Key West Fishing Reports

Updated fishing reports from the Lower Florida Keys & Key West

Florida Keys Palolo Worm Hatch

There is a sort of phenomenon that happens each year in May and June in the Florida Keys. Until you see it for yourself you may think it all sounds crazy that a fish as big as a tarpon would be willing to eat a tiny worm that emerges from the coral rock.

The palolo worm is found in many corners of the world. Our palolo worms do not get much larger than your index finger but in other parts of the world a similar worm can grow up to a few feet in length.

These worms “hatch” or emerge from the coral rock in the ocean floor and literally make a b-line for the reef. In the Lower Keys these worms can be found mainly on the ocean side flats on the south side of many of the islands. Higher concintrations of them are close to Key West Harbor and Bahia Honda Bridge. The tarpon go crazy for these worms and will feed on them until they appear almost drunk, rolling every which way in order to gulp a worm into their bucket mouth.

So the age old question for any angler who’s heard stories of this fabled worm hatch is when will it happen? Some say before, on, or near a full moon. Others swear it is just the opposite and can be the new moon in May or June. Truth is, if you just happen to be fishing in the Keys during these times and you see a red worm zoom by then you may privelidged to witness the feeding frenzy shortly after.

One important factor is the tide must be falling and it nearly always happens in the late afternoon until just before sunset. A small window of opportunity but I great experience that will last a lifetime.

So how do you fish for them? If you are a fly rodder, you’ve already got an easier job. Tying a fly to look like a worm is pretty easy. It’s white and red and we’ve found blue thread is another good added color. Since the color red is one of the first colors to diminish underwater, it will look very similar to the palolo worm. Getting this fly right in front of a tarpon is key. The tarpon are already keyed in on the worms and since they all emerge and travel right on the surface of the water, your fly must reproduce the same results. Using a mono leader will help keep the fly high and make it not sink as fast. But one some deeper flats, like near bridges, you may use a sinking line and emulate the worm emerging from the coral instead of traveling on the surface. It is best to have a few rods rigged for each scenario.

One other thing, rig your flies with leaders ahead of time. It’s much easier to loop to loop connect your leaders to get another fly on quickly. These tarpon are big and getting  a few jumps out of them and breaking them off is the best way to fish.