The typical career progression for an angler starts with catching fish, any fish. The next stages are quantity, then quality and size. That ultimately leads to the challenge of adding true trophy species to the angling “life list.” With that goal in mind, here are a few quests to consider. We highlighted specific fish species, locations, prime times, and tactics.
The fish covered here can be caught in other locations too. For example, black marlin are regularly targeted and landed off Australia. But when the conditions are right, the hot spots listed below can’t be beat, especially if you’re there at the right time with the proper presentations.
Best Place to Catch Tarpon
- Where: Gasparee Island, Tobago
- When: Fall
- How: Live baiting Spanish sardine or herring
Diehard tarpon fanatics need to add Trinidad to their travel itinerary. That’s because double-digit days are a routine occurrence for guests of the Monsta Tarpon Lodge on Gasparee Island. Located near the mouth of the prolific Orinoco River, anglers often release up to 40 large tarpon per trip, many 100 pounds or heavier. Stout spinning tackle with braided line and circle hooks is the ideal arsenal for these deepwater fish.
With an abundance of bait during the wet summer months, Spanish sardines or herring are the bait of choice. Tarpon are located by spotting rollers on the surface of the green, nutrient-rich water. The tarpon spawn in the deeper channels between islands and return to the rocks and remote shoreline to feed. Trips are scheduled around the prime windows, typically early mornings or late afternoons when feeding is more active. Rising tides are another favorable condition since the tarpon don’t have to swim against the hard outgoing currents.
Best Place to Catch Trout and Redfish
- Where: Lower Laguna Madre, Texas
- When: Late winter and early spring
- How: Casting Bendback, Deceiver and EP Minnow flies
Sight-fishing enthusiasts need several conditions to successfully pursue their targets: clear water, light winds, bright sunshine and cooperative quarry. For those hunting trophy seatrout and redfish on light-tackle and fly, that describes the Lower Laguna Madre in South Texas perfectly.
“Late winter and early spring are the best months for big trout on lures,” says Capt. Eric Glass, a long-time guide in the South Padre Island area. “But I prefer the summertime when the winds aren’t as strong and we have bright sun for better visibility. Any tide is good as long as it’s moving. Redfish are our bread and butter here on real shallow flats, 12 inches or less. Trout can be as shallow, but they prefer flats with deeper adjacent water. Soft plastics rigged on a 1⁄16-ounce jig head are the top lure choice. “Big trout on fly are our permit. They are very difficult to catch and one 28 inches or larger is a true prize.”
Glass starts by stalking reds, but if trout are around he’ll try to entice one into eating a weighted crab fly. Trout-specific flies include weedless baitfish patterns like Bendbacks, Deceivers and EP Minnows in chartreuse/white or olive/white on an 8-weight outfit with floating line and 12-pound fluorocarbon leader without a shock tippet.
“It’s a challenge to talk a trout into eating a redfish fly,” he adds. “My client caught a 29-inch-plus fish this summer and it was one of the most memorable of the season. If we find both species in an area, I’ll put the reds on the back burner for an hour or so and try to catch a trout. But I’m scared to death of getting skunked so we typically pivot back to the reds,” he says with a laugh.
Best Place to Catch Spearfish
- Where: Kona, Hawaii
- When: Springtime
- How: Trolling skirted bullet lures
Spearfish are one of the more difficult species to record for anglers trying to complete an IGFA Billfish Royal Slam. That rare accomplishment consists of tallying Atlantic and Pacific blue marlin and sailfish, white, black and striped marlin, swordfish and one of the three sub-species of spearfish over a lifetime. The best chance for scoring the latter are shortbill spearfish out of Kona, Hawaii. Known as Hebi in Hawaiian or chuckers among the locals, shortbill are only found in the Pacific and Indian Oceans. They are a consistent catch among the charter and private boats fishing the calm, lee side of Hawaii’s Big Island.
Sleek, acrobatic and strong for their size, Kona’s spearfish can get up to 50 pounds but average 30 to 35. If you’re prepared to lose tackle to monster blue marlin or yellowfin tuna in the same vicinity, light conventional gear is the perfect match for spearfish. They are typically caught on heavier outfits, however, which subdues the sport and fighting spirit of the fish.
Late winter through early summer are the peak times to target spearfish in the Aloha State. Skirted bullet lures with either jets or solid bodies in blue/white or pink to mimic flying fish and squid are the top offerings.
