Tarpons can be caught all year round but the best time to go tarpon fishing is during the late spring and early summer months. This is when they are the most aggressively feeding.

Knowing a little about the tarpon will help you be more successful when you go fishing. Tarpon feed the most aggressively during the early morning and late evening so this is the best time to go fishing for them.

They have a tendency of facing in the direction of the flowing water when in search of food. Therefore, if you position yourself in front of them you will get more bites.

They are considered to be opportunistic feeders and when the tide is moving out the tarpon will collect together at the mouths of harbors and channels. Here they will feed on the shrimp, crabs and other baitfish that the current of the water leaves behind.

There is no one strategy that will work perfect for every angler everytime they use it. For that reason, it is necessary to have an imagination and try different techniques until you find something that works for you and the body of water that you are fishing in.

However, once you find a technique that works in a specific situation you can always start off with that method each time you go out and switch if you are not getting results.

Basic Strategies That Different Fishermen Use

Since there is no one technique, bait or strategy that works perfectly every time, it is good to know a variety of things that has worked for other tarpon fishermen. This way you can experiment when you go tarpon fishing. Here are some strategies that are recommended by experienced tarpon fishermen.

When you get close to the strike zone cut your engines and use your trolling motor on slow speeds.

Mullets, pinfish and pilchards are good baits and they can be used both dead and alive.

If there are a large number of other aggressive fish in the area where the tarpons are located, then live bait is not recommended because it will draw them to your bait and interfere with catching the tarpon.

Experiment with different types of bait and techniques until you find what works in your area.

You can use either a small or a large boat when tarpon fishing but the size of the boat will be a factor in determining which tactic you use. For example, a small boat would need to anchor down in the channels and the shallower water where the tarpon gather together.

A large boat would need to go deeper into the harbors and channels and present their bait to the tarpon that is feeding in the outgoing tides.

Fly fishing is one of the most popular methods for catching tarpons and it is used by nearly every fisherman at one time or another. Catching a tarpon with this technique has been described as the most exhilarating experience imaginable and it is certainly something you should try.