Finding The Right Florida Keys Tarpon Fishing Guide
Filed Under Florida Keys Tarpon Fishing, South Florida Tarpon Fishing | 2 Comments
The following list is by no means comprehensive. However more of a set of guidlines to get you started out on the path of booking a South Florida tarpon fishing trip in the Florida Keys. Feel free to add to the list or to customize it to fit your needs.
1. Don’t just book your Florida Keys tarpon fishing trip with the first guide you find. As with everything in life, some are more successful than others. Make a list of what you feel like are the top guides that fit your budget and needs. Research them out. Do some homework. If you’re looking to have a memorable fishing trip that you will be talking about for years to come, plan for it. Find the right one. Look online, if your here you can do this. Call the local chamber of commerce to get some information:
Key Largo Chamber of Commerce at (800) 822-1088
Islamorada Chamber of Commerce at (305) 664-4503 or toll free at (800) FAB-KEYS
Greater Marathon Chamber of Commerce at (800) 262-7284
Lower Keys Chamber of Commerce at (305) 872-2411
Key West Chamber of Commerce at (305) 294-2587
2. While looking for a South Florida tarpon fishing guide, be conscious of what your after. Talk with the guide on specifics so nobody gets their wires crossed. Tell them exactly what you are looking for. If it’s a “special” outing as a present. If you want to do some flats or backcountry fishing. What’s been running and what could possibly be running the day of your booking. What’s the best outlook. Will one of your passengers be a young one. Tell them if you’ve ever fished before or not and be honest. Listen to what they have to say.
3. Ask them about their Florida Keys tarpon fishing experience. If you were honest in number 2 above and told them your fishing experience above it’s certainly not inappropriate to ask for their qualifications. Heck, it’s not inappropriate to ask for their qualifications even if you didn’t tell them yours. You want to choose someone you’re comfortable with as you will be spending some solid time together on the water.
4. Talk with your guide on how many people will be in your party during your south Florida tarpon fishing excursion. Some boats can handle more while the smaller skiffs for certain types of fishing are simply not designed for more than two people.
5. Florida Keys tarpon fishing trips vary in prices depending on the method of choice. You can expect to pay somewhere along the lines of $350 to $550 for an all day eight hour trip. Remember though, sometimes that 99 cent value meal is not always as good as the 3.99 combo so cheaper is not always better. That’s not to say that you can’t find value in a fishing trip. And just like any restaruant or service industry, tipping is always customary. If you think the guide did everything possible and you had a wonderful time, a typical tip of 10%-15% is advisable.
6. When booking your Florida Keys tarpon fishing trip, deposits are typically required for advanced bookings. Some are more and some are a bit less but a typical figure for you to work from ranges around $100. But don’t think that anything is wrong if some guides ask for half of the charter up front.
7. If something unfortunate should happen that would cause you to cancel your south Florida tarpon fishing trip, most all reputable guides have a cancellation policy. Have them explain this to you prior to your booking so you know what you are getting into. The policy is there to protect the guide not you as this is the way they make their living and have to plan effectively. Most cancellation policies though are fair in that respect in that it would allow you ample time to cancel and the guides time to re-book the day. A typical cancellation policy would go something like this: 14 days prior – full refund of deposit, 7 to 14 days prior 50% refund on deposit, within a week, deposit forfeited.
8. There’s only one person that I know of that can control the weather, moon, sun and tides. If you have your heart set on Florida Keys tarpon fishing a certain way, just remember that it’s not the guides fault if something goes haywire in the weather/fishing conditions. Be flexible and roll with it. Maybe it just wasn’t in the cards to fish that certain way and still catch fish due to the outside forces. Most knowledgable guides know the conditions and will put you on the fish to the best of their ability barring these types of conditions. Believe me, they’d rather have you catch some fish and be a return customer in the future than to take you out a certain way and not have you catch anything.
9. Go “offseason” South Florida tarpon fishing. Truly the only thing that can be considered offseason fishing in the Florida Keys is that there simply aren’t as many people fishing during that time. The fishing is excellent year round, just the fishing pressure is not as extreme. The offseason is considered the winter months of September, October, November and December. For the most part though, winter is still tropical in the Keys.
10. Speaking of offseason, what about off days. Plan your Florida Keys tarpon fishing journey around weekdays instead of weekends. There’s typically a lot less boat traffic which means less fishing pressure from other anglers.
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