Fishing forecast by species
Tarpon fishing forecast today
Tarpon are a warm-water fish that travel with the tide through passes and along beaches. This page scores each spot's water temperature, tide and seas against what tarpon need. It scores conditions only: whether the fish are actually in your area is a migration question this page can't answer.
Best spots for tarpon right now
Scored 24 of 24 spots · Oct 21, 5:08 PM ET- Nature Coast · water 74°F · down 5°F this week81Prime
- Big Bend · water 74°F · down 6°F this week79Good
Tide: 2.4 ft range · 2 in daylight
- Nature Coast · water 74°F · down 5°F this week75Good
- Tampa Bay & Pinellas · water 80°F · down 5°F this week71Good
- Sarasota Coast · water 80°F · down 5°F this week71Good
- The Florida Keys · water 83°F · down 4°F this week71Good
Wind: 11 mph N, gusts 22
- Space Coast · water 79°F · down 4°F this week71Good
Tide: 2.8 ft range · 2 in daylight
- Tampa Bay & Pinellas · water 80°F · down 5°F this week71Good
Wind: 8 mph NE, gusts 20
- Sarasota Coast · water 80°F · down 5°F this week71Good
Wind: 9 mph NE, gusts 17
- 10.IslamoradaThe Florida Keys · water 83°F · down 4°F this week71Good
Tide: 0.4 ft range · 2 in daylight
- 11.ApalachicolaForgotten Coast · water 74°F · down 6°F this week70Good
Tide: 1.1 ft range · 1 in daylight
- 12.Perdido KeyEmerald Coast · water 79°F · down 4°F this week62Fair
Tide: 0.7 ft range · 2 in daylight
- 13.Manasota KeyLemon Bay & Charlotte Harbor · water 82°F · down 3°F this week62Fair
- Emerald Coast · water 79°F · down 3°F this week62Fair
Tide: 0.7 ft range · 1 in daylight
- Lemon Bay & Charlotte Harbor · water 82°F · down 3°F this week62Fair
Tide: 0.9 ft range · 2 in daylight
Show the other 9 spots
- Cape San Blas56 Fair
- Steinhatchee54 Fair
- Sanibel Island50 Fair
- Fort Myers Beach50 Fair
- Flagler Beach47 Slow
- Mayport45 Slow
- Jacksonville Beach45 Slow
- Vero Beach40 Slow
- Jupiter40 Slow
This ranks a spread of spots along the coast, not every town. Open any spot for its full seven-day outlook. Scores are conditions only: they can’t tell you where the fish are, and water temperature is a model reading, not a measurement at the dock.
What moves the tarpon score
Warm water is the gate
Tarpon want water roughly in the upper 70s to upper 80s. Below the low 70s the score drops hard. This range is a rule of thumb, not a published threshold.
Tide in the passes
Tarpon move with the current through passes and channels, so tide movement carries the second-largest share of the score, with seas and wind counting because most of this fishing is open-water.
Conditions are not the run
A Prime score means the water and weather are good for tarpon. It does not mean the migration has arrived. Run timing is driven by water temperature and season over weeks, and our guide covers when it usually happens.
Rules and seasons are separate from conditions and change by region and by order. Florida’s are on FWC’s tarpon page ; other states set their own. Our own write-up: When is tarpon season in Boca Grande?.
Common questions
What water temperature do tarpon want?
Roughly the upper 70s to upper 80s is where they are most active. Cooler than the low 70s and they shut down or leave, which is why the score falls sharply in cold water.
Does a high score mean the tarpon are here?
No. It means conditions are good for them. Whether the fish are in your stretch of coast depends on the migration, which this page doesn't forecast.
Where do I check the rules?
Florida's tarpon rules are strict: catch-and-release only, and a fish over 40 inches has to stay in the water unless you hold a tag for a record attempt. Read FWC's tarpon page before you fish for them.
Other fish
Salty Forecast is a free hyperlocal weather app for the coast. These are planning aids built from forecast data, tide predictions and a water-temperature model, not guarantees: fish don’t read forecasts.