It's nuts in the keys. Every concrete block motel is charging more than $300 a night. Apparently the keys are quite the place to go for no Covid restrictions. I have been told that the fishing is crowded too bc the Bahamas is closed essentially. I can count the tarpon I actually gotten and unhooked on one hand. I want to catch one those monsters in the 100lb range. Going out of Bud and Mary's.

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"One of the reasons why propaganda tries to get you to hate government is because it's the one existing institution in which people can participate to some extent and constrain tyrannical unaccountable power." Noam Chomsky.

good luck! OR you could always yank one outta the water by hand @ Robbies

Black and white

Concur!

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So if you are a surfer I wish you the prosperity that allows you more time to pursue the salt water dream, and the true happiness that comes from warm water, clean waves and the companionship of your fellow surfers. If you are an internet troll just spewing bs then f off.

Good luck! If you want to put in some overtime Ive never fished the bridges right near Bud n Marys(they are probably good) but about 5 miles north I have got some small and hooked large tarpon from shore under the south side of snake creek drawbridge at night on outgoing tide

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I troll 2L.com to be a better person in real life

Go to sebastian in the fall, many over 100!

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Romans 8;18-32 John 3;16-18

Sea weed has made it virtually impossible to fish the outgoing on the south side over the last several years and the numbers of Tarpon have been somewhat sparse. 20 years ago you could get several hits in the same cast, that is no longer a thing.



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I was right.

I have hooked a few in the loxahatchee River in october before it's gets cooler. I used finger mullet on a little bobber to keep them on top and drawing lots of attention. I was going for snook but tarpon were biting. If I had known about circle hooks then I might have done more than actually feed them. I caught one that had been in the brackish backwater so long it was no longer silver. It was gold. I had my little brother with me and he was like ten or eleven. We actually got the gold tarpon in and on the dock, my brother said we had to take it home. I told him you can't eat tarpon and we had to send him back to his mother and he looked like he was going to cry. I told him we could tell everyone and protested immediately with "no one is going to believe you!" So I took a scale and gave him that. Wrote the date and the weight. He's still got it.

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"One of the reasons why propaganda tries to get you to hate government is because it's the one existing institution in which people can participate to some extent and constrain tyrannical unaccountable power." Noam Chomsky.

You will get multiple chances at good fish in the Keys, those guys have it dialed in tight. We even get the occasional hook-up while shark fishing at night with the kids in Cudjoe.

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I was right.

800.00 for the guide from 6 am to around 2:30. Im sure there is another hundred in tip too. I can see why it took me this long to do this. A half day was four hours and 550. The bobo room was 280 a night. I am just there to learn from a pro and hopefully replicate everything on my own after.

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"One of the reasons why propaganda tries to get you to hate government is because it's the one existing institution in which people can participate to some extent and constrain tyrannical unaccountable power." Noam Chomsky.

Watch a video- then launch your own boat at Founders Park then you git'em you got'em! Those prices are ridiculous. Used to dive the reef outta Tavenier many years, there's 2 prices, 1 for the locals and time and a half or better for everyone else N o' MM110.

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ola ~

I know I'm being handled. I will accept it for this trip.

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"One of the reasons why propaganda tries to get you to hate government is because it's the one existing institution in which people can participate to some extent and constrain tyrannical unaccountable power." Noam Chomsky.

a good guide is worth every penny! most do it because they love it and the regs and cost make it harder every year, good on ya report back!

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I troll 2L.com to be a better person in real life

Edited: 06/02/2021 at 09:58 AM by stokedpanda

It was awesome. Worth every penny. I landed a 39" permit. Monster. Took a half hour and we had to chase him. Never had drag peeled like that consistently for that amount of time. We wore eachother out. Caught a 19" grouper that went back, a 17" mutton that went back and a big jack. Then there were tarpon. Lots of them. The guide would basically filet a dead mullet and leave the filets on but remove the bones so you had the head snd sides with no bones. We floated live mullet too but all our bites came dead mullet on a sliding sinker in the back country. The permit bit on a live crab.

