What are the Best Beach Fishing Lures for Tarpon and Sharks?
The best beach fishing lures for tarpon and sharks are white 8 inch paddle tail jigs and 8 inch pencil popper lures. You will need to couple these lures with a heavy leader up to 100 pounds if you are targeting tarpon. You will have to use a wire leader up to 100 pounds if you are targeting sharks.
Catching tarpon and sharks off of the beach with lures is a blast. In my opinion, the black tipped shark is the only near shore fish that can compete with a tarpon when it comes to acrobatic jumps.
Each of these fish have their own signature moves to dislodge the hooks once they figure out that what they ate is not a real fish.
BUT you have to figure out the best beach fishing lures if you want to hook up with a MONSTER Tarpon or Shark off of the beach.
The tarpon is the king (the Silver King) of the jump combined with the vicious head shake. They will sometimes jump 6 or 7 times or more in quick succession to try and cut the line with their razor sharp gill plates.
The black tipped shark uses a jump with a spin approach to try and dislodge the hooks in its mouth. This is why so many people mistakenly call them spinner sharks. Spinner sharks are actually a different species of shark.
The jump and spin technique is very successful in cutting your line. Sharks have extremely rough skin which can wear right through your line very quickly. The black tips are usually harder to land because of the rough skin and sharp teeth.
Tarpon are not easy to land but once they are hooked well, you usually will get them in. Just make sure to unhook them in the water. It is illegal to bring a tarpon more than 40 inches long out of the water in Florida.
You will also have to take a few minutes to revive them after the battle. Just move them through the water so that their gills are being flushed with oxygenated water so that they can breath.
They fight so hard that lactic acid builds up in their muscles and they aren't getting enough oxygen. Imagine what you would feel like if you had just run wind sprints for 30 minutes.
I am an INSHORE FISHING GUIDE on the Treasure Coast of Florida and have been fishing the beaches and mangroves around Florida for over 40 years.
The article below will teach you simple tips and techniques to catch more tarpon and sharks off of the beach.
Watch this video and catch more sharks off of the beach.
The best beach fishing lures for tarpon and sharks are white 8 inch paddle tail jigs and 8 inch pencil popper lures. You will need to couple these lures with a heavy leader up to 100 pounds if you are targeting tarpon. You will have to use a wire leader up to 100 pounds if you are targeting sharks.
Catching tarpon and sharks off of the beach with lures is a blast. In my opinion, the black tipped shark is the only near shore fish that can compete with a tarpon when it comes to acrobatic jumps.
Each of these fish have their own signature moves to dislodge the hooks once they figure out that what they ate is not a real fish.
BUT you have to figure out the best beach fishing lures if you want to hook up with a MONSTER Tarpon or Shark off of the beach.
The tarpon is the king (the Silver King) of the jump combined with the vicious head shake. They will sometimes jump 6 or 7 times or more in quick succession to try and cut the line with their razor sharp gill plates.
The black tipped shark uses a jump with a spin approach to try and dislodge the hooks in its mouth. This is why so many people mistakenly call them spinner sharks. Spinner sharks are actually a different species of shark.
The jump and spin technique is very successful in cutting your line. Sharks have extremely rough skin which can wear right through your line very quickly. The black tips are usually harder to land because of the rough skin and sharp teeth.
Tarpon are not easy to land but once they are hooked well, you usually will get them in. Just make sure to unhook them in the water. It is illegal to bring a tarpon more than 40 inches long out of the water in Florida.
You will also have to take a few minutes to revive them after the battle. Just move them through the water so that their gills are being flushed with oxygenated water so that they can breath.
They fight so hard that lactic acid builds up in their muscles and they aren't getting enough oxygen. Imagine what you would feel like if you had just run wind sprints for 30 minutes.
I am an INSHORE FISHING GUIDE on the Treasure Coast of Florida and have been fishing the beaches and mangroves around Florida for over 40 years.
The article below will teach you simple tips and techniques to catch more tarpon and sharks off of the beach.
Watch this video and catch more sharks off of the beach.
Best beach fishing lure for tarpon and black tipped sharks:
In my opinion, the best rod set up to catch tarpon and sharks off of the beach is a medium/heavy 10 feet long or more casting rod. You will definitely need the extra length to cast your lures out far enough to get a hit.
