Florida Keys TARPON TIME

By: Capt. Greg Poland

This is the time of year in the Florida Keys that we have all been waiting for! There are a lot of fish in the sea, but once you hook a tarpon it is hard not falling in love with them. We have been catching them on and off for the last month, but the weather is finally settling down and the poons are happy. We have been finding them both on the edges of the flats and around the local bridges from Key Largo to the Middle Keys.

I want to pass along a tip that I have been using that is pretty simple and have found my hookup ratio improve. An old friend and arguably one of the best offshore captains in South Florida, Capt. Ray Rosher and I have been talking fishing ideas for years. I came to him last season with questions about bridling my live mullet and Ray sent me one of his plastic rigging needles and a packet of rubber bands along with some instructions. There are plenty of needles and rubber bands on the market, but he took the time and did the research to improve the bridling of live bait.

Rays’ products can be found online at randrtackle.com, or in most of the local shops in the Keys. They are by far the best bands and needles I have ever used, and I have found if you take the time to start bridling your baits you just might improve your hookups as I did. By bridling your hook, it is completely exposed and the hook cannot turn back into the bait so it’s a win-win in my book.

Below are a few photos of what I have been doing and have found both the mouth or eye socket work well, but Ray says he always goes through the mouth and up through the forehead when using the system on a live mullet. My tackle setup for tarpon fishing is a 7ft spinning rod with beaded line and a 40lb leader tied as shown with a cork and swivel, then I attach a 7-10ft fluorocarbon leader in either 40lb or 60lb depending on the clarity of the water and I like a 5/0 circle hook with a live mullet or a large pilchard rigged as described above.

Give it a try and let me know how it goes for you, the first few times it will seem like a few more steps but I can assure you it’s worth it!

If you’re looking to get out on the water this season, contact me and we will find a good tide to go jump a few poons.

— Contact Capt. Greg at 305.393.3327 or email gregpoland@icloud.com

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