Tarpon versus Bonefish

Dynamic Duo

POSTED ON THE INTERNET BY, AND AS FEATURED IN THE SPRING EDITION OF THE SOUTH FLORIDA SPORT FISHING MAGAZINE

JAN STEPHEN MAIZLER

Tarpon -VS- Bonefish

This year, south Florida’s winter was as cold, vicious, and ornery as it could be. The icy blows chilled and kicked up our waters from back bays to the Gulf Stream. While the early spring months may still feature some encore fronts, they inevitably will bring warmth while the sun will be higher in the sky and the days will be longer. As South Florida’s marine waters begin to warm, inshore anglers will break through their winter thaw, and begin the water temperature watch with excitement and expectancy. After spending too much time in the sixties, surf temperatures will climb back in the mid-seventies. This lifts the starting gate for south Florida inshore anglers to pursue the return of the dynamic duo, the tarpon and the bonefish.During the previous cooler weather, south Florida tarpon fishing spots were geographicallylimited. Places like Miami’s Government and Haulover Cut offered a nightly ebb tide buffetof shrimp and this kept some tarpon around. The warm water discharge havens in Port Everglades also attracted tarpon.Springtime’s warmth triggers movement in both the residential and migratory stocks of thesilver kings. With spring three basic patterns emerge. For starters our local tarpon will broaden their horizons and their feeding range will dramatically increase. The Government Cut tarpon will begin feeding well into the daylight hours with a prime location being two hundred yards south around the Range Markers. In addition tarpon will migrate into warming waters such as Whitewater Bay near Flamingo and Biscayne Bay in Miami, and feed on the growing schools of mullet and pilchards. The most truly migratory groups of tarpon will launch from the deep waters of the Florida Straits and begin their northward trek up through the shoal waters and beaches along both coasts. When targeting spring tarpon in south Florida, keep these aforementioned patterns in mind.Springtime tarpon become available to anglers all the way from the inside bays to the outside beaches, and each locale has its own angling system. Some of the best baits for back bay tarpon are fresh mullet chunks fished on the bottom.This is an especially effective daytime bait. Come nightfall and the sharks will generally overwhelm your bottom baits. Casting large swimming plugs becomes more realistic.Towards the south Florida coast and beaches, the pristine blue waters become quite clear.Add to this the shoal water depths of migrating tarpon, and you have the perfect situationfor casting artificials from both a flats skiff or a bay boat.Daytime schools of moving and rolling tarpon are quite sensitive to sound and will spook easily if they hear boat engine noise. The best approach while fishing off the beach and along the coast is to pole your skiff towards the rolling schools. If the water gets over eight or ten feet deep, electric motors become the method of choice for propelling your boat towards the fish.When the school gets into range, remember to cast well ahead of the lead fish and retrieveyour lure with a slow even retrieve. This is as true for heavy fly tackle as it is for plug tackle and jerkbaits. Because of the tarpon’s rough mouth, a heavier leader is essential. For medium fish size fish of around fifty pounds and with medium tackle, use a at least a fifty pound mono leader. Larger tarpon and heavier tackle demand leader material testing as high as eighty to a hundred pounds.When using artificials in clear daytime water, think of switching to fluorocarbon leader material due to its decreased visibility factors.South Florida lays claim to the beautiful Florida Keys, which presents its own unique tarponfishery. Silver Kings congregate en masse under bridges which connect this island paradise. The epicenter of the action begins in Islamorada, at Indian Key Bridge and extends well into the lower Keys at Bahia Honda Bridge. It’s a tarpon extravaganza for novice and expert alike. These bridge tarpon feed both during the day and night and actively grab artificials and live baits. However, a betting man would give the best odds to a live mullet fished on an outgoing tide right in the shadow line of a bridge at midnight.The last two things to remember are crucial. Tarpon have hard bony mouths, and an extremely sharp hook is a must. Check your hook point often and file it whenever you have the slightest doubt. Also remember to bow (drop the rod tip) to your tarpon when it jumps - this will minimize the chance of your hook being thrown or your line snapping under too much strain. South Florida’s bonefish - the Gray Ghost - shares top billing with the tarpon, yet it issuch a different creature. Bonefish are shallow water grazers and look primarily to bottom dwelling organisms like shrimp, crabs, and clams asthe fodder. In contrast, tarpon feed on multiple life forms all along the water column. Bonefish, unlike tarpon, are not truly migratory fish. Basically, they move on to the inshore flats with increasing warmth and/or theflooding tide. Conversely, as the tide ebbs out or if colder weather plunges flats temperaturesdown, bonefish move to deeper water where temperatures are more moderate. Though the Gray Ghost is so much smaller than theSilver King, its fighting qualities more than make up for its lesser stature. Who’s to saywhich of the duo is more exciting? The slow roll, jump, and giant splash of a big tarpon, or the silvery flash of a tailing bonefish coupled with sizzling hundred yard runs in eightinches of water? The bonefish of south Florida have a geographical range from Miami’s Key Biscayne all the way down to Key West. Biscayne Bay and Islamorada still rank as the two top producers of the largest bonefish on the planet, afact we can take pride in. In these locales, a ten pound bonefish is hardly news, but would have anglers in the Bahamas, Belize, and the Seychelles dancing for joy. In contrast to the multiple fishing systems employed for tarpon, bone fishing is a sight fishing and casting specialty. Learning and relearning the crucial tactics will keep your bone fishing skills sharply honed. HOW YOU SEE BONEFISH WILL NEED TO CHANGE BASED ONDIFFERENT CONDITIONS. You will need to look at the water’s surface in order to best see tailing bonefish andschools of fish pushing water. In low light, get to the shallowest flats and train your eyesto see the water as a solid film pierced by potential bonefish activity.As the sun comes up and the tide rises too high for bonefish to tail in, put on your polarized UV/glare-blocking sunglasses. Because the fish you will be looking for now are cruising fish below the surface. Retrain your eyes to see through the water toward the bottom. Be sure to wear a cap with a long bill and dark underside. This will help eliminate further glare and help your eyes penetrate the water. SILENCE IS GOLDEN. Many professional guides believebonefish can hear the water pressure made by far away wading anglers for great distances. Some even believe that bonefish can hear human voices and other atmospheric sounds. It’s certain that bonefish will spook when sudden loud sounds penetrate into the water world. Never slam hatches in your boat or scrape your push pole across the bottom.STILLNESS IS GOLDEN. Sudden movement - particularly overhead movement will generally spooks bonefish. They equate this motion with danger and predation from above. When you see a fish, squat, move cautiously, and make a stealthy cast. Above all, don’t wave your rod or push pole to point out the location of incoming bonefish. Use the well-known clock system to help your partner see the fish as well.LINES OUT OF THE WATER! This refers not to the days end, but the best tactic after you hook up with a bonefish. The flats always have some abrasive bottom and the higher you hold your rod tip, the more line remains out of the water. This tactic will definitely reduce your cutoffs. There’s so much more to be said of hunting the Silver King and the Gray Ghost, but that will have to wait for another time. For now, let’s be grateful that spring’s warmth will bring us the great dynamic duo!
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