June has come and gone very fast. We got into ‘summer time’ mode here a little early this year it seemed. Just about all of June and even late May I was mostly fishing in the everglades for tarpon. There were steady numbers of fish back there, plus the bait was much easier to get most days. Our spring mullet run had come to an abrupt halt near Islamorada – we really didn’t have a great year for bait at all there. Though the nice thing about Islamorada is you have pretty close access to the everglades which is an entirely different fishing experience. The last month or so I’ve been hitting many of the open water areas of the near gulf where schools of tarpon have been coming in for the summer. These late arrivals are often smaller male fish, many of the larger female tarpon have already moved up the coast. Though there is still the occasional straggler. As a matter of fact a week or so ago we caught a 150 lber that dragged us about 4 miles up the beach and we fought for 2.5 hours! Most days have yielded anywhere from 2 to 6 bites, and we’ve been averaging landing 2 a trip which is pretty good for tarpon fishing. My best day this year actually was a couple weeks ago, we were able to hook and land 7. So all in all the summer time tarpon bite has been very good and it is definitely not too late to catch them, this fishing can be very good all the way through August (which was the case the last couple years). It does require usually a 3/4 or full day, and I like to leave early to catch the bait and get in on the better fishing. Other than that I’ve been doing some trout and snapper fishing out to the western edge of the gulf. There has been some very nice size trout and mixed in are plenty of snappers and ladyfish. The small ballyhoo are readily available and we often catch those and use them for bait, though artificial GULP has been doing the trick too. I’ve also been doing a fair amount of snook fishing and that has been good for the most part too. Live bait is key for that and pilchards and pinfish are able to be caught most days while trout/snapper fishing, then we usually try a snook spot or two on the way home. Most days we’ve caught at least a few and up to a dozen. Plenty of sharks are around too including blacktips, lemons, hammerheads, and the occasional bull. From here on out I’ll still be tarpon fishing the majority of the time. July is slowly filling up though I will definitely have some days open short notice. If your looking to catch a tarpon this is still a good time, plus with the other variety of fish it can be a very productive day. Summer is nice because the winds are generally calm and weather patterns stay the same, so the fish aren’t moving around quite as much and much less pressure on them. Drop me a line lets get out fishing!
Capt. Rick Stanczyk
5/21/15 May Backcountry Fishing Report
May is rolling by fast and I’ve been fishing every day. Overall the fishing has been pretty good. We had a little lull in early May with the tarpon fishing. We had some late cold weather in April with some high winds and things turned off to start May, then we had flat calm weather following the full moon. Plenty of tarpon around though they weren’t feeding very well. Though mid May the bite has gotten much better, though now the fish seem to be much more on the move. Where a big school of fish will be one day, they are gone the next. So you must put your time in and fish hard and move around. We’ve had some big days with good numbers caught, and lots of days with only a few shots at fish. I have not been fishing many nights this year as I had mostly full day trips booked and not trying to burn myself out. Though the last couple weeks the evening bite has been a bit more dependable overall and tarpon are starting to feed on crabs well on the falling tides in the late afternoon/evenings. I’ve been having some good luck in the backcountry with smaller tarpon and plenty of sharks back there, yesterday we landed 4 nice tarpon which was a great day. We also had a good day with about a dozen snook and plenty of trout, snappers, a redfish, and 1 out of 2 tarpon for the ‘SLAM.’ The gulf has held some tripletails though honestly I have not been out there much as I have had mostly people looking for tarpon plus we did have some real windy weather for a good portion of May, not ideal for the open water of the gulf. As we get into June we get to some of my favorite fishing of the year. The early morning trips to the everglades yield a very dependable fishery for tarpon. Also bait is fairly easy to catch back there too. The last few years we were also able to chum pilchards up on many days and had good snook fishing in the afternoons. This can last through August. If your thinking of coming down this summer drop me a line, July and August is some of the best fishing we have all year again because the weather is stable and the early mornings you can be the heat.
4/21/15 April is tarpon time in Islamorada!
