Article Written by Honson Lau
Thousands of tarpon migrate through Florida each Spring encouraging dedicated anglers to dust off their heavy fly tackle to start a cycle of pursuing these fish for months. Tarpon tackle is absolutely unique. In most cases of saltwater fly fishing, you match your tackle to the conditions or the fly you are presenting. Tarpon fishing is one of those very few fisheries where your tackle is beefed up to accommodate for the size of the fish, rather than the fly you are presenting. Most of the flies being presented to tarpon are smaller and lighter than your typical bonefish or permit fly, which actually makes them easier to cast in most cases.
Tackle Choice
Fishing for adult tarpon (40lbs and up) usually calls for 10wt, 11wt, and 12wt fly rods. The 10wt is a specialty tool for calmer conditions where you are having to make a softer presentation. This is a great finesse tool to have as it still has a fairly strong backbone but enough finesse to deliver a lighter fly line for delicate presentations. The 11wt and 12wt rods are your standard tarpon fly rods. Most conditions during the average day in spring are fairly windy, thus allowing anglers to get away with heavier fly lines. Fighting a large tarpon is much more manageable on an 11wt or 12wt. Even during the calmer days, fishing dirtier water in the backcountry calls for large flies where an 11wt or 12wt would deliver more efficiently.
Fly Line Choices
Preferred fly lines for tarpon are clear intermediate, clear floating, and colored floating. Cortland makes all 3 in the tarpon taper. The Clear Intermediate fly line has it’s home in a situation where fish are rolling in deeper water and you are essentially blind casting or casting to rolling fish “guestimating” where your presentation will cross the deep water fish’s path. Some refer to the term “technical dredging” for this style of fishing. The most popular and widely used fly lines for most tarpon scenarios are floating lines. There is an ongoing debate about clear fly line vs colored fly line, yet both have their advantages and proper application. My skiff will always have both a clear and a colored fly line. As a fishing guide, I mainly use colored fly lines with the Tropic Plus Tarpon Taper being my preferred choice. The benefit to this is allowing the guide to help the angler guide the fly to the fish with more precision. Whether I am on the bow or the stern, I always prefer a colored fly line when fishing in dirtier water as it eliminates the guess work as to where the fly is located. Clear fly lines like the Liquid Crystal Tarpon Taper Clear offer an advantage when fishing pressured tarpon but it requires an angler who is experienced at predicting where the fly is once it hits the water in order to take advantage of the clear line benefits. As mentioned, each type of line has their specific advantage and application.
Leader Construction
There are 4 sections to my tapered tarpon leader; butt section, mid section, class tippet, and bite tippet. I use a 6ft to 7ft piece of Fluorocarbon for butt section. 50lb for 10wt and 60lb for 11wt and 12wt lines. I then attach a 18 inch section of 40lb fluorocarbon mid section. I then attach a 14-16” hard mono class tippet followed by a foot of fluorocarbon bite tippet. I personally prefer fluorocarbon for my butt and mid sections as it helps the sink rate and is less visible to the fish. The stiffness of the Fluorocarbon also matches the end of the fly line better to assist with turning your leader over properly.
About the Author
Honson is a licensed USCG captain out of Miami, Florida and very accomplished Tarpon angler. He has over a decade of experience targeting tarpon, redfish, permit, bonefish, and snook. To book a trip contact Honson at: TarponWT@gmail.com
Check out his social media here: Instagram
