Good week for tarpon fishing
Finally, we had a week with calm seas that allowed tarpon hunters to get off the beaches, in the Harbor and Pine Island Sound and fish in near ideal conditions. Good weather also made for plenty of other fishing opportunities both offshore and inshore.
One thing with tarpon fishing is it’s usually consistently inconsistent from day to day. One day fish are showing everywhere and hungry then the next day you hit the same area and can’t find a fish. It doesn’t mean they aren’t there, but more likely just not active. That’s how much of the past week went. There were days off the beach of Sanibel where anglers found great tarpon action from sunrise through the afternoon followed the very next day with very few signs of hungry fish. That was also the case in Charlotte Harbor and Pine Island Sound. But generally after an off day the tarpon action picked right back up the following day.
Off the beach the bait of choice was large Atlantic thread herring or “horse” shiners free lined through areas of fish rolling. When the tarpon weren’t biting the sharks were with a wide variety including blacktip, hammerhead and lemons. Most were running in packs, if you hooked one you could expect to hook another in short order. Extra large Spanish mackerel and a few gag grouper were also caught on tarpon baits.
Tarpon were also found in the twenty foot hole between the C-span of the Sanibel Causeway and St. James City. Here the method was to set anchor and fish cut bait on bottom. Fresh mullet, ladyfish and catfish tails worked best with a few tarpon also going for large live pinfish or thread herrings under a cork.
Farther north pods of fish were showing early in the morning near Wulfert Keys in the lower Sound and the clam leases in the mid Sound. Live thread herrings free lined or small blue crabs under a cork were the best baits. All three Passes (Redfish, Captiva and Boca Grande) had reports of tarpon pods throughout the week; large groups of fish have arrived in Boca Grande Pass.
In Charlotte Harbor tarpon were found in mid Harbor between Bull Bay and the Pass. There were enough pods of fish if you spent a little time hunting you could fish a group that no boats were working. Just like all the other areas mentioned though, if you jumped a fish you could expect the cavalry to be on the way. Again large live thread herring was the bait of choice in the Harbor either free lined or suspended four or five feet under a cork. You could also expect plenty of mackerel, bluefish and sharks to intercept your tarpon baits.
Redfish reports were a lot better than over the past weeks with good catches coming from Matlacha Pass and the Sound. In Matlacha Pass they were caught at Indian Fields and north Buzzard bay at the upper end and near McCardle Island and the power lines down south. Live shrimp and pilchards both worked well, with anglers reporting plenty of snook also eating the pilchards in the Pass. In the Sound fish were widespread with reports coming from Islands near Useppa and Cabbage Key, shorelines south of Captiva Pass and also south of Demere Key. A few were reported taking small top water lures early in the morning then on the higher tide stages fishing under the bushes with pilchards, pinfish or cut ladyfish.
The best trout fishing was confined to the cleaner waters of Pine Island Sound and Charlotte Harbor. They continue to hold over grass and sandy bottom areas from four to eight feet deep. Look for birds of any type (including cormorants sitting in the water) this is a sign that bait is around and it’s a great place to start searching for trout.
Offshore, gag grouper reports were pretty good from just a few miles off the beach out to forty miles. They were caught over limestone ledges and also on wrecks farther offshore, with the largest weighing twenty pounds. Large amberjacks up to forty pounds were also caught on the deeper wrecks along with mangrove snapper up to four pounds and a few red grouper up to seven pounds.
If you want to become a successful tarpon angler you have to have patience and with that confidence in the areas you fish. They go hand in hand, if you have confidence there are tarpon were you are fishing then it is a lot easier to have the patience to stay in the area and put in the time there. The only way to develop that confidence is by spending the time on the water and learning the behavior and patterns of tarpon. Some days you feel like a fishing genius and tarpon are everywhere and you can do no wrong followed the next day with not a fish in sight. It can become very difficult to stick with it when no fish are active or showing but if you fall back on your areas where you are confident the fish are and remain patient your odds of hooking up increase.
Don’t get me wrong I love the days when fish are everywhere and fighting for the bait (I wish everyday was that way) but I feel more of an accomplishment when we have to work a little harder for the fish we catch. Don’t get discouraged if you aren’t hooking tarpon, the important thing is that you are on the water learning and with that will come the confidence and patience that will make you a successful tarpon angler.
If you have a fishing report or for charter information, please contact us at:
Phone: 239-283-7960
Website: www.fishpineisland.com
E-mail: gcl2fish@live.com
Have a safe week and good fishin’.