Tripletail are a prehistoric looking fish that like to float next to debris or trap balls. There are several ways to fish for them including Flyfishing, live bait and lures. I have found a few other techniques that have caught fish that used to simply leave me frustrated. Join me today to discuss some tactics that might help you convert a shot to a beautiful Tripletail fillet on the plate.

The Tripletail don’t seem to be able to see as well as other kinds of fish (like permit) because they have tiny little eyes. Because of that you will need to throw fairly close to the Tripletail. It can swim pretty fast once you hook it, but it doesn’t seem like it can swim fast over a long distance. So you need to be prepared for a short burst, but that is all.

You can use shrimp, but I really like using flies. This is because you can make a cast, and if it is not where you want it to be you don’t have to reel it all the way back in and recast. You can pick it up from 40-feet away and put it where you want it.

When I first started fishing for Tripletail I thought it was all about the surface, where I could see the fish. This technique is where you throw your fly (or live shrimp) over there and pull it over the fishes face and keep moving it in a slow fashion and he will come over and eat it. But I found that I would sometimes pull it away from the fish (and my jig would begin to sink to the bottom) and I waited and I got a bite. So I found that technique to be very productive, especially if the fish was not following it when we threw it out there.

See you on the water,Tom Rowland

Check out the show notes:

00:00 -Recently we had an opportunity to take advantage of fishing for Tripletail

00:49 - Personally I don’t encounter this fish very much so this was a unique experience for me

01:20 - The Everglades is where you will see a lot of Tripletail

02:14 - Tripletail is easily one of my favorite fish to eat

03:11 - You can often see Tripletail on the surface and just throw to where you see them

03:36 - Tripletail has a tiny eye, the eye size might indicate how well it can see

05:08 - Tripletail will not swim fast over a long distance like barracuda or mackerel

06:08 - Why I like using flies for fishing for Tripletail

06:39 - Tripletail want to eat, so if you throw the right cast they will come over and eat it

07:15 - Letting the bait drop to the bottom

09:14 - We were able to throw further away by letting jigs fall to the bottom

09:55 - Make sure that the fish is legal, the size regulations have changed, so be aware of that