We only got one tarpon to the boat and when we finally got it next to the boat for the picture he snapped us off. We jumped seven with one splashing us and getting away while some others jumped many times but ultimately got away. We never went more than 20 minutes without a bite and we ran out of dead mullet right as we ran out of time at 2:30. The weather was great. The breeze was out of the south East at 8-10 and it wasn't hot. It was very exciting and the guide was over the moon about the permit. He called all of the other guys and sent out the picture. He got the rod and reel in the picture for his sponsor and you could tell this was no ordinary fish. He knew what he was doing to get that monster. He brought us to a channel where the current was moving snd there was a weed line. We anchored up and threw the crab at the sargasso and got him on the second cast. We didn't get another. He put on the measuring scale and he was 39". I had a great time and it seemed we like packed a lot of fish in on that trip. I was dead wrong when I said I was being handled. That's not easy money and that's what it takes. Forgot to mention that also I got two monster nurse sharks.

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"One of the reasons why propaganda tries to get you to hate government is because it's the one existing institution in which people can participate to some extent and constrain tyrannical unaccountable power." Noam Chomsky.

Edited: 06/05/2021 at 06:27 PM by johnnyboy

Epic! Congrats!

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So if you are a surfer I wish you the prosperity that allows you more time to pursue the salt water dream, and the true happiness that comes from warm water, clean waves and the companionship of your fellow surfers. If you are an internet troll just spewing bs then f off.

I will see if 3rd can post the pic.

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"One of the reasons why propaganda tries to get you to hate government is because it's the one existing institution in which people can participate to some extent and constrain tyrannical unaccountable power." Noam Chomsky.

wow sounds like an action packed day, and you walk off the boat and are free to shower off eat drink and not clean nuthin!! a big permit is on my hit list way to go!

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I troll 2L.com to be a better person in real life

The permit was the surprise. I have caught exactly one in my 52 years before this and I could have confused it with a pompano bc he was little. This permit was a beast. He was on steroids and cocaine compared to the jack. I was amazed by the sheer number of tarpon. They have been trained. They know how to avoid being caught. The guide was using 5' of fluorocarbon to the hook, 15' of mono to that, and strung the pole with 40lb braid. There were literally boats all around us and we were the only ones getting all the bites. I had to adjust my definition of "catching" a tarpon since we only got one up against the boat, but it was loads of excitement.

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"One of the reasons why propaganda tries to get you to hate government is because it's the one existing institution in which people can participate to some extent and constrain tyrannical unaccountable power." Noam Chomsky.

I'm preparing for our annual two week stent in Cudjoe at the end of this month. I stocked up on mullet at Inlet a few weeks ago in hopes of getting lazy Tarpon to eat. The info you provided is golden!

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I was right.

Glad you scored! Thanks for reporting back. I enjoyed the short story of the Golden Tarpon. That belongs in the annals of Growing Up Outside In FL!!


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Time and tide wait for no one.....

The leaders were crucial too cole. No metal.

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"One of the reasons why propaganda tries to get you to hate government is because it's the one existing institution in which people can participate to some extent and constrain tyrannical unaccountable power." Noam Chomsky.

Wish I had seen this earlier. Tarpon and snook fishing is all I did growing up.

Dont stop growing up!

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I troll 2L.com to be a better person in real life

The guide was telling me about how we should come back in October once it gets cooler and he would take us up to flamingo where we would catch 30 to 40 snook for the trip. I'm starting the long process of working on my wife now.

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"One of the reasons why propaganda tries to get you to hate government is because it's the one existing institution in which people can participate to some extent and constrain tyrannical unaccountable power." Noam Chomsky.

That's the problem with tarpon, they will fly right through any leader less that 80 lbs and will refuse to eat anything connected to 80 lb leader and beyond. You gotta get lucky with circle hooks.

We used #9 single strand wire at Inlet back in the day and the hookup ratio was amazing. Wire slides right through their super gripper mouths for a solid hook set and you don't have to worry about them chafing through it. That won't work so well in the Gin clear water of the Keys.

