Tarpon Fishing in Key Largo, FL
The Silver King. Hundred-pound leaps, hundred-yard runs, and heartbreak hookup ratios make tarpon the ultimate inshore trophy.
Typical season in Florida
- January: off peak
- February: off peak
- March: off peak
- April: peak
- May: peak
- June: peak
- July: peak
- August: peak
- September: also fished
- October: off peak
- November: off peak
- December: off peak
Peak months: April to August. Also fished: September.
Tarpon are catch and release only. Fish over 40 inches must stay in the water unless you hold a tarpon tag.
Peak months are general guidance for the region, not regulations. Always check your state's current rules and ask us before you book.
Species guide
Tarpon (Megalops atlanticus)
- How to identify
- Huge mirror-silver scales, an upturned mouth and a long thread trailing from the last dorsal ray.
- Size
- Adults commonly 60 to 150 pounds; the largest pass 200 pounds and 7 feet
- Lifespan
- Can live more than 50 years
- Habitat
- Coastal passes, bays, beaches and rivers; they tolerate brackish and fresh water.
- Range
- Western Atlantic from Virginia to Brazil, strongest in Florida and the Gulf of America.
- Diet
- Mullet, crabs, shrimp and other baitfish
Did you know? Tarpon can gulp air at the surface with a lung-like swim bladder, which is why you see them roll.
