new baits. A half hour later a rod doubled over and a huge, 100-pound plus poon took to the air and broke us off. Not to worry, though, because seconds later we got a good hook in another fish and the fight was on. Over the next 50 minutes Jack went toe-to-toe with the 100 pounder on 20-pound gear. We finally landed his prize about a mile from where we hooked up, snapped a couple of photos, and released her in good shape. With the weather getting worse we headed back. On a day I thought the fishing might be tough, it turned out pretty good--proof you don't know if you don't go.

Live mullet make for a hearty tarpon bait and are best rigged through the mouth and out the nostril with a live bait hook.

SCORING BIG IN MIAMI'S INLETS WITH CAPT. GAVET TUTTLE
The Miami area offers excellent opportunities for year-round tarpon action. Huge migrating fish spend the winter and spring here, and there's a large population of resident tarpon, which are usually of a smaller class. We normally find these fish near the inlets, Intracoastal bridges, and dock lights.

Let's start with the inlets. There are three main inlets in the area are Port Everglades in Ft. Lauderdale, Bakers Haulover in North Miami Beach, and last but not least, Government Cut in Miami. These are great places to begin your quest. When I refer to fishing the inlets, I'm talking anywhere near, in, or around it. At different times tarpon congregate in different places--sometimes the seawalls, sometimes the mouths, and sometimes the beaches. With shrimp and baitfish being swept in and out with the tide, the inlets become feeding stations. Low light and darkness hours are generally the times when they're going to be most active.

All three inlets have different characteristics, so you're best off trying to learn the one closest to you first. And what works real well at one may not be effective at another. For instance, Haulover is much shallower than the other two and tide moves twice as fast. It also has a bridge over it which casts a shadow all the way across. You have to get out there and deploy a strategy for that location. All three hold plenty of fish; it's a matter of figuring when and how to catch'em.

The when part comes from being out there-there's no set approach or pattern that's 100 percent effective. What I can tell you is to keep your eyes open looking for rolling fish. If there's a dozen fish on the surface, you can multiply that number several times over to have an idea of what's below. For the most part, all three inlets are good on the first and last of the outgoing tide. At what stage of the tide change they feed on constantly changes. Once you see them or get a bite, don't stray to far from that area.

There's usually a window when tarpon get real active-that's when patience and persistence pay off. The more often you go, the more you'll learn about that window of opportunity and how to take advantage of it. The slack tide offers much easier bait presentations, however, the fish tend to meander quite a bit during slack tide, which can make locating them difficult. When the tide is moving, tarpon like to gather up in ambush points that provide a little break from the current. When trying to search out the ambush points, look for eddies or structure that block the tidal flow.

Keep in mind, the inlets are probably the most dangerous places to fish. They are very high-traffic areas with lots of current, pilings, and rock jetties. Add to the mix that it's usually dark outside, and you have all the ingredients for disaster. Make sure all your lights are in good working order and if your motor isn't in tip-top shape, stay away! You don't want a stalled engine anywhere near these places; cruise ships come and go out these inlets frequently. No fish is worth getting swamped, or worse.

BETWEEN THE PILINGS
The Miami area is lined with bridges along the Intracoastal Waterway that connects the mainland to the area beaches. Most of them hold fish year round in the 10- to 30-pound class, with smaller fish in the summer months and some whoppers in the winter. The key around the bridges is tide flow and the presence of baitfish
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Often, the fish near the bridges are feeding on either shrimp or small baitfish. It can be critical to offer them the same size shrimp or bait they're feeding on. On several occasions, I've seen tarpon chasing little, 1-1/2-inch pilchards under the bridge lights. After several unsuccessful tries with live mullet and shrimp, I pulled out the cast net, got a few pilchards, and hooked right up. The same situation has happened with shrimp. Try to look in the lights and see what size baits are running, then match it up--it might be the difference on those finicky nights.

With so many bridges to choose from, I narrow it down by tide flow, presence of bait, and the light/shadow line. Some bridges have small lights showing the bridge clearance. These lights are great bait attractors and the tarpon are always nearby. Bridge fish get a lot of pressure, and it's common to see 15 or 20 under a light, though getting them to bite is another story. One thing to do when they're present at the light is to work the bottom of the area all around the shadow nearest the light. Frequently, the fish you get to eat aren't the ones you can see.

A good way to approach a bridge is to observe which way the current is moving, then look and listen for fish. Start at the lights and continue to work the dark part of the shadow line. Tarpon like all parts of the bridge shadow line; one night it could be the up-tide side, the next night the down-tide side. Don't give a place too much time if the conditions aren't right. You might go to the very next bridge and catch it perfect. Dock light fishing is really hit or miss. With hundreds of lights along the Intracoastal, you need to weed through the unproductive ones. The docks nearest the inlets are more likely to have the most tide flow and fish. These fish are rarely over 30 pounds and are often regarded as "pets." The dock owners put the lights there to attract the fish, then go out after dinner and give them leftovers. Tarpon love to scavenge and will show up like clockwork. If you plan on fishing any of these lights, you better have a stealthy approach. As soon as the owner detects you, the lights go off and the party's over. The biggest complaint the home owners have is that fishermen cast hooks and plugs which end up on the docks and eventually in their dog's or kid's foot. If you fish the docks, be careful, make accurate casts, and do everything possible to avoid leaving a hook behind.

