Capt. Rick Stanczyk's Fishing Islamorada

Capt. Rick Stanczyk

Big cobia in the backcountry/gulf

Last week while fishing islamorada we caught several nice fish.  We started the morning fishing the backcountry channels for variety and bait – trout, ladyfish, pompano, jacks, mackerel, etc…  It’s amazing the mix of fish you can get in some of these areas and at the start of the spring fishing is really good.  Islamorada trout fishing gets very good later in the spring, and lots of big spawning fish move into the bays.  You can get tablefare to eat as well as stuff to use for bait for bigger species.  We mainly keep the spanish mackerel and ladyfish for such fishing.  Later on february fishing the florida keys we set up at one of the channels mouths where lots of big fish venture in from the gulf.  We caught the start of the incoming tide.  We had one tarpon bust a ladyfish which we had fished live on the surface, unfortunately he missed the hook and bait altogether.  We hooked a gigantic ‘sea monster’ of some sort which we battled for over an hour… we noticed a brown stain staying close to whatever it was we had on, and I knew right what it was!  A few casts later we had hooked the 2nd fish while my angler still battle the first beast.  I traded rods with him for a while, and after 25 minutes he boated a 45 lb cobia!  Cobia fishing in Islamorada is best in the spring when fishing the gulf areas.  A fantastic catch especially on 15 lb braid with 30 lb leader only.  After that we went back to the other rod which was still bent over with something big on the other end.  We finally got that up to and it was a gigantic mud marlin.  After some high-fives we went back to put the big rods out some more, and within 5 minutes hooked a big shark.  This time it was a florida keys hammerhead shark!  I love catching these guys as we don’t catch them every day and people love to see them – they are truly an interesting shark and people always get a kick out of catching them!  We also had caught several smaller black tip sharks on this day.  Unfortunately right now we are experiencing a late cold front which will slow down the march islamorada fishing for some of the bigger species such as sharks, tarpon, etc… However I’m thinking by next weekend the water temperatures will have had a chance to warm back to low/mid 70s, and the big tarpon and others are ‘around’ and will start biting again.  It’s a great time to go fishing so make some plans soon.  I myself am booked just about every day in March, however I do have some evening trips available – drop me a line if your interested in getting out for some big tarpon around sunset.  Islamorada tarpon fishing in march can be very good as the fish are not so ‘beat up’ from the tons of anglers fishing for them.

Capt. Rick Stanczyk
305-747-6903
rick@fishingislamorada.com

March 3, 2013 by Backcountry Fishing Reports Fishing Reports

2/23/12 Looking for goliath grouper fishing islamorada in february!

I had Martin Williamson today from across the pond on 2/23/13.  He fished with me a few years ago and we had an excellent day then catching tarpon, hammerhead shark, several other sharks, plus some other rod benders.  Today Martin was after an islamorada goliath grouper fishing trip.  Winds were a bit too high to get out into the gulf to hit the wrecks for them, so tried some other protected areas.  First things in the morning with the low water we hit some channel run-offs to stock up on bait – lots of big ladyfish plus a mess of sea trout, jacks, and even some pompano, mackerel, and bluefish mixed in.  This was going to be tough to leave!  We put big rod out for fun and caught 4 blacktip sharks as well, saw a couple tarpon roll in the distance but not much activity from them.  Tarpon fishihng in Islamorada in February is a definite possibility – but they can be very hit or miss!  After we were loaded on ladies, we ventured to the next spot which is a hole that sometimes holds goliaths as well as other big fish.  We anchored up, tide against the wind but got the boat positioned right.  Had a big pack of cobias come right up under the boat… quickly reeled in our pinfish on top and hooked one!  Martin dropped a bait to another though unfortunately we missed the hookset, but he caught the other one on the surface bait – good job!  Not a huge fish but a first for him.  A bit later both big rods went off with the ladyfish on the bottom, a double header!  Both at first appeared to be large sawfish as they dogged us and didn’t stop despite the heavy pressure we both were putting on them.  Sawfish in Islamorada have made a terrific comeback.  I gave chase to Martin’s fish leaving the other in the rod holder going the opposite direction!  Eventually the fish behind us kind of rolled over and I told Martin to switch to that one as it was acting more like a big grouper now, thumping quite a bit.  Sure enough it was, hooray another first for Martin a 150 lb goliath grouper!  We then focused on the other rod which was still bowed over.  We leadered up the behemoth on the mono filament line… all of a sudden his bill broke the surface and slashed violently!  We got him up one more time like that but this time he cut us off, but we were happy to get a look at the beast.  My first sawfish of the year, and yet another first for Martin.  After this we fished for a bit under an hour back at the hole, alas not much other action.  Decided to hit a high-tide spot for some reds on the way home which worked out nicely.  Martin caught about 10 or so mostly nice slot size redfish, something else he hadn’t caught yet!  A fine end to a fabulous day february fishing the florida keys.  This was another special trip for Martin and a great birthday present for himself!

