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 differ depending on the speed of tidal current. If the weight is too heavy, it can pull the hook out. To avoid this, secure your weight to the line with light copper wire. It'll easily drop off and not cause problems when you're 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.
Rig the live bait so that it looks as natural as possible. For instance, hook a crab in the corner of the shell. Hook pinfish and mullet through the mouth, vertically or horizontally.
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.
Seasoned key west tarpon fishing guides use many sizes and types of bait because there are so many factors to consider when going for these fish. But, there's one thing you should always do - that is to have a bait at the bottom with 1 or 2 others at varying depths.
Weights differ depending on the speed of tidal current. If the weight is too heavy, it can pull the hook out. To avoid this, secure your weight to the line with light copper wire. It'll easily drop off and not cause problems when you're 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.
Rig the live bait so that it looks as natural as possible. For instance, hook a crab in the corner of the shell. Hook pinfish and mullet through the mouth, vertically or horizontally.
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.
Seasoned key west tarpon fishing guides use many sizes and types of bait because there are so many factors to consider when going for these fish. But, there's one thing you should always do - that is to have a bait at the bottom with 1 or 2 others at varying depths.
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