Final 4 matchup #2 - #2 Tarpon vs. #3 Giant Trevally

[CanoeGuy]

#2 - Tarpon

I have never done a guided trip for Tarpon. This is the other option to fit something in before Bolivia! The baby tarpon fishery in the Yucatan sounds amazing. Tarpon has been a fascination since watching The Walker's Cay Chronicles when I was a kid. From the babies





to the big girls



Wow!

#3 = Giant Trevally

Form flying birds to flip-flops - a GT will eat almost anything! Not going to get a better eat on the flats. Got some little ones on Christmas Island, but certainly want more shots at big fish.

 

[ifsteve]

Apples and oranges unless you qualify it upfront that money is irrelevant. You can go to the best adult tarpon fishery on the planet and literally be fishing hours from leaving your house and for a fraction of the cost of a decent GT trip.

You and a buddy can fish the Keys for a week easily on less than $5K each. The only GT fishery you can do for that kind of coin is XI and that is hardly a world class GT spot. A week in the Seychelles is going to run you over $15K.

But if money were no object......Geets.

 

[CanoeGuy]

Apples and oranges unless you qualify it upfront that money is irrelevant. You can go to the best adult tarpon fishery on the planet and literally be fishing hours from leaving your house and for a fraction of the cost of a decent GT trip.

You and a buddy can fish the Keys for a week easily on less than $5K each. The only GT fishery you can do for that kind of coin is XI and that is hardly a world class GT spot. A week in the Seychelles is going to run you over $15K.

But if money were no object......Geets.

Agreed.

When you say the Keys for a week for $5k are you talking flight, lodging, food and 6 days with a guide? What I am seeing it is about $5k for just the guide. I could see a half DIY/half guided trip for that $$$. I would love to get 4 guys to go in on a VRBO for a couple weeks, rent a couple skiffs ($1560 for 6 days) and DIY most days with a couple guide days early to shorten the learning curve. I am sure not many fish would be caught, but it would be fun trying.

As you said, the good GT locations are a long ways away and very expensive. Cosmoledo is almost $19k without travel costs for 2026. The GT fishery on CXI took a beating during the pandemic - a lot of GTs were eaten. Still you could go 5 times for the cost of a single Cosmoledo trip! CXI is cheaper than the keys.

 

[Matt B]

Agreed.

When you say the Keys for a week for $5k are you talking flight, lodging, food and 6 days with a guide? What I am seeing it is about $5k for just the guide. I could see a half DIY/half guided trip for that $$$. I would love to get 4 guys to go in on a VRBO for a couple weeks, rent a couple skiffs ($1560 for 6 days) and DIY most days with a couple guide days early to shorten the learning curve. I am sure not many fish would be caught, but it would be fun trying.

As you said, the good GT locations are a long ways away and very expensive. Cosmoledo is almost $19k without travel costs for 2026. The GT fishery on CXI took a beating during the pandemic - a lot of GTs were eaten. Still you could go 5 times for the cost of a single Cosmoledo trip! CXI is cheaper than the keys.

Where is it that Matt from Pelagic Pursuits goes for his "local" GT fishing? Is that the Great Barrier Reef off Northern Australia? He seems to know where to find plenty of them; of course it's mostly boat fishing and hucking a topwater plug a half mile downwind, not exactly fly fishing friendly now that I think about it. Still looks fun though.

 

[DimeBrite]

Where is it that Matt from Pelagic Pursuits goes for his "local" GT fishing? Is that the Great Barrier Reef off Northern Australia? He seems to know where to find plenty of them; of course it's mostly boat fishing and hucking a topwater plug a half mile downwind, not exactly fly fishing friendly now that I think about it. Still looks fun though.

He does overnight runs way out to various locations on the GBR. Looks fun.

Giant Trevally can be found all over the Pacific, Indian Ocean, Coral triangle, Red Sea, Arabian Sea, etc. The Indian Ocean spots are very pricey due to their extreme remoteness and protection. Other places are less expensive but usually have local fishing pressure.