Capt. Rick Stanczyk
305-747-6903
rick@fishingislamorada.com

February 23, 2013 by Backcountry Fishing Reports Fishing Reports

2-22-13 Offshore Fishing Islamorada

There’s been some good action the past few days while offshore fishing islamorada. Today We had a father and daughter out for a full of islamorada fishing action! We started out like we do every day by rounding up some live bait. From there we went to a wreck just outside the reef, and within an hour caught our limit of king mackerel to about 10 lbs. After that we put some live ballyhoo out and within 20 minutes hooked a pair of decent blackfin tuna in the 12 – 15 lb range, and managed to land one of them. The next target was a big shark. It was a little rough today but we took our time and went out to another spot I like in about 300′ of water. We sent down a slab of bonito and within 10 minutes hooked the shark we were looking for! Some days things don’t go your way though and after about a minute of fighting the shark we broke the line! Anyhow we didn’t let it ruin the rest of our day. We caught a couple barracuda after that and then came back towards the reef. I found a handful of mahi under a bird and we managed to catch 1 and missed another, the other fish didn’t bite. The last couple hours we focused on sailfish, and we had 2 shots, hooking one, but after about a minute battle the sailfish started jumping all over and our hook came flying out. Yesterday though while february fishing in Islamorada we had a great morning trip. We caught a couple king mackerel to start the day and then anchored down for some bottom fishing for a couple hours. We managed our limit of 20 snappers including mangroves and yellowtail. We pulled anchor and start running towards home, but I had just climbed up to the tuna tower and way out to the side I noticed a large cobia swimming on top! We turned towards him and there was a nice school of cobia following a big stingray. We hooked 3 fish, 2 were undersize and then we fought a 57 lb lunker for 3o minutes before sinking the gaffs into the fish. The day before we had a couple amberjack to 30 lbs, a couple mutton and yellowtail snapper, a sandbar shark we released, a few king mackerel, and also released a big black grouper (the season re opens for shallow water grouper on May 1st).  Book your Islamorada Fishing Charter today!

Capt. Nick Stanczyk

bnmcharters@gmail.com

 

