Tarpon are often broken off at the boat at Boca Grande, though many guides dehook the fish before release, as well. (Photo courtesy of World’s Richest Tarpon Tournament)
January 14, 2025
By Frank Sargeant
There are a number of special spots for big tarpon around the subtropic/tropic waters of the world, but there is no where that so many adult tarpon are caught on any given day from May 1 to early July as Boca Grande Pass, at the mouth of Charlotte Harbor on Florida’s southwest coast.
Sonic studies by the state’s Fish & Wildlife Research Institute have indicated that as many as 10,000 adult tarpon swarm in Boca Grande during the pre-spawn feed, fattening up on pass crabs, threadfins, squirrelfish and anything else that comes through the pass on falling tides. Both the crabs and the threadfins are at an annual peak at this time, probably the big reason that the fish gather there.
There are more tarpon guides per square foot here than anywhere on the planet. The fleet approaches 100 boats at times in the mile-wide pass and the fishing goes on day and night during the peak of the run.
Handling a big tarpon at boatside (left) takes some muscle and a quick hand with the pliers, but most can be successfully released to fight again. A quick photo and this giant (right) will be ready to go back to grow even larger. (Photo courtesy of Captain Rob Gorta) It’s not uncommon to see 100 tarpon roll at the surface within casting distance on any given trip, and many times there may be a half-dozen boats battling fish at once, all drifting along with the tide.
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Just Up the Coast The only other place where this spectacle is approached is just 70 miles up the coast at the mouth of Tampa Bay, where it’s starting to seem that there may be as many fish as at Charlotte Harbor—but spread out over three adjacent passes rather than concentrated in one. The area produces tarpon of 200 pounds and more almost yearly, based on the length/girth formula—it’s a special spot for those who want to tangle with the biggest of the bigs without leaving U.S. waters.
Egmont Pass, Southwest Pass and Passage Key Inlet are the three major flowages out of Tampa Bay, and like Boca Grande, from May to July, they are stiff with big tarpon.
Egmont alone is 1.5 miles wide and up to 90 feet deep, and as tarpon numbers have grown due to no-harvest rules over the last 40 years, fishing has steadily gotten better. There are fish from a mile outside the island all the way to the Skyway Bridge at times, more than 7 miles where a tarpon—or 50—might pop up at any moment.
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The fish can be equally abundant at Southwest Pass, on the south end of Egmont Key, which is shallower and where you might occasionally be able to toss a lure in front of a passing pod working the shoulders of the pass. Smaller Passage Key Inlet, beyond the bar of the same name, produces more for fly-rodders and lure-tossers, particularly at Bean Point, where the fish often break out of the pass and head down the beach, silhouetting themselves on the white sand as they go.
On prime tide days, several boats are often “flying” tarpon at the same time at Boca Grande. (Photo courtesy of World’s Richest Tarpon Tournament) While the fishery is not quite so well developed at Egmont as it is at Boca Grande, that’s a plus for anglers who like to have a bit of space to fight their fish without constant threat of tangles from the lines of other anglers.
The Procedure It’s not wise to go to one of these hallowed spots and try to insert yourself into the fishery without studying the protocol that experience has proven works best in each. Not only will you not catch fish yourself, you’ll ruin the chances of other anglers who are trying to do it right.
The best bet is to ride along with an angler or guide who has had success at the given location a time or two, then imitate their tactics in your own boat with your own tackle.
Tampa Bay is becoming known for producing huge tarpon in the 200-pound class as more fish grow to maximum size due to all-release fishing. (Photo courtesy of Clearwater Inshore Fishing) Basically, both are drift fisheries—boats drift with the tide, usually trying to keep their baits nearly vertical below the boat, though at times when the fish are hitting pass crabs on top the baits may be streamed aft on the surface.
The boats drift along in unison, maintaining distance from each other by kicking the motors in and out of gear. If a boat gets hooked up, ideally the fish is followed outside the drift line to fight and land it to avoid tangles with other anglers.
