Tarpon Fishing British Virgin Islands
So, would you like to go to Tarpon Fishing British Virgin Islands on your charter yacht?
Fortunately, when we did yacht charters, my husband was a keen fisherman and had success with Tarpon. For several blog entries, I coopted him to write about his deep-sea fishing, fly fishing, and bottom-fishing knowledge.
Where Can I find Tarpon in the BVI
West end on Tortola, Marina Cay, North Sound, Sandy Spit, and both Great Harbors at Peter Island and Jost Van Dyke are all great places for tarpon at night time from a charter boat.
It would be best if you lighted up the boat brightly to attract the silversides.
Tarpon is a fantastic catch-and-release sports fish. These prehistoric-looking fish will leap out of the water and shake free the hooks of all but the best angler. They are fish with perfect eyesight and, therefore, are challenging to fool into taking the bait.
My first Tarpon in the BVI took me several years to catch, but since learning the secrets, I can now snag one or two every time I fish for them.
What do Tarpon eat?
The tarpon here eats silverside (except in Great Harbor at Jost Van Dyke where they eat the 3-inch long sprats). An average silverside is less than 2 inches long.
To present your silverside in amongst the hundreds of other silversides that the tarpon has to choose from, you need to fish with gear that most would think you would have no chance of landing such a beautiful sports fish.
Gear to catch Tarpon Fishing British Virgin Islands?
I usually use about a 15-pound line. I double the line for the last couple of feet, so I have a 2 x 15-pound line. Then, I snook a tiny #6 or #8 hook to the end of the double.
Use good-quality hooks with relatively thick steel. Suicide types generally have the thickest steel. Red hooks are best. Use either a small net or something like a pasta strainer. Catch yourself some silverside for bait.
Collect Silversides for bait?
This is an easy task with bright lights on the boat as they will come into the lights and hang around on the surface.
Just use a fast scooping motion from the silversides head towards its tail; as the net hits the water, they spook and swim towards the net before turning away.
You can keep some alive in a bucket of water, which keeps the kids amused.
The funny thing is that you can let the kids continue splashing about, catching silverside while you are tarpon fishing. It doesn’t seem to alarm them at all.
How do I hook the silverside?
Hook the silverside by passing the hook into one eyeball and out the other. This will keep them well in the water, and they will stay alive on the hook.
Adapt the technique to the conditions. Let the bait float down into the water and drift around. In calm conditions, no weight is necessary; just let it float. However, in windy conditions, a small weight can be added to prevent the line from flying around like a kite, showcasing the versatility of this method.
Use small split shot crimped to the line, say 5 feet above the hook, as this will allow the bait to drift around and not look stiff in the water.
Method for catching Tarpon?
When you see the tarpon cruising under the boat in the lights, you will notice them circle in and out of the light, going through the baitfish slowly and not attempting to catch any. Out of the blue, they will streak through the bait, taking them by surprise, gulping down a mouth full of silverside.
Try to fish your bait about 10 feet deeper than the depth the tarpon is cruising. The aim is to have the tarpon look down at the bait instead of up at the bait. This helps not to let them see the hook.
When are Tarpon most active?
They feed most heavily when they first show up, straight after dark. Make sure you light up your boat as the sun sets to get things started.
It’s a sort of “He with the brightest lights attract the most tarpon” type of thing.
When you get a bite, remember that you are only going to lip hook it, don’t go crazy or you will tear it out of its lip.
How do I keep the Tarpon on the line?
When Tarpon knows they are hooked, they will take off blisteringly. If he is heading away from you into clear water, I loosen the drag and let him go.
Letting him work and tire away from the danger of the boat and anchor line is far safer.
As he takes off, you must point the tip of your pole straight up. Watch the line angle. He will be heading to the surface and will leap into the air five feet while shaking his head like crazy.
The instant he breaks the surface, it’s imperative that the pole tip is up and that you crank the line like crazy. Any slack in the line for even a millisecond while he is leaping will throw the hook.
If you’ve made it this far, it’s important to continue letting the tarpon work. This will help tire it out, especially if it’s away from the boat, reducing the risk of it getting tangled in the anchor line.
How do I land the Tarpon?
Keep an eye on the line angle as he may take a half-dozen leaps out of the water. He will throw the hook if he gets slackline on any of his jumps. The thrill of this chase is part of what makes tarpon fishing so exhilarating.
When he has tired some (if 10 to 15 minutes haven’t passed, he is not tired yet), start bringing him back in. Patience is vital in this process, allowing you to stay calm and collected as you reel in your catch.
They are magnificent fish, so you do not want to gaff or harm him, so you need him to be dead tired before you try to beat him. Remember, careful handling is about your catch and respecting the natural world around you.
When he sees the boat, he will probably take off again, but you will bring him back with patience.
Tarpon has extremely tiny teeth. We usually put a glove on one hand and try to put four fingers into his mouth and thumb under the jaw. Then, with the ungloved hand, we slip our fingers into its gill opening and lift him out of the water.
Remove the hook, get some pictures, and then slip him back into the water.
I have always been a light gear nut and tried for ten years to catch a 20-to-1 tarpon. With a good quality bait caster spooled with 4-pound spider wire, I caught dozens and dozens of tarpon on that rig, many into the 70-pound range, but the 80-pounders alluded me.
With only 4-pound gear, the outcome was always the same.
Upon being hooked, they would take off and leap a couple of times, trying to throw the hook; then, they would return to the boat and continue feeding in the lights like they were not hooked.
Using Light Gear on Tarpon
With such light gear, it was impossible to put enough pressure on them to either upset them, to get them to run and tire themselves out, or tire them out with the added strain of swimming with so little resistance against them.
One night, I had a tarpon one for 3 hours before I gave up and snapped him off. My latest catch in the summer of 2019 was at Little Harbour at Peter Island ( an unusual place for me to hook tarpon).
It was on 10lb gear, and the tarpon was about 70 lbs.
If you are thinking about tarpon fishing British Virgin Islands Charter Yachts, give it a whirl; it is a lot of fun for everyone.
Explore the British Virgin Islands by Yacht
For general safety guidelines and fishing regulations, see our complete BVI fishing guide.
