Tarpon

You're paying him for the day, you may as well use the opportunity to pick his brain.

If you must fish with your own rod, wait until you get to Florida to rig your rod. Stop in one of the friendly fly shops in the keys and ask them for advice on what line and backing to use and how to install it. Purchase your line and backing there, and they'll probably even rig your rod for you.

If you have a few tarpon under your belt, and you are very good at tying knots and following instructions, you may be ready to set up your own rod and reel. Follow the instructions in the Rods and Reels and Building a Leader sections of this article and you won't go wrong. The recommendations there have accounted for thousands of tarpon, including most of the current world fly rod records Florida Keys tarpon range in size from 20 up to 175 pounds, with the average fish weighing in the 70- to 90-pound range. Although I know anglers who fish for tarpon with 10-weight rods, you never know what size fish is going to eat your fly, and a 12weight is recommended for all tarpon fishing unless you are specifically targeting small fish. In body construction, tarpon are somewhat like humans--some are skinny, some are fat, some are tall (long), and some are short, but more important is the fact that some are strong and some are not. Can you use a smaller rod? Sure, but with a smaller rod, you may find yourself under gunned at the most inopportune moment.

Unlike most freshwater applications where your rod is your most important piece of equipment, your reel is your most important piece of tackle when fishing in the Florida Keys. Your tarpon reel should be large--4 inches or so in diameter, and capable of holding a 12-weight fly line plus 300 yards of 30-pound backing.

In recent years, manufacturers have produced fly reels much larger than 4 inches, and many anglers who fish for tarpon and other large, fast fish on a regular basis have begun using the largest diameter reels they can afford. The reasoning behind the use of these larger diameter reels is two-fold.

First, you're not casting or false casting as much for large fish as often as you might for smaller fish, so the added weight of larger reels is not as much of a factor as some anglers might think. Second, the large-diameter reels that hold 500, 600, or even 800 yards of backing are a real asset when a big fish pulls off 200 or 300 yards of backing, and you discover you still have enough spool diameter left to recover more than a couple of inches of line with each crank of the reel handle. The current trend of large arbor reels accomplishes the same result, but without the weight of the extra backing.

A smooth, strong drag should be your primary concern, and certainly will be once you realize the power, strength, and stamina of a tarpon. While there are several materials used in manufacturing fly reel drag washers, cork is the most prevalent in the high end reels due to its proven ability to resist heat, as well as compress and expand throughout the pressure range of a reel's drag setting.

There are many areas in the Florida Keys where tarpon will be in water shallow enough to use a floating fly line. When the tarpon are in water six feet deep, or deeper, you will need an intermediate sinking line. Scientific Angler's Floating Tarpon Taper, Cortland's Tropic Plus Lazerline, and Orvis's Saltwater Weight