Puerto Rico, just the thought of it conjures reflections of its Spanish past, with conquistadors and swashbuckling Caribbean pirates fighting for the vast treasures of gold and silver. While most of the gold has long disappeared from the coasts of this United States territory, silver abounds in the lagoons around the beautiful islands capital, San Juan in the form of the spectacular silver king, the Tarpon.

Tarpon (Megalops atlanticus), is widely regarded as providing anglers with some of the toughest, wiliest and most spectacular fights a fish can provide.

Their leaping acrobatics, strong runs and unpredictable behavior have transformed many seasoned fishermen into lifelong tarpon fanatics after their first contact with these magnificent animals.

It comes as no surprise that many anglers return each year to fish this very strong winter tarpon fishery found just minutes from the Old San Juan and Isla Verde hotels.

Very few charters and the ability of the Captains to put the anglers on the tarpon have created a so called “secret” hotspot just a few hours from any major airport in the Eastern coast of the US mainland.

This tarpon fishery is centered upon the San Juan Estuary, a huge system of lagoons, mangrove rimmed canals, freshwater streams and rivers that drain into the system, putting nutrients into the waters, which teem with shrimp, crab and many fish forage species keeping the tarpon, snook, ladyfish and jacks happy.

In the past, most of the fishing was done strictly with live bait, utilizing spinning and bait casting mainly utilizing heavy line, the charters have evolved with the current fishing tendencies, mainly using spinning tackle with lines from 8 to 20 pound test, depending on the size of the tarpon encountered. The ever growing fly fishing market is kept busy with fly rod and reel combinations in the 8 to 12 wt. range. This tackle is appropriate for most of the tarpon encountered, which can be anywhere from 5 pound juveniles to 200 pound plus behemoths.

The live bait set-up typically consists of a good quality graphite rod from 6 to 7 feet long in medium or medium heavy actions combined with a high quality open faced reel loaded with monofilament, a fluorocarbon leader at least 6 feet long is then attached to the main line using a bimini twist knot.

This is in reality a big game line/leader system borrowed from offshore fishing, as the charter Captains consider tarpon worthy of the name “big-game”.

To prevent endangering the health of the tarpon population, all the charters have voluntarily agreed to use only circle hooks, which virtually eliminates gut hooking and the mortality associated with the traditional “J” hooks.

The traditional baits that are used here in Puerto Rico are Mojarra, Mullet and Bay Anchovy, on a lesser scale small bar jacks, and Tilapia can sometimes be found and used successfully. Please note that all the baits are caught for that specific charter as there are no live bait shops in the island.

These baits are allowed to swim freely waiting for the Silver King to come to dinner. Upon the strike, a short 5 second free spool allows the fish to position the bait in its mouth is all that is needed before closing the reel’s bail and allowing the line to come tight, trying to pull smoothly in the opposite direction in which the tarpon is swimming.

Once hooked, the tarpon will mostly reach for the, sky jumping frantically as it tries to shake off the hook. At this point when the fish is going to go airborne, the rod is lowered, think of it as a guard revering a monarch; thus it is called in the tarpon fishing community as “Bowing to the King”.

This act will prevent the fish from having too much leverage that can help it break the line or dislodge the hook. After the tarpon settles down from its initial hectic jumps, the real work begins, the key to end a tarpon battle with the angler winning the fight is to have the fish pull straight against the drag, the angler needs to pressure the fish in the opposite direction as to where the fish is swimming, occasionally even placing the rod inside the water, this is called the “Down and Dirty” technique, developed in Florida in the 50’s and 60’s. Once the fish is tired, the Captain will bring him carefully on board, pose it for photos and slowly and thoroughly revive the tarpon before the release is completed.

Fly tackle enthusiasts are flocking to Puerto Rico in ever increasing numbers, becoming a big part of the charter business effort. There are two important things to take into consideration when tarpon fishing with a fly rod in Puerto Rico. The main one is the ability to cast a saltwater fly rod, which is a rod usually in the 8 to 10 wt. range for everyday fishing, the angler needs to contact their local fly shop and learn to do a “Double Haul” which enable the angler to cast 40 or more feet. Learning to do this will make the visiting fly angler more competent and confident.

Charter Captain’s will gladly help anglers with their casting helping pinpoint where the problem may be during casting.

The second is the strike, most of the anglers that we encounter are fresh water anglers, and much of the striking is done by lifting the rod straight up, it will not work with tarpon, who have a mouth like a cinder block, the proper way to strike tarpon on the fly is to sweep the rod sideways as the stripping hand simultaneously strikes, this is usually done 2 or 3 time to ensure a solid hook set.

Properly used, a fly rod is a formidable weapon against tarpon, the long length of the rod creates a great arc of pressure, that will bring tarpon to the boat quickly and efficiently, the same methods of “Bowing to the King” and “Down and Dirty” also apply to the fly rod tarpon battle, so act on your instincts when the battle begins.

Some of the favorite fly patterns are olive and white and black Clouser minnows on sizes 1/0 to 3/0, mullet patterns in gray, black or brown in those same sizes are also good, as is the new “Gummi” minnow.

Puerto Rico, so close and yet so exotic, with red hot night clubbing, restaurants and hotels to suit every taste and budget add exciting casinos and one of the world’s best winter fisheries and you have a great destination to rid you of your winter doldrums.

For booking your party large or small or more information, you can call Capt. Till Brauer Mongil at 787-448-6665 or visit our page