Capt. Larry Cohen's Key West Fishing Report - March 2005

Tarpon are Rolling on in to Key West

As the humidity starts to climb, and the spring breakers invade the town, that is a sure sign that the Tarpon are next on the list to show, and that they did. As if right on cue maybe they have smelled the suntan lotion from the beach, or heard the late night music from Duval Street, they have managed to find the harbor and channels here in Key West. I have witnessed this migration for the past 33 years, and as usual, it still is an amazing event to see very large schools of Tarpon, and then to consider the size of the fish. Well, if this does not get your blood pumping, you probably don't have a pulse.

A typical day of Tarpon fishing for me will usually go something like this:
Leaving the dock at 6am, and yes, it is still dark, checking the tides determines were to look for fish. Usually this is a pretty short run of maybe 10 minutes or so. For the fly caster we use 11, 12 and 13 wt. rods, floating or sinking lines, depending on conditions. To know how to "double haul" is recommended. For the spin fisherman we throw plugs, wind cheaters and A-Salt by Bomber. They are some of my personal favorites. A well placed cast followed up by a slow and steady retrieve will hopefully result in a hook up. This is were the fun starts.

My word of advice to you: DO NOT LIFT THE ROD, continue to wind, striking the rod DOWN AND TO THE SIDE. This method very often will keep that fish hooked up. At this point the fish is pretty much going to call the shots. When the fish comes on up to jump, I recommend to put your rod tip right on in to the water, or some say to point your rod to the fish, known as "Bowing to the silver king". In any case, you are trying to achieve the same goal. Hang on to that fish. With a whole lot of luck and expert advice from me, "HA HA" the battle is on.

We sometimes will start the boat up to follow the fish. In the past I have watched my clients fight one of these fish from 20 minutes to almost 2 hours. You just never know what to expect from either side of the fight. Once the battle begins to wind down, you still need to have a little strength in reserve. As the fish begins to stay up on the surface longer, you will want to turn the fish. If it goes left, you drag him right and vice versa. I do not recommend you or any body else to lift one of these big monsters. If you bring the fish over or in to your boat for a picture, you are asking for trouble. We all are looking for a great shot with the fish that we have just caught, but use caution. I have seen them break rods, injure people, and do a lot of damage to a boat. A fish that weighs over 80+ pounds is a hand full when they have an attitude, and as always, we would like to not stress the fish, so we have a good release.

The following picture is of a Key West sunrise from my boat while on our way to go Tarpon fishing. If this sounds like something that would interest you, our if you have any questions, please send us an e-mail or give us a call.

Capt. Larry Cohen
Key West Flats Fishing