Contributing Writer
Capt. Mike Bartlett
Key West Fishing Charters
Well that was a tarpon season to completely forget about! Though I did have some really good days of tarpon fishing in May and first half of June, mostly it was really hard fishing. The main reason; the weather was terrible.
If you recall I was excited about the cold weather we had this past winter, specifically that really cold spell that got us down into the low 50’s here in Key West for a few days. It was even colder north of us. I was getting water temperature readings of 55-60 degrees during this time.
I remember how good tarpon season was in 2010 following a harsh, cold winter. My thought was we should have an awesome tarpon season this spring but with one caveat, the weather had to be decent. Well, it wasn’t :(
A couple late season cold fronts with plenty of north wind followed by several weeks of breezy, rainy and cloudy conditions made fishing really hard. To add to the terrible sight fishing conditions our water got really hot way too soon this year. I was seeing water temperatures pushing 90 degrees by mid May when normally we would be 80-85 degrees depending on the day.
It wasn’t all doom and gloom thankfully. We took full advantage of the couple calm days even making it to the Marquesas twice, which was a blast!! Though we missed all of the fun morning things I did get out one evening during the worm hatch. Unfortunately I missed the worms but found a shrimp hatch nearby. We had fun jumping a bunch of juvenile tarpon while the other boats were way out in the worms not doing much.
Now that tarpon season is over that does not mean the end of tarpon fishing. Tarpon season mainly refers to the spring tarpon migration, April through June. We have plenty of resident tarpon that will give us lots of opportunities all summer and early fall. From baby tarpon in the backcountry mangroves to mid-size tarpon on the ocean following the bait balls, there will be plenty of options to choose from considering tides and wind each day. This is also prime time for guppy and shrimp hatches, just need the wind to cooperate.
Summer is also the time for those negative low tides that expose much of the flats around us. As we generally have light winds in the summer there is an abundance of places to hunt for tailing bonefish during the following incoming tide. Super fun if you enjoy fishing for bonefish.
Days when the weather and tide lines up properly I will set out early to jump a few tarpon during the end of the outgoing tide then get on the flats to chase tailing bonefish at the beginning of the incoming tide. It is truly a fly fisherman’s dream!!
Summer is here and it’s hotter than Hades out there. I refer to it as sweatin’ season as I feel like I sweat from the time I wake up until I go to bed. Regardless, summer is my favorite time of the year to be on the water around Key West. Fishing on the flats is at it’s best, there’s hardly anyone else on water now and business has slowed down a good bit so I am able to get some much needed quality time on the bow.
The main event in July is the mini lobster season at the end of the month. Since it’s a poop show on the water I use this week as my vacation and will do a few days in the water to spearfish and snatch up some lobsters.
Hope you all have a great summer!
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Capt. Mike Bartlett
