Fly Fishing for Tarpon

Gear

10 weight with floating, clear floating, and additional "clear sink tip" line, for tarpon.

11 weight with floating, clear floating, and additional clear sink tip, is the best all-around tool for big tarpon.

12 weight is optional but great to have on that windy day, for a little more punch with a floating line, sink tip and especially with an intermediate line to cut through the wind.

Leader Options

I use a variation of the standard big game leader with 15# to 20# class tippet. I tie my tarpon leaders Including the 5' - 6' butt section,  from 9' to as long as 14 feet. If you are not interested in using a legal IGFA leader, in my opinion,  you can significantly increase hookups by lengthening your bite tippet from the standard IGFA 12 inches to as long as 36 inches. The advantage here is a longer span between the 'more visible' knots. This method also gives you the ability to clip off a damaged fly or a couple inches of abraided leader and re-tie without having to discard the entire leader.Leader Materials and Construction

60# - 50# fluorocarbon for the 5 to 7-foot butt section, I use the same for the 15# - 20#, 18" class tippet. I then use fluorocarbon for the 30" bite tippet which may vary from 30# to 60# test.

Tarpon Flies

My tarpon flies are mostly tied in the non-fouling splayed tail, married tail, worms, baitfish and toad style with lots of colors and weight variations. If you choose to tie your own, you should tie both light and dark patterns with hook sizes ranging from 1/0 for ultra clear water conditions to 3/0 for dirty water conditions... you should also check with me first to get a good idea of what not to tie!