Tarpon fishing in The Florida Keys

In The Florida Keys, tarpon peak April–June and are around year-round, spawning in May–June, according to Fish Scouter's month-by-month season calendar. April: Tarpon month begins — Bahia Honda, Seven Mile, Channel 2 and 5 and every bridge on the outgoing at night; oceanside daisy chains on the flats.

1. JanuaryAroundResident fish in Key West harbor, the Content Keys and the Florida Bay basins on warm days; bridges at night.
2. FebruaryArrivingFirst migrants show at the bridges and in the channels late in the month if the water warms — Keys and Biscayne are the front of the whole Florida run.
3. MarchArrivingFish pushing through the channels; laid-up fish in the backcountry basins on calm days.
4. AprilPeakTarpon month begins — Bahia Honda, Seven Mile, Channel 2 and 5 and every bridge on the outgoing at night; oceanside daisy chains on the flats.
5. MaySpawningPeak migration and the start of the spawn: fish from both coasts mix here (BTT acoustic tagging) before splitting up the Atlantic and Gulf. Bridge channels on the tide change, oceanside flats at dawn; spawning runs offshore around the full and new moons.
6. JuneSpawningStill spawning offshore and still at the bridges; the best worm-hatch fishing on the bayside when palolo worms run.
7. JulyLeavingThe migrants leave; residents and juveniles stay.
8. AugustAroundBonefish and permit peak on the flats; snapper on the reef. Late summer is the best bonefish and permit fishing of the year — early tides on the oceanside, then the reef for snapper.
9. SeptemberAroundBabies in the backcountry basins and mangrove creeks.
10. OctoberAroundSnook opens in the backcountry; bones, permit and the return of the kings. Snook on the backcountry bridges and creeks; bonefish on the higher fall tides; kings and Spanish return to the reef edge and the wrecks.
11. NovemberAround
12. DecemberAroundWinter fish in Key West harbor and under the bridge lights on warm nights.

Oceanside flats and patch reefs inside the reef line, the reef itself, then the Gulf-side banks and basins of Florida Bay and the backcountry. Bridges and channels connect the two. The clearest, warmest water in the state.

Fish Scouter charts 88 bridge, 49 pass / inlet, 43 beach / surf spots in the The Florida Keys map area — the kinds tarpon hold on.

• Blue crabsWhole and small for permit and tarpon; halved or quartered on the bottom for black drum, redfish and cobia.
• Threadfin herring (greenbacks)Nose-hooked on a circle hook and free-lined, or slow-trolled. Fragile — handle them wet and fast.
• Pilchards (whitebait)Free-lined or under a cork, hooked through the nose on a #1 to 2/0 circle hook. The one bait that catches everything inshore.
• Finger mulletLip-hooked on a 2/0 to 4/0 circle hook and free-lined, or on a fish-finder rig in the surf. Cut mullet on the bottom for redfish and drum.
• PinfishHooked through the back ahead of the dorsal on a 2/0 to 4/0 circle hook; the small ones free-lined, the big ones on a fish-finder rig.

• Leader50–60 lb fluorocarbon
• Hook5/0–8/0
• Jig head1–1 1/4 oz
• Braid40–65 lb

Feeds in 74–90°F water, best at 78–86°F.

All about tarpon · The Florida Keys, the whole year