Every year, anglers head to the Florida Keys in May and June in search of one thing: tarpon. Anglers and guides stake out along the ocean from Key Largo to Key West, patiently waiting to see a string of tarpon making their way into range for a shot at the Silver King. But fast forward a few months, and these strings of ocean-side tarpon are all but gone in the Keys. So, where are they coming from, and where are they going? The answer lies in the annual tarpon migration.
Every year, tarpon undergo a complex migration before making their way to the Florida Keys, the final stop along their migration. To better understand where to find tarpon throughout the year, it’s important to understand the entire migration. In this overview of the tarpon migration, we’ll tell you everything you need to know to target the Silver King.
The Tarpon Migration
Tarpon Biology
In many ways, tarpon are the ultimate big game fish. They grow to massive sizes, will readily eat a fly, and offer abundant sight fishing opportunities. To understand their migration and how to best target them, understanding their biology is important.
Tarpon, along with bonefish, ladyfish, and eels, are part of the suborder leptocephali. This means they have leptocephalus larvae, which are small, ribbon-like larvae that are free-floating. As a result, tarpon will lay their eggs offshore, allowing the free-floating larvae to drift into protected mangrove areas where they spend their early lives.
Tarpon are slow-growing creatures, living upwards of 50+ years. As juveniles, they don’t reach sexual maturity until roughly six or seven years old. At this point, they range from roughly 30-50 inches. Once they reach this size, they join in on the migration, making the annual journey to their spawning grounds.
Migration Routes
Every year, as water temperatures creep towards 75 degrees, the tarpon migration begins. Tarpon across Florida’s east and west coasts leave their wintering areas like creeks, rivermouths, and channels to head south. The fish start the migration as early as February and will continue to grow in size until they hit their peak in May and June. Along the way, some fish will stop in areas like Boca Grande, where they will stay and embark on their own spawning runs. The remaining fish will continue south along either coast, eventually meeting in the Florida Keys.
As the West and East Coast fish meet in the Keys, they continue to migrate south. This is the moment anglers eagerly await every year. Like the tarpon, fly fishermen from around the world migrate to the Keys and the bow of a skiff. Through May and June, tarpon are around in impressive numbers, giving anglers a fair number of shots at fish stringing down the ocean. Many of these fish will congregate at bridges and channels like the Bahia Honda bridge in the thousands. Here they wait for the full moon and begin the journey to their spawning grounds, often traveling over 100 miles offshore. In large groups, the males and females will lay their sperm and eggs, giving rise to the next generation of tarpon. Now, not every tarpon will go offshore at once to spawn, but this is generally the accepted theory.
While we know a lot about the tarpon migration, there are still a lot of questions about specifics. This is where organizations like Bonefish & Tarpon Trust come into play. Their ongoing tagging efforts and research projects offer insight into the life history of tarpon. If you want to know more about the tarpon migration and new findings, visit BTT for more information.
The Journey Home
After tarpon spawn, they return to the inshore waters they call home. Again, they migrate back to where they came from. Traveling up Florida’s coast and beyond every summer. Some fish will continue west to Louisiana and Texas, while others will continue north to Georgia and the Carolinas, and the remainder disperse throughout Florida. As water temperatures begin to cool in the fall and into winter, tarpon will begin to retreat back to the warmer waters of South Florida. Staging in rivers, channels, and bays they wait for water temperatures to warm up before beginning the cycle again in what is known as the annual tarpon migration.