Tarpon season has been in full swing here in Islamorada, Florida for the past month or so. A portion of March was flat calm and very good fishing for tarpon and the other part was very windy with some cold frontal-type weather that made that a little tougher. Though April has been good fishing all around for the silver king. Earlier in the month I was fishing the backcountry often and that has still been decent on and off, however as of late we’ve had some major issues with the red ‘lions mange’ weed that pollutes the channels and gulf area we fish. Unfortunately some days it’s so bad you can’t even fish. Luckily the last couple weeks the fishing closer to home has been very good and the mullet have been much more consistent in the mornings, so I’ve been sticking to that routine. The last week the fishing has been quite phenomenal. We’ve caught tarpon every trip the last two or so weeks. The last two days we landed 7 mostly on live mullet. Both the incoming and falling tides have shown good fishing. The sargasm weed near the bridges has had to be contended with, though you can usually find areas where it isn’t so bad and you can fish. Other than tarpon there have been some mongo snappers around the bridges if your looking for dinner. Also a mix of sharks and barracudas in the bays along with the occasional grouper. I have not been doing much else though there has been some snook in the everglades, along with some trout and snapper in the bays. Tripletail and permit could be an option in the gulf if we get some calmer weather though it’s been blowing fairly steadily the last 2 weeks. Anyways the tarpon action is red hot locally and should continue so through May and perhaps into the summer as well. Summer time usually around mid june I start fishing the everglades much more again for tarpon and the last couple years that has been very good. If your looking to get out on the water let me know, summer is a great time and I still have availability!
3/22/15 March Tarpon Fishing in Islamorada is in full swing
March is rolling on and we are officially in the thick of ‘tarpon season’ here in Islamorada, Florida Keys. The islamorada tarpon fishing has been fantastic the last week as we’ve had flat calm weather and lots of fish have pushed in from the gulf all the way from cape sable in the everglades, the mid-florida bay, and locally around Islamorada and throughout the rest of the Florida Keys. The weather look to stay fairly calm the next several days at least and the fish should stay happy. We’ve been catching live mullet in good numbers and the spring mullet run is a very good time to tarpon fish, it’s the most exciting form of bait fishing for tarpon there is. There is nothing quite like watching a live mullet run, jump, and panic for his life as a big 100 lb tarpon tries to devour him. We’ve had action with tarpon since the beginning of March just about every day though with the calm weather the last week is when it’s really heated up. We caught fish the last couple days on half day trips fishing close by on live bait. We were also able to mix it up with some patch reef fishing today and caught some islamorada hogfish for dinner. As we get into April and May that is usually ‘prime time’ for bait tarpon fishing in Islamorada. I’m fairly booked up though we have a second boat that will be captained by a local offshore fisherman for night trips. If your looking to get out tarpon fishing during the prime evening hours he is your man, let us know!
3/3/15 March Islamorada Fishing Report
Well March is here and so are the big tarpon in Islamorada. We had a late winter so it held off some of the normal ‘early arrivals’ that we catch in February. Though the last week or more it’s been very warm and tarpon are starting to show up in droves. The last 5 days we’ve caught at least one tarpon every day. The last two days however they really have started biting well. We had a total of 9 bites and landed 5 fish in the last 2 days. Yesterday they were eating the live mullet well, we weren’t able to stick any though were able to catch one on dead bait in the afternoon. A big slob of 150 lbs, biggest fish this year so far! Today we went 4 for 4 in the everglades, fish of 60 to 90 lbs. It should get better and better, and since it is just not starting I think our fishing later in the season should be better. The last few years fish have shown up way early and often by end of May/June we would have some ‘dry spells’ where there were not many fish or they wouldn’t bite, likely due to too many showing up too early. Anyways tarpon is what I am focusing on from now on through the Summer. Of course we sometimes break it up and fish for other things. I am booked up fairly solid through May, however we are going to be having another very good hard working young captain run a 2nd skiff for us. If your looking to get out for some good tarpon fishing the next few months, he will be available for evening trips during ‘prime time.’ Drop me a line and let’s catch you that silver king of a lifetime!
