Well we just wrapped up the last of our Sailfish Tournaments aboard the Bn’M while Fishing Islamorada in February. Yesterday was the 32nd annual Islamorada Bartenders Sailfish Open where a Dozen different bars/restaurants competed against each other for the most sailfish releases to bring the big wooden plaque back to their place for a year. We started out Kite fishing and within the first 6 minutes we had our first hook up of the day. Within two minutes we grabbed the leader for an official release and put the baits back out. About an hour and a half later we had our second Islamorada Sailfishing encounter. After a bunch of jumps we were able to back down on the fish and get the leader for a 2nd release. It was slow fishing overall, with one other boat releasing a double header and 3 more boats releasing a single fish, but we were able to bring the trophy back to Dillons Pub for the 4th time in 7 years. We also caught a 34.6 lb king mackerel off the kite to win most outstanding catch other than a sailfish. Over the weekend we fished the Islamorada Women’s sailfish tournament. We started out Saturday with the first release 15 minutes into the tournament, but that was our only bite until 2:00 p.m. on Sunday afternoon. At the time we raised a double header sailfish, hooking one but unfortunately he broke the 12 lb test main line when a ton of sea weed got on the line. With a slow bite we still managed to finish in 3rd place overall. Deep Sea fishing in February in Islamorada usually still takes place on the reef, and we should start seeing some spring time fish here shortly. Let us know if you want to get out for some fun on an Islamorada Fishing Trip!
Capt. Nick Stanczyk
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- 2013 bartenders sailfish open
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- february islamorada kingfish
