Tarpon fishing in The Treasure Coast

In The Treasure Coast, tarpon peak May and September–October and are around March–November, according to Fish Scouter's month-by-month season calendar. May: Spring migrants moving north along the beaches — dawn and dusk.

1. JanuaryNot here
2. FebruaryNot here
3. MarchArrivingFirst fish at Jupiter, St. Lucie and Sebastian inlets on the night tides.
4. AprilAroundSnook and tarpon at the inlets; kings on the reef. Inlet snook on the outgoing, tarpon in the inlets and along the beach, kings on the reef edge. Trout on the lagoon flats at dawn.
5. MayPeakSpring migrants moving north along the beaches — dawn and dusk.
6. JuneAroundBeach snook at first light; snapper on the reef; lagoon trout early. Snook in the surf trough at dawn; snapper on the nearshore reef and the bridges; lagoon flats at first light only.
7. JulyAroundSummer: snook on the beach and inlets, snapper on structure. Dawn on the beach for snook, then the reef and bridges for snapper; the lagoon is a night fishery under the dock lights.
8. AugustArrivingThe first finger-mullet schools on the beach bring the first fall tarpon.
9. SeptemberPeakThe fall mullet run starts in Martin County mid-September: tarpon crashing mullet schools from Hobe Sound to Palm Beach Inlet, the bridges at night.
10. OctoberPeakPeak mullet run — tarpon, snook and jacks on every beach and inlet. Follow the bait down the beach.
11. NovemberLeavingThe tail of the run; the first good front pushes the last fish south.
12. DecemberNot here

The inlets and the Intracoastal behind them, the southern Indian River Lagoon's grass flats and spoil islands, the St. Lucie and Loxahatchee rivers, the beaches, and a reef line that comes within a mile of the sand from Jupiter south.

Fish Scouter charts 48 beach / surf, 22 bridge, 7 pass / inlet spots in the Palm Beach & the Treasure Coast 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 · Palm Beach & the Treasure Coast, the whole year