 

[albula]

When you say the Keys for a week for $5k are you talking flight, lodging, food and 6 days with a guide? What I am seeing it is about $5k for just the guide. I could see a half DIY/half guided trip for that $$$. I would love to get 4 guys to go in on a VRBO for a couple weeks, rent a couple skiffs ($1560 for 6 days) and DIY most days with a couple guide days early to shorten the learning curve. I am sure not many fish would be caught, but it would be fun trying.

You appear to be quite knowledgeable about fishing the Keys for someone who has obviously never been there. If you hire a guide and then show up soon after in a rental skiff I guarantee you would not be making any friends. And that is a generous assessment. Perhaps you could do a DIY thing on the oceanside if fish are running there and you are willing to just anchor up and hope that some come by within casting distance but as far as adequately and safely running a skiff in the back country or being competent poling a skiff you had best plan on being there for a good deal longer than a couple weeks. I had run my own skiff nearly daily for over 5 years, fished in the Keys with a friend who guided numerous times and guided for tarpon for a couple years in Homossassa before moving to the Keys and even going out at least 5 days a week, already having the boat handling skills and being good friends with a fair number of guides it took a couple years to even begin to feel somewhat dialed in. It's over 100 miles from Biscayne Bay to the Marquesas and probably that many little islands out there and they all look about the same at a distance or in the dark which is when you will need to be navigating to take best advantage of the tarpon fishery available. The Keys do not lend themselves well to the casual occasional DYI angler. And 2 anglers sharing a guide can fish for 6 days including lodging and meals for about 5K. Of course you can spend more if you go the high dollar route but you don't have to.

 

[CanoeGuy]

You appear to be quite knowledgeable about fishing the Keys for someone who has obviously never been there. If you hire a guide and then show up soon after in a rental skiff I guarantee you would not be making any friends. And that is a generous assessment. Perhaps you could do a DIY thing on the oceanside if fish are running there and you are willing to just anchor up and hope that some come by within casting distance but as far as adequately and safely running a skiff in the back country or being competent poling a skiff you had best plan on being there for a good deal longer than a couple weeks. I had run my own skiff nearly daily for over 5 years, fished in the Keys with a friend who guided numerous times and guided for tarpon for a couple years in Homossassa before moving to the Keys and even going out at least 5 days a week, already having the boat handling skills and being good friends with a fair number of guides it took a couple years to even begin to feel somewhat dialed in. It's over 100 miles from Biscayne Bay to the Marquesas and probably that many little islands out there and they all look about the same at a distance or in the dark which is when you will need to be navigating to take best advantage of the tarpon fishery available. The Keys do not lend themselves well to the casual occasional DYI angler. And 2 anglers sharing a guide can fish for 6 days including lodging and meals for about 5K. Of course you can spend more if you go the high dollar route but you don't have to.

"as far as adequately and safely running a skiff in the back country or being competent poling a skiff you had best plan on being there for a good deal longer than a couple weeks."

This makes me sad, but clearly it is true from the reports I have read about various estuary/mangrove type fisheries in the last few weeks - talking about if their guide had a heart attack they might never make it out alive. Thanks for taking the time to point out my poor judgement - seriously. I may have sounded somewhat knowledgeable, but I have done very little research on the Keys beyond watching every episode of "Silver Kings" recently and "Walker's Cay" long ago. The back country stuff looks very cool.

I will admit, I didn't spend much time researching guides. I looked at one site that looked pretty mid and they quoted $900 a day. Looked up Jared Raskob and the fee wasn't listed - yikes. Then I looked up a couple gold cup winners and they were under $900 . Didn't think the range would be very wide. Good to hear there are reliable lower price options. I have read some horror stories on Reddit about guides who didn't show up and even stole gear from clients.

I completely understand the comment about taking a rental skiff back to a spot a guide took me. I would never consider doing something like that. My comment was more about getting a feel for the type of water to fish and getting some practice seeing fish. Not copying a guide day.

