Florida Keys • Upper and Middle Florida Keys
When do tarpon bite in the Florida Keys?
Tarpon are catch and release only in Florida, rolling in the bridges and channels between the islands on a running tide and along the ocean-side flats edges in spring and early summer. No temperature range is published for this species in this water yet, so the rating leans on season, depth and structure instead.
How does FishIntel forecast the best days to catch tarpon?
FishIntel reads NOAA and satellite ocean data, including sea surface temperature breaks and chlorophyll edges, and turns changes near your zone into a plain-English tarpon forecast. See a sample report at fishintel.ai/sample-report.
Catch and release only in Florida: one tarpon tag per person per year is sold only in pursuit of a state or world record, a tarpon over 40 in must stay in the water, and it is hook and line only (FWC, read 2026-09-30). Regulations change, so check the current rules for the species you are targeting before treating a rating as a plan.
Confirm current rules before you keep a fish. Official rules: FWC, NOAA Fisheries.
No temperature range is published for this species in this water yet, so the rating leans on season, depth and structure instead.
A season and a depth tell you whether tarpon is on the cards this month. They do not tell you where the water is doing something today. A FishIntel report reads the actual sea surface temperature, chlorophyll fronts and current convergence over your own zone every morning, and says which of those edges is worth running to.
FishIntel was co-founded by Captain Kit Carson and Alan Lanham.