If there’s no hookup on a given drift, you pull in the lines, motor in a wide arc around the fleet and go back up to the very top of the drift line to start over again. (You can’t anchor and it’s unwise to try to hold position with Spot Lock because other boats will drift right into you—moving with the fleet is the way to go for this type of action.)
Traditional inboard powered boats are still popular in the live bait fishery at Boca Grande, though rare elsewhere. (Photo courtesy of World’s Richest Tarpon Tournament) The Rig Traditional pass tarpon rigs are no-nonsense—8-foot heavy-action conventional rods, Penn 4/0 reels, 80- to 100-pound-test braid and 10 feet of 100-pound test mono leader, with forged 5/0 to 7/0 “j” style hooks. (Some captains use 60-pound test mono as running line on the theory it’s easier to break off the inevitable snags—your choice.) A weight of 6 ounces or so goes above the leader, separated by a heavy-duty swivel like a No. 3 SPRO, which is 150-pound test.
The baits are typically live pass crabs about 2-3 inches across the shell, squirrelfish or jumbo shrimp. Pinfish and grunts also work.
At times there’s a “crab flush” with hundreds of crabs floating on the surface in the rip line—that’s the time to get rid of the weight and put out crabs on “fly lines” to get the bite.
Both at Tampa Bay and at Boca Grande, the “pass crab” is the most popular bait, though sardines, pinfish, squirrelfish and large shrimp also score. (Wiki Media Commons photo) Getting Bit The baits have to pretty much get right into the face of the tarpon to get bit, so getting to them to the right depth is everything. At Boca Grande, the historic procedure was to put pieces of green and red thread on the running lines and direct the client to put “red on the reel” or “green on the tip” as the boat drifted above the rocky bottom—too shallow and the bait was not seen, too deep and the heavy lead nearly always snagged.
Today, powerful directional live sonar allows some captains to see both the fish and the baits in real time, so adjusting the amount of line out has become significantly easier. The captain can at times guide the baits right to the nose of the fish—not surprisingly, bites come frequently.
When a take comes, the reel is locked down, the boat is thrown into gear and accelerated uptide, pulling the line tight and setting the hook—then the battle is on. (The angler does not try to set the hook—there’s too much slack, and this often results in a lost fish.)
Best Time The best bites usually occur on strong falling tides coming on the two or three days on either side of a new or full moon—“spring tides,” as mariners call them, or “hill tides,” as tarpon guides say.
The best bite is on the outflow, but there’s also a pretty good bite on incoming on many days. Slack water, on the other hand, is time to head in for lunch, or to try to catch a grouper off the deep rocks in the passes.
Boca Grande Pass is widely recognized as the single best tarpon spot in U.S. waters and maybe worldwide, but the passes of Tampa Bay are giving it a run in recent years. (Photo courtesy of Captain Dave Markett) Handling Hooked Tarpon Because lots of big tarpon attract lots of even bigger sharks, getting your fish in, photographed and released quickly is essential to its survival. You are not allowed to bring a tarpon over 40 inches long into the boat, remember, so de-hooking, photos and revival take place at boatside.
A popular photo is to pull the fish to the nearest beach, hop out in chest deep water and stand eye to eye with the fish for the picture—a great shot.
Tarpon are found in the clear waters of Southwest Pass and Passage Key Inlet as well as in the deeper cut of Egmont Pass. (Photo courtesy of Captain Rob Gorta) However, always be aware that that big silver-plate side of the fish is flashing a “come eat me” sign out into the deep channel, and stay out of the water if you see or suspect a shark within 100 yards. Of course, always keep a sharp eye out when de-hooking over the main channel, as well. This is where most attacks from bull sharks come.
De-hooked fish that are “pumped” or towed to get water flow over their gills usually perk up within a minute or so—when they start fighting to be free, let them go—most will survive to fight again.