Tarpon, tarpon, tarpon. Everywhere you look you're bound to see tarpon: the key is getting them to eat. Tarpon season kicked off early this year relative to seasons past, with an incredible bite taking place heading into the full moon during the later part of April. Virtually all catching was done on the 'inside' as the winds during April prevented boats from fishing in the Gulf. Last week's flat tides coincided with a freak extra-tropical low that has been spinning off the Northeast Florida coast for a week now. The resulting west winds have taken all Gulf fishing out of play, and limited anyone's ability to move about inside the barrier islands. Today marks the first day of a favorable week of tides as we move toward the new moon phase. Strong morning incoming tides coupled with the disintegration of the strong low in the Atlantic should make for extremely favorable conditions with access to the Gulf for the first time a great possibility. Threadfins have been running strong at first light all around the causeway spans, crabs will work well, and the larger white bait coming off the flats have proven to be extremely effective - plus, they don't seem to 'cheek hook' themselves as easily as threadfins do. (FYI: a 'cheek hook' is when the hook point becomes embedded in the side of a baitfish, causing a cartwheel motion of the bait in the water. If a gamefish hits a cheek hooked baitfish, the hookup is missed as the point is buried in the baitfish.) Bycatch has consisted of black tip sharks, Spanish mackerel and catfish. Catfish tails are a fantastic source of tarpon bait, as that oily flesh is hard for a big fish to pass up. My tackle setup: G. Loomis 965S rod. Quantam Cabo 80 reel. 50 lb. test Power Pro line with a Bimini twist tied in at the end. I marry a 3 ft. butt section of 60 lb. test fluorocarbon leader to the Bimini twist via a triple overhand knot. I marry a 6 ft. section of 80 lb. test fluorocarbon to the 60 lb. butt section via a double (back-to-back) uni-knot. Finally, I use a loop knot to tie in a Gamakatsu #221317 7/0 circle/in-line octopus circle hook (red). Remember, don't jerk it 'til you feel the tug (and be prepared to yank and crank!).

Cheers,
Capt. Dave Torrance
Mercury Saltwater Team