Through less commonly used, a de-boned and filleted mullet often out-produces a live version when both are fished side-by-side.

Capt. Brian Cutching idles the LAID BACK into Islamorada's Whale Harbor Marina after a day on the flats with Big Game Fishing Journal photographers and editors.

MAKING BAIT IN MIAMI

It's hard to beat a live jumbo shrimp, although there not always available. From December through March, tarpon come to Miami to fatten up during winter shrimp runs. When the shrimp are running good, so are the tarpon, and the bait shops will have plenty of select jumbos. Tarpon Tackle (305-948-9397) in North Miami Beach has shrimp year round. Just ask for Carl and let him know you're targeting tarpon. Shrimp can be fished several ways. I like to either free-line them down-current or drift them behind the boat.

When I want to work the bottom, I use a Hank Brown Hook-Up jig head with the hook coming from underneath its head and out the top. I always cast up-tide and bounce it back towards me. You want to use the proper weight head to reach the bottom, but not so much it drags and gets hung. So keeping your rod in the 10 to 12 o'clock position helps prevent getting hung.

Crabs are another excellent bait I often use when drifting. There are definitely times when tarpon favor crabs over shrimp, so it's wise to always have a couple on hand. Crabs are also available in most bait shops year round.


The spring and fall bring the mullet runs, and during this period it's a good idea to keep a cast net on the boat. When available, mullet are awesome baits. They can be fished live, free-lined, slow-trolled, or cut fresh and put on the bottom.

For those who don't like to use live bait, I have found quite a few artificials over the years that can be very effective with proper presentation. I like to troll Yo-Zuri deep-diving plugs near the drop-offs around the inlets. Make sure you match the depth you're fishing with the depth range of the plug since the object is to work it as close to the bottom as possible without getting hung. I tend to favor mullet-colored patterns in most of my hard plastics. Another good lure is the D.O.A. Shrimp, which I like to fish very slow with as little movement as possible. The white, 1/4-ounce shrimp works well casting the dock lights. Also, Gambler makes a finger mullet with very small 1/4-once chin sinkers on monofilament leaders. Small squid or small single-hooked eels will also work.

We often catch 5- to 7-inch tinker mackerel at the dock at Shinnecock in August and rig them on 3/0 to 4/0 bait hooks with no weight and troll them at 2 knots. Most boats don't want to carry all this light stuff on every trip, but I do.

Bait can be trolled either close to the boat or far back in the spread. When I'm in a school of tuna I often come to the school, take the silver king aboard my skiff, LAID BACK, in the "Sportfishing Capital of the World."

Bridges, channels, edges of flats, and backcountry honey holes are the areas of interest. Where there's bait, there's usually predators. Flats holding bait around channels are always good sign to get the show rolling. Baitfish getting crashed is always a sure bet the beasts are home, but don't forget to look for rolling fish, too. Be aware of all your immediate surroundings including tides, water depths, and water temperature. Tide changes are one of my favorite times to fish since the water tends to get clearer when water is moving and the fish can see your baits better. Also, tarpon swim into the current, often situating themselves on the up-current side of any bridge, channel, or flat edge.

During a tide change, they simply change direction and head back the other way.
Anchoring and drifting are both productive techniques in the Keys. If you decide to drop the hook, a good anchor is a must. Grapnels seem to hold the best on our rocky bottoms. Using a float with a detachable quick-release system at the end of the rope will help tremendously when a big fish is dumping your spool or bee-lining it for structure. Simply unsnap the D-clip you have attached to your boat cleat from the anchor line, and the float is left there to mark the spot so you can pursue the mad dog that's doing his best to spool you. Keep in mind, you don't need heaps of rope due to the shallow waters here in the Keys; 50 to 75 feet along with a short section of heavy chain is plenty. The shorter the anchor line, the better-it's less for you to deal with and less for the other guys to have to avoid.

When drifting, get up-current and cover some ground by making passes until you find the fish. Once you've found a pod, recognize landmarks and do it again. Dropping a small weighted marker or buoy helps to keep you on the drift line.

KEYS STYLE BAITS & LURES

This time of year, the preferred baits in the Florida Keys are live or dead mullet, live pilchards, shrimp, blue crabs, and pinfish. Cast-netting them is helpful, but not essential, as the local tackle shops do their best to keep the freshest baits available. Finding the bait is the first piece of the puzzle. Basins, flats bordering channels, and the backcountry are great places to start your hunt. Look to the pelicans and terns for your "eye in the sky"-they'll hook you up if you read them right. Seagulls will always disappoint you so don't let them distract your bait-gathering mission.

In the absence of birds, look for nervous water on top of the flats or inside the calm basins. Nervous water is anything that appears different or wakes against the grain of the tide or wind. A block of menhaden chum will help tremendously with the pilchards. The backside of flats seem to hold good numbers of pilchards and pinfish as long as there is good tide flow to disperse the chum. Casting Sabiki rigs and throwing the net will both do the trick. When in the backcountry, look for "muds," which are cloudy areas caused by schools of mullet, and let your cast net go to work.

