Tarpon Guide in Islamorada?

[GAbuckhunter88]

Any recommendations for a tarpon guide in Islamorada? Taking my wife down first week of May for a surprise birthday trip and hoping to put her on a big tarpon.

 

[1eyefishing]

Any recommendations for a tarpon guide in Islamorada? Taking my wife down first week of May for a surprise birthday trip and hoping to put her on a big tarpon.

I used a couple guides in December of 2019 for offshore and back country. Don't think they were tarpon guides, but...

If you put her up for a couple nights in Cheeca Lodge, it will be worth it.

 

[bluemarlin]

Drew Moret 305-664-2767
Billy Knowles 305-393-6009
Craig Brewer 305-393-0271

Solid as solid gets ^

 

[bluemarlin]

Also, Johnny Joehansen 305-522-4342 out of Bud n Mary's. Awesome guy who's lived and fished his entire life out of Islamorada.

 

[redneck_billcollector]

If you are fly fishing, Pete Rowney (305)393-7773. Can't give advice if you are bait fishing. Tarpon are not that hard to target in the Upper Keys if bait fishing, we used to hook them all the time on DIY trips. I only hunt them via fly rod now though. For a sure thing, in Key West a lot of guides offer evening tarpon bait trips in the harbor which has a huge population. Go down to Key West for an early lunch then fish in the evening, do the Duval Crawl and head back up to Islamorada....make sure you have a DD if you add the Duval Crawl to your agenda though.

 

[flatsmaster]

Call Capt Steve Lavoie
305-393-1295
Worth talking to even if he’s booked

 

[Derrick929]

Do a few searches and you will see Chris Barron of Stray Cat Charters name come up in other posts. We Have been out with him multiple times and he has always worked his butt off to put us on fish. All but one trip we’ve landed fish, that trip was late in the year due to COVID. When we are out with him guides are constantly calling to see where he is and what he’s doing. He keeps his Facebook page updated too so you can see what he is catching.

 

[Robust Redhorse]

If you want to fish bait (crabs, pinfish, mullet) just call Bud and Mary's and they can set you up with at least a dozen decent guides.


If you want to fly fish (in what is probably the hardest place in the world to catch one by that method), let us know and I'm sure you will get some contacts.

 

[redneck_billcollector]

Any recommendations for a tarpon guide in Islamorada? Taking my wife down first week of May for a surprise birthday trip and hoping to put her on a big tarpon.

While you are doing this for your wife's birthday in May, by late May, if you are wanting her to catch a big tarpon, the panhandle of Florida is where the action is. All summer from late May through August, the really big ones have moved up the Atlantic to off of GA, SC and places north, in the GOM they are all over the Panhandle coast all the way to Texas, which used to be the Tarpon capital of the US. During the late spring and summer, it is "baby" tarpon that are in the Keys, by baby, I mean non-spawners. You will notice all the "carpet bagger" guides from south Fla. by their tags pulling their boats from Carrabelle Fla. to Orange Beach Ala. They are easy to find also this time of year up there.