February 23, 2013 by Fishing Reports Offshore Fishing Reports

2/20/13 February Fishing in Islamorada Backcountry

Well lots of half days this week, we are so busy it is making my head spin!  Double half days every day which is a good thing!  Today on our february islamorada fishing charter we fished a bit further in the backcountry.  Yesterday fishing was tough locally around islamorada, with the cold water temperatures from the cold front that passed over the weekend.  Though we did catch what we needed and the afternoon picked up quite a bit as it warmed.  Today was good all around.  This morning first thing we got into a mess of nice pompano which I’ve only been catching a handful of through the winter.  We got about 15 or so pompano fishing in islamorada.  Also some nice big drag pulling ladyfish kept mom and son entertained!  Next somebody hit the switch and the trout started biting one right after another.  Nothing spectacular size wise but it was fun, getting them on shrimp, gulp, artificial, popping cork – you name it!  In the afternoon we did the same thing… no pompano this time, but a lot of trout again plus ladyfish and jacks.  My same anglers from yesterday afternoon loved it and still had plenty of fresh mangrove snapper we caught yesterday for dinner.  All anglers reported sore arms which I like to hear!!!  Look for the florida keys fishing in february to pick up and with that hopefully being our last front of the year, tarpon can be just knocking on the door.  The water temps did break 70 this afternoon, a few more degrees and the tarpon should be much happier and willing to feed.  Well thats all for this february islamorada fishing report.

Capt. Rick Stanczyk
305-747-6903
rick@fishingislamorada.com

islamorada pompano

islamorada pompano

February 20, 2013 by Backcountry Fishing Reports Fishing Reports

2-18-13 offshore fishing islamorada

We’ve been out fishing Islamorada a bunch the past week, and we’ve caught a little bit of everything! We had our strongest cold front of the year pass through this past weekend while Fishing in Islamorada in February, and it definitely shook things up a little bit. Today started out pretty cold with a North Wind, and by the afternoon had warmed up quite a bit and the wind was strong out of the East. Anyhow we did two 1/2 day trips today, which you can get away with this time of year and usually still have some action on the reef. Dinner was the goal of the morning trip, and that’s exactly what we did. We worked hard at it, and moved a few times, but by the time the trip was over we had a handful of tasty yellowtail snapper, mangrove snapper, and porgy for the dinner table. We also released a nice black grouper due to the closure. The day before yesterday we also got out and had a great Islamorada Fishing Trip! We caught live bait first thing and then moved out to a spot just out side the reef and started slow trolling. We managed 2 sailfish releases, boxed 3 nice king mackerel to 20 lbs, and a 15 lb blackfin tuna within the first few hours. After that we looked for cobia for a couple hours inside the reef, but no luck. For the last hour we anchored down on the reef and caught 15 snappers including yellowtail and mangrove before heading home. We also released a fat black grouper this day too at the end of bottom fishing! The Day before that we went offshore fishing in Islamorada and caught some big fish! We started out at one of our “humps” (underwater sea mounatain), using tormenter vertical jigs. Now this is a major work out, dropping down 300 – 400′ with a 7 oz. jig on 80 lb braided line, and working it up aggressively, but when you hook up the bite and fight is incredible. We caught a couple almaco jacks and then finally hooked a big amberjack about 40 lbs. After that we sent down a big bait and hooked a monster amberjack! After a 15 minute tug of war we had a 75 lb amberjack in the boat! After we caught a couple big fish we decided to go for some tasty eating fish so we rigged up for some “deep dropping”. This is basically bottom fishing in 400′ to 600′ of water with chicken rigs. We managed to catch a handful of blueline tilefish, a snowy grouper, a mystic grouper, and a few rose porgies, which are all great eating fish! On the way home we put out the wahoo lure, and it had been about 6 months since we had a bite on it, so there we were running 14 knots with a lure out and it started screaming. The only bad news was the fight was short lived because after 10 seconds the fish shook free… oh well, we’ll have to get him next time. Pretty soon we’ll start heading offshore more, but we will still concentrate most of our time near the reef while February Fishing Islamorada.

Capt. Nick Stanczyk

bnmcharters@gmail.com

 

February 19, 2013 by Fishing Reports Offshore Fishing Reports
Capt. Rick Stanczyk
Hello my name is Capt. Rick Stanczyk and welcome to my website! I’m a fishing guide in the fabulous Florida Keys, Islamorada to be specific. Tarpon are the species I spend a lot of time fishing for and they are my passion. I fish a more limited schedule these days though I have a team of young talented guides who I've been training that are available for fishing charters, so please get in touch if you want to go fishing!

305-747-6903
rick@fishingislamorada.com

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