 |
Marathon, Florida Keys
Capt. Bob Brown
April 16, 2002
Marathon - Saltwater Fishing Report
Tarpon Bustin Loose!
The middle keys Tarpon fishing has started to heat up recently with some good sized fish showing up at all the major hangouts in the area. Best locations for finding good numbers of big Tarpon in the Marathon and middle Keys area are at the famous 7 Mile bridges, Bahia Honda Bridges, Vaca Cut, Long Key Bridge and the Tom's Harbor Bridges that border either side of Duck Key. The action was slowed a bit by recent windy weather, but it has calmed down now and the bite is back on! We have had several good trips in the past few days hooking up some large Tarpon in the 100-150lb. class. Some smaller fish are also around as we hooked around 10 Tarpon the other night in the 25-60lb. range. Other bridge action has included several species of some very large sharks. The other night we hooked 5 large Black Tip "Spinner" Sharks in the 100-150lb range and the boat next to me fought and caught a large Bull Shark in the 300lb. range.
Best baits for catching bridge Tarpon are live Mullet, Pinfish, Blue Crabs, Pilchards, and Shrimp. After dark, don't be afraid to throw a large plug at them. My favorite plugs include Bomber long-A's, red & white, silver and black, or blue backed with a silver core. Also, large Rapala and Mirro lures that are mullet colored or red and white seem to produce best. Watch out when bringing your hooked Tarpon to the boat with all those treble hooks!! Dawn and dusk are always the best times and after dark is sometimes fantastic! If you want more info on Tarpon and offshore fishing in the middle Keys, check out our website! Good luck in all of your fishing adventures!
Capt. Bob Brown, Jr.
More Fishing Reports:
|
|
|
|