Hook the mullet from the inside of his mouth out through the top of its nose, which will allow the bait to breath better and thus stay alive longer than pinning its lips shut. If the tarpon are having trouble catching the mullet, de-bone or butterfly it. With the sides flapping, it looks like a live mullet scouring the bottom, but can't swim away! Filleted baits also produce plenty of smell to draw'em in. Hook pilchards side-to-side through the cartilage in their nostrils. Hook blue crabs through the side points from the bottom of the shell up. You can hook pinfish like live mullet or just at the dorsal fin. Consider the current if at anchor, because a dorsal presentation tends to spin in circles when the water's really ripping. All these baits can be free-lined, split-shotted, corked, or pinned down on a knocker rig just off the bottom. Keep working until you find out what interests them.

Soft plastics, top-water plugs, and diving lures will also produce at the right tides and during rambunctious feeding frenzies. I personally favor the Riptide soft plastics. The new Flap Chub rigged weedless with a 4/0 Mustad Ultra Point Mega-Lite worm hook really gets their attention as it darts around trying to escape its fate. Riptide also has a great product in its new Realistic Crab, which is one of the best soft plastic crabs I've seen. I rig them with a 3/0 Mustad Demon Circle through the crab's side point. Tarpon love mullet, so as far as top-water plugs and diving lures go, the Heddon Zara Spook, Bomber Long-A, and the Yo-Zuri Crystal Minnow are hard to beat. Leader up with 40- to 80-pound test fluorocarbon according to the size of fish you're throwing at. I prefer P-Line since it's the strongest leader material I've come across.

TARPON TACKLE OPTIONS

Standard gear for Brian and myself starts with a Chaos 15- to 30-pound fiberglass spin or plug rod, 4500 Shimano Baitrunner spinning reel and the Shimano Charter Special on the plug rod. Both reels are spooled with a couple hundred yards of 20-pound test Yo-Zuri Hybrid, which is usually plenty when you have the option of running the fish down from a boat. Tie about a 3-foot section of double line using a Spider Hitch, then tie a 6-foot piece of 80-pound test monofilament leader or fluorocarbon. A good knot for your line-to-line leader at night is a Double Surgeons since it's easy to tie in the dark. Finally, we almost always will tie a small Loop Knot for our hooks and artificials for better action.

This is good tackle to get you started, however, it might be a little light when the big fish are around. When fishing artificials, you'll have to go a little lighter for making more accurate casts and feeling the bites better. When you're in the right place, you get to see fish rolling or under the lights, so you can get an idea of their size and match tackle accordingly.

As far as hooks, Gamakatsu Octpus circle hooks are a good choice since they're super sharp, which is a must with tarpon. Depending on bait size and the size of fish being targeted, use 5/0 to 9/0 sizes. Circle hooks are especially deadly when the rod is out of the angler's hand, since most people can't resist pulling back to try to set the hook. With the rod in the rod holder, the fish will set the hook itself on its first run. If you insist on feeling the strike, you should probably use a J hook.

SILVER KING DO'S & DON'TS
When using spinning reels, one of the biggest mistakes people make is reeling against the drag. This happens when the fish is burning off line and the angler is still reeling away. This is a sure fire way to break your line. Because as the line twists, its breaking strength is quickly reduced. Now your 20-pound line is down to 8-pound and you don't have a snowball's chance. When any fish is taking drag, don't reel. We have all learned early on that giving a fish slack line is a big no-no, right? Well tarpon are an exception, for two reasons: their tendency to launch themselves high into the air, and their ability to shake their head extremely violently above the water. So, when they come up to jump or shake their head, you've got to "bow to the king." This creates that little bit of slack you need. If a 100-pound silver king were to take to the air, flip, and land on a tight line, he'd be history. However, if he jumps and lands on a slack line, you're still in business. So good luck and don't forget Bow to the King!

ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Capt. Gavet Tuttle is a native of South Florida, growing up in North Miami Beach. He is a licensed and insured full-time U.S.C.G. captain. He has spent thousands of hours fishing, surfing, and diving the beautiful South Florida waters. He is very experienced in the understanding of the tides and weather of the area, and their effect on the fishing and sea conditions. He fishes both salt and fresh water for charters year round in the Miami area. He has also finished in the money in both inshore and offshore tournaments. Give him a call toll free at 866-430-7758 or 954-448-1211, or email him at Info@BackForMore.com

Capt. Brian Cutchins grew up commercial fishing, surfing, hunting, and free-diving, and all have influenced his pursuit of life happiness. A single parent of two keeps him busy all the time, but the Key's lifestyle keeps him "laid back" as his boat is named. Currently he targets tarpon, redfish, bonefish, permit, snook, and sharks out of Islamorada's Holiday Isle Marina. For more information give him a call at 305-393-0196, or visit his website at LaidBackCharters.com.

*This article originally appeared in The Big Game Fishing Journal. 800-827-4468.

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