Getting a grand slam means catching a tarpon, a permit, and a bonefish in any order on the same day, and the real trick is having a plan and the discipline to leave fish that are biting so you save enough time for all three. In Key West the slam is one of the great challenges in fishing, not because any one fish is impossible, but because the clock is always against you. In this How 2 Tuesday I break down the strategy behind a grand slam, the day I got one with Captain Nick Labadie, and why the hardest part is walking away from a hot bite. Press play above and follow along.
Listen now: press play in the player above and follow along.
In Key West, a grand slam is a tarpon, a permit, and a bonefish caught in any order by the same angler in a single day. Each fish brings its own challenge, tarpon throw the hook, bonefish are very spooky and can break you off, and permit is considered the most difficult, certainly on fly. But the place a slam really gets hard is the clock. You will rarely see two of these fish close together, so catching one often means the others blow out, and you simply run out of time, the tide changes, or clouds roll in.
You catch a slam with a plan, not luck. The guides who get a lot of slams fish for them intentionally, going straight to the one fish they think they can catch, landing it, and moving on. You have to know where all three species are with a reasonable chance of catching each, and then manage your time ruthlessly. The hardest part is the discipline, when the tarpon are thick and biting, you have to leave fish that are ready to go in order to chase a fish you might not even find. The discipline to keep the goal in mind is what gets it done.
Because you need enough time to catch three difficult, finicky species, and the day only has so many good windows. You will rarely find two of the fish close together, the tide changes, and the weather can shut you down, getting clouded out is the thing that happens most. That is why guides who specialize in slams plan a deliberate route and never waste time. Every minute you spend catching extra fish of one species is a minute stolen from the other two.
Leaving the fish biting. Imagine you have tarpon thick and biting first thing and you catch one right away. It is tempting to stay and catch more, and there is nothing wrong with that, unless your stated goal is a slam. To get the slam you have to leave a great situation to go find another fish you might not find, which is a real risk. As an angler you can lead the guide by saying we caught our tarpon, let us move on no matter how good it is, that is the discipline that separates a slam from a fun day on one species.
It depends on conditions, but tarpon is a good one to have last, because you can fish them in clouds when sight fishing for permit and bonefish gets hard, though they do throw the hook a lot. The guides who get a lot of slams plan their route around where each fish is most catchable that day and save time for plans A through E, because if a boat is on your spot you need another option. Sometimes you make a long run, catching permit first, then bonefish, then running to baby tarpon you know about to close it out.
It helps enormously. Plenty of guides have never had a slam on their boat, and plenty specialize in them. Someone like Mark Croka has thousands of slams for a reason, he is intentionally fishing for a grand slam and plans his day deliberately. A guide who knows where all three fish are and how to route the day with the clock in mind dramatically raises your odds. The angler's job is to commit to the goal and back the guide's plan, especially the hard part of leaving a hot bite.
The grand slam is not hard because any single fish is impossible, it is hard because you have to thread three difficult species through one day. Tarpon throw the hook, bonefish are spooky and break you off, and permit is the toughest of all, especially on fly. Stack those on top of a ticking clock and you understand why it is one of fishing's great accomplishments. I break down why it is so tough in the episode, so press play in the player above.
Here is the strategy I use to put a slam together. I tell the story of my day with Captain Nick in the episode.
I get into the details and the stories on each step in the episode, so press play in the player above.
Recently I had a great day with Captain Nick Labadie in Key West filming Saltwater Experience, and I put the pressure on him, I would love to get a slam. We caught a tarpon right away, then a couple of bonefish, and had the rest of the day for permit. We hit our share of problems, clouds came in, the fish were hard to see, I blew a shot, and then eventually I saw the fish, made the cast, and it happened. I tell the whole story in the episode, so press play in the player above.
The real trick of the slam is something that feels completely backwards, you have to leave fish that are ready to go. When the tarpon are thick and biting, every instinct says stay, but if the slam is the goal you move on. As an angler you can lead the guide and say we got our tarpon, let us go, no matter how good it is. I dig into that mindset in the episode, so press play in the player above.
A grand slam comes down to a plan and discipline. Know where your fish are, catch one and move, leave the bite when you have to, and guard the clock against the weather.
It is not the greatest angling accomplishment of all time, but it is very cool, and the day it all comes together is one you do not forget. Press play in the player above.
How 2 Tuesday is my weekly series where I break down one fishing skill at a time, from knots and casting to gear, tactics, and the habits that make you a better angler. Watch and listen to every How 2 Tuesday episode from Tom Rowland.
Captain Nick Labadie · Mark Croka · Key West · grand slam · tarpon · permit · bonefish · baby tarpon · fly fishing · sight fishing · Saltwater Experience · How 2 Tuesday
I'm Tom Rowland, a professional fishing guide based in the Florida Keys, host of the Tom Rowland Podcast, and the longtime host of the Saltwater Experience television show. On the podcast's How 2 Tuesday series I break down one practical skill or lesson at a time, from fishing technique and gear to the habits that make you a better angler, in short, focused episodes you can put to use right away.
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