Inshore Tarpon Fishing Tour

Puerto Rico has an abundance of Tarpon. They are a protected species on the island which make for an amazing fishery. If you are looking to catch a hard fighting trophy this is the trip. We commonly fish out of Cobo Rojo, Combate, and Parguera for our Tarpon fishing tours. These fish don’t get the pressure as many places in the continental United States, making for much more sucessful fishing trips.

What to Expect on a Tarpon Fishing Charter

After booking a Tarpon fishing charter with Simply Caught you can expect profesionalism from beginning to end. Our Coast Guard Captains will communicate about which region he thinks will have the best chance for catching a multitude of fish. We will then set a place and time to meet at the ramp. Simply Caught will have all fishing equipment and boats ready for the charter when you arrive. Upon arrival we will then go over all safety precautions and orientate everyone on the fishing vessel. We will also have drinks and snack on board with a plenty of ice. Please feel free to bring your own drinks or lunches. ( alcohol too but beligerent drunks will be taken in : ) From there you can expect a short run to the fishing loction. Sometimes we many need to catch small Grunts, Yellowtail Snapper, or other baitfish to use as bait. Our 5 hour charters are generally plenty of time to catch plenty of Tarpon.

Where to Fish for Tarpon in Puerto Rico

The entire Island of Puerto Rico is inhabitated with Tarpon. Some regions can be more productive depending on time of year and migrations. We generally fish out of three locations when pursuing Tarpon on the West coast of Puerto Rico.

Rincon : The waters around Rincon, Puerto Rico can hold great numbers of Tarpon year around. While leaving the ramp you will see 5-10 eighty pounders circling the boat waiting to be fed. We don’t fish for these as we consider them pets. This NW region of the island is more reef and rock than the southern coast, which are more associated with Tarpon fishing, however defiantley has its advantages. Out of Ricon we run both N and S looking for Pelicans which is a sure sign of Sardines. As with all fishing if you find bait you will find Preditors, in this case Tarpon ! Areas like Aguidilla Bay and Mayaguez Bay often hold unbelievable populations of 100 pound Tarpon.

Combate : “ If I could pick one place on earth to Tarpon fish it would be Combate in Cabo Rojo “ says Captain Frank. Combate is a hidden Gem that no one knows about. It has one of the best ramps in Puerto Rico which is awefully nice especially if we have any handicap or older cliets with us. After leaving the Marina we usually don’t have to go too far. Large schools of Mullet and Sardines love the shallow Eel Grass waters around Combate Beach. With a great reef system (Tourmaline Reef) just off the beach it makes catching live bait extremely easy before we drift or anchor up to fish. Just to the North is Boqueron Bay and Puerto Real which both hold great numbers of Tarpon year around. 99% of the time this region has calm water too, making sight casting easy and offers a much more pleasant day on the water.

La Parguera : This town is famous for its backwater Tarpon and Permit fishing. Located on the southern coast, it is home to a plethora of mangroves and backwater habititate that tarpon love. When the winds are strong from the North fishing for Tarpon out of La Pargueara is a no brainer. This region usually holds smaller fish up tight to the Mangroves and backwater areas. Once a few smaller fish are caught we often target the bigger cruising fish in the many inlets, channels and shallow bays that are near by.

Best Time to Fish For Tarpon in Puerto Rico

The is not a bad time to Tarpon Fish in Puert Rico. The west coast offers little to no competion year around. If we had to choose there may be an uptick in migration October through May. The summer months we may have to drink a bit more water since we will be sweating more :)

Techniques Used to Fish for Tarpon in Puerto Rico

Simply Caught Charters LLC has been guiding inshore and offshore for close to 30 years. We have extensive knowledge in variety of freshwater and saltwater gamefish and can employ a variety of techniqes on any given day to target Tarpon. We often employ artificial lures, flys, live bait, and dead bait fishing from the surface to the bottom. The fish here in Puerto Rico and much less spooky that the Tarpon in Florida, thus making for hight sucess rates.

Fly fishing and Arfiticial Lures for Tarpon: Artifical lures for Tarpon fishing include swim baits, topwater plugs, and hard / soft Jerk baits. Matching the line size to the size of the fish is critical. 50 pound tarpon will spool a 12 lb reel in short order. A combination of 12, 30, and 50 pound spin rods are routine outfits for us when Tarpon fishing in Puerto Rico. For fly fishing any small crab or minnow immittions work well with 40 pound flourcarbon leaders. Flourcarobon leaders is a must with any style of fishing in the clear waters here ! Both Fly and artificials work well up shallow in the backwater and next to mangroves. We often like to see the fish rolling or crashing bait befor we start casting too much. As always bait plays a big role in finding the fish

Live and Dead Bait fishing for Tarpon: Fishing with dead or live bait is extremely effective. It may not the most entertaining having to wait for the bite, but it will out fish other methonds 75% of the time. Live Grunts, Snappers, and Crab are great choices. We often anchor up in between concentrations of mullet or sardines and cast out three lines. Some with sinkers and some without. 40 pound Flourcarbon on the weightless rods will always outproduce the reels with sinkers. We are often in eelgrass when anchored up so constant checking of lines will keep us busy. We have noticed over the years that dead bait will often catch the larger Tarpon as apposed to live bait. Nurse Sharks, Mutton Snapper, and Cubera Snapper are great bonuses when we fish with live bait while Tarpon Fishing!

Fishing Regulations for Tarpon Fishing in Puerto Rico

When you fish with Simply Caught Charters LLC you don’t have to worry about a thing. We will gladly try to make your experince stress free a nd easy. There are no fishing license required to fish with us. In Puerto Rico Tarpon fish are a protected species and the harvest of them is strictly prohibited. This in turn makes for an amazing Tarpon Fishery! All fish caught on a tarpon fishing tour with our guide service will be released in good health. We also hold all state and federal permits to fish for and harvest local and highly migratory species of fish, just incase we do catch other tasty fish. Rest asure you are in good hands. At the end of each trip you have the option of us bringing the catch back to our office and cleaning you catch. We also offer Vacume sealing and freezing if you wish to fly home with your catch. This is a free service but please be mindful if there is a large amount of fish cleaning and packaging and tip your captain well :)

Our trips are all inclusive : Bait and Tackle - Processional Coast Guard Captain - All Fuel - Drinks and Snacks

Tips are customary for the Crew if you think they worked hard with your best interest in mind. ( 20% is customary )