The reel that I use is a Penn Spinfisher V 5500 series loaded with 80 pound braided line. You will need to use braided line or you won't have enough on the spool when the tarpons and sharks make their runs. In other words, you will get spooled if you have mono filament line because it has a much thicker diameter than the braided line.
I think that the best lure for catching tarpon and black tips off of the beach is a large pencil popper. It's very easy to use too. Just cast it as far as you can and reel it back as fast as you can. The lure does all of the work so you don't have to.
I wrote another article on this website that covers in great detail how to catch a shark in Florida. You can read that article by clicking right here.
The first hour of light after sunrise and the last hour of light in the day are best. The higher part of the tide is very important too. On the lower tides you usually can't cast out to deep enough water to get a hit. When the tide is high the tarpon and sharks cross the sand bars to search for food closer to the shore. That's when we can get at them.
WANT TO CATCH SHARKS AND TARPON? BOOK YOUR FISHING CHARTER TODAY!
The video below gives you more details about how to modify the lure that I am talking about.
Best gear for black tipped sharks and tarpon at the beach:
If you are going to be fishing for sharks and tarpon all day you will definitely need to protect your eyes and skin from the sun's harmful rays. Polarized sunglasses are a must for beach fishing. A high end pair of sunglasses will run about $250 and a lower end pair will run you about $25 with glass lenses. You can find them with plastic lenses for about $5 at Walmart.
Whatever price range you decide to go with you must wear polarized sunglasses or you can not sight fish for sharks and tarpon in the surf. The polarized lenses eliminate the glare on the surface of the water so that you can see under the surface.
The best color lenses for inshore and dirtier water scenarios are amber, rose and copper. If you are fishing super clean and clear water or you are fishing offshore a blue or a gray lens is best.
You will also want to stock up on UV performance fishing shirts to protect your skin from the sun's harmful rays. These shirts have built in sunscreen and are moisture wicking which means they evaporate your perspiration more efficiently keeping you cool on those hot days on the water.
I own an apparel company with a great selection of sun protection performance fishing gear. You can check out our different styles and colors by clicking on the visit our store link below.
Want the perfect fishing gear? VISIT OUR STORE
Best water temperatures for catching tarpon off of the beach:
Tarpon are cold blooded just like an alligator or a snake. This means that they cannot regulate their own body temperatures like a mammal can. They have to use the surrounding waters to get their temperatures to the optimal levels.
If they get too hot or too cold they will die. So finding the optimal temperature range is very important for tarpon, sharks and every other fish in the sea.
A few years ago we had a freak cold front that caused a major fish kill throughout Florida. Normally when the cold front approaches the fish have time to move out to sea or find deeper and warmer waters to wait out the storm. That storm came quickly and stayed for almost a week.
There were dead tarpon, snook, redfish, manatees and many other species all over the beaches that year. It was a horrible scene that in my 50 years on this earth I had never witnessed before.
I wrote another article on this website that covers in extreme detail how to catch a tarpon. You can read that article by clicking right here.
Knowing the best water temperatures for the species of fish that you are targeting is very important.
The video below will teach you the optimal water temperatures for tarpon fishing.
Conclusion:
Shark and tarpon fishing off of the beach is a lot of fun. The (FWC) Florida Wildlife Commission just came up with brand new shark fishing regulations. You cannot fish for sharks off of the beach using any sort of chum and you cannot bring the sharks out of the water except to cut the hook or leader.
Sharks were being harmed by so many fishermen bringing all the way out of the water onto the sand. They also don't want to attract sharks to any place that is near swimmers or public beaches.
You also cannot take a tarpon out of the water that is larger than 40 inches in length. You can keep a tarpon only if you buy a special permit and that is only for people trying for state and world record sized tarpon. THey are really trying to protect these two species lately.
I guess it is because these two fish are bucket list fish for a lot of people and too many were dying after being caught. You can still catch them with lures but you cannot bring them out of the water. That is pretty risky to get into the water with a big bull shark that you just caught for a picture.
I hope that this article helps you catch more tarpon and sharks with lures or at the very least have more fun trying.
About the author: The author of this article insists upon being referred to as The Top Tarpon Terror of the Planet. BUT everyone just ignores him and calls him Mike, the co-owner of FYAO Saltwater Media Group, Inc.
The Tarpon, Bonefish and Permit Trust is an amazing organization dedicated to keeping our waters and estuaries clean and healthy. Only clean and healthy ecosystems will keep our fish populations abundant and our fishermen happy. Visit their website to learn more.
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