Best Place to Catch Permit
- Where: Lower Florida Keys
- When: March
- How: Bucktail jig tipped with shrimp
Permit are one of the flats trilogy (with tarpon and bonefish) and the Lower Florida Keys are one of the top permit spots on the planet. Longtime Conch guide Capt. Steve Impallomeni targets these challenging targets from early February through March when water temperatures range from the mid- to high 70s after a front to the lower 80s. Moving water, the last two hours of the incoming and first of outgoing, are preferred.
“I look for floaters off the flat edges at lower tides,” he says. “The reef lines with sea fans and ledges that hold crab and shrimp are good, too.”
Tan, white or pink bonefish bucktail wiggle jigs tipped with a fresh piece of shrimp are an excellent offering for permit in shallow water. Small live blue crabs are deadly or Impallomeni will use the largest live shrimp he has if bait-stealers aren’t around. For fly-anglers he ties on a Gotcha in tan or pink or a Merkin crab if the water is deeper.
Best Place to Catch Milkfish
- Where: Seychelles
- When: Year-round
- How: Flies with large, bushy profiles in green to match the forage algae
Adventuresome anglers looking to tussle with the Pacific equivalent of tarpon should pack their gear and jump on a plane to the Seychelles. Once there, Chanos Chanos or milkfish await those with patience and a 10-weight fly rod. Featuring a long, slender body with large forked tails and equally large eyes, milkfish have silvery sides and white bellies. These toothless omnivores can top 50 pounds and live up to 15 years.
Milkfish are easy to spot on the crystalline Seychelles flats. When feeding, they often tail like bonefish or swim in schools, creating wakes as they move. The heads and collagen-like lips can be spotted as they work the surface. Neap tides are preferred with more uniform water on the flats. New and full moon tides when invertebrates spawn are good also.
With algae and associated tiny marine life their primary forage, milkfish are ideal targets for the long wand. Since they aren’t predatory, the fly must be nearly stationary on approach. The only initial reaction should be long, slow strips to eliminate slack. Once the line changes direction on a pick-up, a steady strip-strike will seal the deal. Strong, powerful runs and gravity-defying leaps mandate medium fly tackle to win a milkfish battle, which can be lengthy.
Flies with large, bushy profiles in olive and green to match the forage algae fill the fly boxes of Seychelles anglers. Some patterns add pink or red highlights to simulate crustacean eggs or strands of crystal flash for other tiny marine life. Milkfish can be targeted year-round on the remote Seychelles flats.
Best Place to Catch Striped Bass
- Where: New Jersey
- When: October
- How: Trolling live eels behind planer boards
Once a near unicorn catch, 50-pound-plus striped bass are now not quite as rare due to a harvest moratorium in New Jersey. Devotees looking to etch a half-century cow mark in the rod blank have a couple options for a release, though. “We now have the best big striper fishing that I’ve seen in years,” says veteran New York/New Jersey guide Capt. Frank Crescitelli.
“The deadliest method for scoring a 50 is by trolling live eels behind planer boards,” Crescitelli says. His personal best so far is a 52-pounder, taken by that method. “Those big fish are mostly in deeper, open water up to 60 feet. There’s not a lot of structure along our shoreline, so by trolling you can cover more ground and work the bunker pods. It’s all about the bunker. Sixty-degree water is ideal and the big ones tend to stick together. Prevailing northerly winds are best, especially on the back side of the full moon starting about the third week of October.”
Crescitelli says anglers tossing artificials and flies have ample opportunities for trophies as well. “Working in close to the shore on the trolling motor will offer shots at big fish in the shallows,” he adds. He ties on bunker flies on sinking lines for a quiet presentation and works transition points with bait and rips/eddies. He also keeps one live bait in the water to send off distress signals to feeding stripers.
Best Place to Catch Black Marlin
- Where: Piñas Bay, Panama
- When: January and February
- How: Slow trolling live bonito
With hundreds of IGFA line class records on its ledger, Tropic Star Lodge, located on Piñas Bay on Panama’s remote Pacific coast, consistently ranks as the top big game fishing lodge in the world. It is also a reasonably accessible destination for those looking to cross black marlin off their checklist. Western novelist and angler Zane Grey is credited with discovering the area’s most prominent underwater feature, subsequently named in his honor. The Zane Grey Reef is a trio of rocky columns that jut to within 125 feet of the surface. Only a short run from the lodge, it intersects a major migratory path for marlin and other pelagics.
Live bonito are caught, bridled and slow-trolled around the reef to entice a strike. Because of the likelihood of encounters with large fish, heavy conventional tackle is used. January and February are the peak months for black marlin, along with big blues, plus triple-digit yellowfin tuna and sailfish. Grand slams (blue, black and sail or striped marlin) are possible in February. Black marlin are also around in good numbers in April and May.