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I was right.

We were hooking up left and right and the boats beside us were just catching sharks and watching us.

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"One of the reasons why propaganda tries to get you to hate government is because it's the one existing institution in which people can participate to some extent and constrain tyrannical unaccountable power." Noam Chomsky.

Going back to the keys in two weeks for a long weekend. I will report back with my efforts to replicate this on my own. Looking forward to hear Cole's efforts too. I feel like I judged a cooking show and now I have to make the meal.

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"One of the reasons why propaganda tries to get you to hate government is because it's the one existing institution in which people can participate to some extent and constrain tyrannical unaccountable power." Noam Chomsky.

I'm headed out this week. This vacation is going to be anything but a vacation. Tarpon, flats and it's looking like the ocean is going to cooperate too; then sharks for the kids in the evenings.

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I was right.

I will be down there this weekend in islamorada. Can't wait to see if I can do it alone.

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"One of the reasons why propaganda tries to get you to hate government is because it's the one existing institution in which people can participate to some extent and constrain tyrannical unaccountable power." Noam Chomsky.

So went back out to the same spot with the every thing I remembered and got squat. The wind is howling, the tide was high and outgoing and it should have been perfect. We got a few nurse sharks snd bonnet head.

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"One of the reasons why propaganda tries to get you to hate government is because it's the one existing institution in which people can participate to some extent and constrain tyrannical unaccountable power." Noam Chomsky.

different moon maybe? Fish are funny like that I have yet to find a way to use the moon to my advantage but sure do find ways to blame my bad days on it LOL

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I troll 2L.com to be a better person in real life

Many Tarpon migrate north to south in cooler months and south to north in warmer. Some of them do the offshore to beach/inshore circuit as well, especially around spawn. You are always going to find local fish in south florida and the keys that don't move around as much, but they are a bit more finicky eaters than the ones making the migrations.

I've also found they tend to feed at night all the way to mid morning more, with big bursts of activity around bait pods happening from first light to an hour or so after sunrise. Around the pods, match the hatch is the safest bet, keeping your live bait on the edge of the pods or just below them so they look like stragglers. You can also do pretty good by using some of the other predators feeding on the bait, like lady fish, lizard fish, etc. or of you know threadfins are flashing around the area, you can never go wrong sabiki-ing a few of those up to free-line. Night time on out going tide you can do pretty good with crabs and even shrimp. They will sit around the passes letting meal come to them.

When it is cold, murky like during the winter months, you can do pretty good down south sinking mullet, whiting, ladyfish on the bottom ...preferably live, but dead works too if you can avoid catfish and the like. Providing of course you know they are around. If it has been cold for a few days, the water dark or chocolate brown from a good blow, and there is no bait around most of the Tarpon will have moved offshore.

Just my .02

The wind was howling and I had boat issues. We managed one good sized fish that threw the hook (circle) after wrapping a crab pot. The normal nightly sharks were none existent and the reef was as slow as I've ever seen it, dolphin fishing as well - the local charter guys were coming in with a handful of peanuts and I wasn't running all over hell and back for them with gas $4.30 at our marina. Snapper once again saved the day and we caught enough for several dinners, but they were nothing special. It was the slowest I've ever seen the Florida Keys.

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I was right.

Thanks.

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"One of the reasons why propaganda tries to get you to hate government is because it's the one existing institution in which people can participate to some extent and constrain tyrannical unaccountable power." Noam Chomsky.

I think every one and their brother has been down there and there is so much stress on the resources that this is what happens.

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"One of the reasons why propaganda tries to get you to hate government is because it's the one existing institution in which people can participate to some extent and constrain tyrannical unaccountable power." Noam Chomsky.

I agree, the place was a mad house. I go before lobster season and endure the heat to find solitude and the fish that solitude provides. People's desire to escape the grip of Covid shot that plan all to hell. Early tropical weather doesn't help much either and that is becoming the norm. I might shoot for spring break next year in hope of better weather and live Pilchards.

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I was right.