 

[CanoeGuy]

Where is it that Matt from Pelagic Pursuits goes for his "local" GT fishing? Is that the Great Barrier Reef off Northern Australia? He seems to know where to find plenty of them; of course it's mostly boat fishing and hucking a topwater plug a half mile downwind, not exactly fly fishing friendly now that I think about it. Still looks fun though.

I commented on one of his vids asking if he ever tried teasing "bangers" into fly rod range. He has tried it a few times and didn't have much success. I am sure that is another skill that takes some practice. I would like to give it a try tho!

 

[Matt B]

I commented on one of his vids asking if he ever tried teasing "bangers" into fly rod range. He has tried it a few times and didn't have much success. I am sure that is another skill that takes some practice. I would like to give it a try tho!

Ohhh man, yeaaah…
What if he got with Brooksy…or @CanoeGuy or Matt B or @DimeBrite and really worked on it
Never happen
Fun to think about tho

 

[ifsteve]

Agreed.

When you say the Keys for a week for $5k are you talking flight, lodging, food and 6 days with a guide? What I am seeing it is about $5k for just the guide. I could see a half DIY/half guided trip for that $$$. I would love to get 4 guys to go in on a VRBO for a couple weeks, rent a couple skiffs ($1560 for 6 days) and DIY most days with a couple guide days early to shorten the learning curve. I am sure not many fish would be caught, but it would be fun trying.

As you said, the good GT locations are a long ways away and very expensive. Cosmoledo is almost $19k without travel costs for 2026. The GT fishery on CXI took a beating during the pandemic - a lot of GTs were eaten. Still you could go 5 times for the cost of a single Cosmoledo trip! CXI is cheaper than the keys.

You only pay half the guide fee. So 5 days comes out to be about $2.5K per angler. Add in lodging, food and flights, and you can easily to that for $5K each. Easy. And I wouldn't even think about DIY for tarpon. Giant waste of money. Sure you can go 2 or 3 times as often if you don't hire a guide but unless you have a lot of experience in the end you will get more bang for your buck just biting the bullet and getting a guide.

I have tarpon fished for almost....well lets just say a long time. I have my own skiff and I know how to pole etc. But I still hire a guide when I head to FL to chase poons. And I expect to NOT catch a fish. That's the way it goes with tarpon.

 

[CanoeGuy]

You only pay half the guide fee. So 5 days comes out to be about $2.5K per angler. Add in lodging, food and flights, and you can easily to that for $5K each. Easy. And I wouldn't even think about DIY for tarpon. Giant waste of money. Sure you can go 2 or 3 times as often if you don't hire a guide but unless you have a lot of experience in the end you will get more bang for your buck just biting the bullet and getting a guide.

I have tarpon fished for almost....well lets just say a long time. I have my own skiff and I know how to pole etc. But I still hire a guide when I head to FL to chase poons. And I expect to NOT catch a fish. That's the way it goes with tarpon.

I am an idiot - I divided the lodging cost but not the guide fee . This is now the cheapest trip on my list! Thanks.

 

[DimeBrite]

I am an idiot - I divided the lodging cost but not the guide fee . This is now the cheapest trip on my list! Thanks.

You are like the rest of us, always learning. Nobody has done it all or seen it all. Fly fishing is a true lifetime sport. Congrats on expanding your horizons!

 

[CanoeGuy]

Ohhh man, yeaaah…
What if he got with Brooksy…or @CanoeGuy or Matt B or @DimeBrite and really worked on it
Never happen
Fun to think about tho

Glad to see I am not the only one who loves watching the boys from Airlie Beach. I have been to the area. My wife and I got engaged in the Whitsunday islands and snorkled the BGR back in 1993. Need to get back and fish it! My brother-in-law (who will be joining me in Bolivia next year) moved to Christchurch, NZ. They have been pestering us to come visit for years. Gotta retire first so we can make it worth the flight and stay for a month or so. Likely January 2027! Will we make it to Airlie???

Came back to add a link to what I think is Matt's only fly fishing for GTs video. He has 99k subscribers now!

GTs on a GBR flat