Capt. David Cohen is a Miami inshore charter captain in his seventh year of guiding full time for tarpon and snook in South Florida. In episode 984 of the Tom Rowland Podcast, he breaks down the system behind his best seasons: eight-rod bait spreads on a 21-foot boat, 24-foot fluorocarbon leaders, 6/0 Trokar circle hooks, rod-holder hooksets, and light-drag fighting technique that puts fifteen to twenty-two double-header tarpon at the boat every year.
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David Cohen has guided Miami waters full time for seven years. He came to guiding from a career as a personal trainer with a background in exercise physiology, then built his charter business in one of the most competitive inshore fisheries in Florida.
Cohen sets a circle hook with the rod holder instead of human reflexes. He tells clients not to touch the rod until the drag is running, because the holder hooks the fish in the corner of the mouth roughly nineteen times out of twenty.
Cohen fishes as many as seven or eight rods from his 21-foot boat. His hookup odds climbed every time he added a rod past three, and the bigger spread now produces fifteen to twenty-two double-header tarpon at the boat each season.
Cohen uses a 6/0 Trokar TK4 offset circle hook for every tarpon bait, from the biggest mullet down to shrimp and crabs. He moved away from 7/0 through 9/0 hooks after the larger gaps cost him bites and threw hooks on jumping fish.
Cohen fishes fluorocarbon leaders up to 24 feet long. The long leader keeps braid away from line-shy tarpon, adds stretch that absorbs jumps at the boat, and lets him wind the leader connection onto the spool during the end game.
A tarpon that surges or jumps beside the boat can break the line before anyone adjusts a tight drag. Cohen backs the drag off and teaches clients to control pressure with a hand on the spool, so they can release the fish instantly when it runs.
David first came on the podcast years ago to tell his origin story, and I have wanted to get him back ever since to talk pure technique. This conversation almost started on the water. I called him during the Miami boat show to set up an evening charter, and Miami traffic beat us before we ever left the dock. Talking with him reminded me why I like guides who build their own systems. David did not grow up inside the industry, so every tactic he uses came from testing, logging, and trying to beat yesterday's mark. Guides like that always teach me something.
David spent years fishing two or three baits the way most guides do. His odds moved when he pushed to four rods, then five, then six, and the doubles started stacking up in ways he had never seen before. He now rotates seven or eight fresh baits from a 21-foot boat without constant tangles, and he told me the one-minute rule that turns a single hookup into a double. Listen to the episode to hear exactly how he spaces that spread in current and wind.
David calls the rod holder the best angler on his boat, because it never sleeps and never sets the hook early. Clients hear the whole speech before the trip: leave the rod alone, wait for the drag, then reel. I pushed him on what happens when a customer refuses, and his answer says a lot about managing people under pressure. He also explained how gut-hooked fish drove him away from his old open-bail theory. Watch the video to see how animated he gets defending this system.
I posted a video about palming the spool with a light drag, and the comments filled up with guides who hated it. David arrived at the same technique on his own, and he walked me through why a locked drag fails in the last thirty feet of a tarpon fight. His reasoning covers boatside jumps, sharks, and the surge no angler can adjust for in time. Listen to the full conversation before you tighten your drag on the next big fish.
David started stretching his leaders past 15 feet years ago and kept going until he reached 24 feet. The change touches everything: how the bait lays, what braid-shy fish see, how much shock the line absorbs on a jump, and where the connection sits when the fight gets short. Coiling those leaders on deck is a genuine pain, and he says he will never go back. Listen to the episode to hear the knot system that carries it, from a forty-turn Bimini to the double figure eight loop.
David wakes at 3:30 in the morning, trailers an hour to the ramp, and has clients catching mullet before first light. He still trains nearly every day of the season, and he explained where the workout fits, what he eats before a trip, and why he fasts through ten hours on the water. His answer about what happens to his mind on the third day without training sounded exactly like something I would say. Listen to the episode for the full routine.
Hear every tarpon tactic in Capt. David Cohen's own words.
Conversations like this one are why I keep doing the podcast. David and I disagree with plenty of people on drag settings, and we arrived at the same answers from completely different waters. His eight-rod spread, his rod-holder hooksets, and his 24-foot leaders all come from a guide who treats every trip as an experiment. My favorite moment came near the end, when we talked about multigenerational fishing families and the trips that turn kids into anglers for life. Go fish with David in Miami, and keep his spot secret.
Ready for the full episode with Capt. David Cohen?
Capt. Bouncer Smith, Capt. Abie Raymond, Capt. Ray Rosher, Capt. Robert Trosset and RJ Trosset, Carter Andrews, Jeff Stillwell of Salt Life, Jose Wejebe, Reed Tudor, Trokar hooks, Daiwa reels, FishingBooker, TripAdvisor
Capt. David Cohen is a Miami inshore charter captain in his seventh year of full-time guiding. He runs dawn trips out of a quiet corner of the Miami backcountry, targeting giant tarpon through spring and early summer and big spawning snook through July and August. Before guiding he worked as a personal trainer with a background in exercise physiology, and he brings that training mindset to a fishery he works nearly seven days a week in season. Booking inquiries reach him directly at 954-684-4677.
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