Backcountry Fishing Reports

Got out for a full day today after a little mini cold front came in last night.  Temperatures dropped a little bit got into the high 50s, not super cold but definitely down again from what it was.  Winds were cranking early but got a little nicer later in the day.  We caught some black drums early nothing huge, but steady action probably a dozen or so in a couple hours, plus some trout, ladyfish, jacks, and a snook mixed in.  As the tide fell and the water warmed up, the fishing got better.  We got into a couple good snook blitzes later, catching probably 25 or 30 I would say and 1 decent redfish.  One area we checked out had nothing at all very muddy and just didn’t look good so we left that.  On the way home we the wind had laid out somewhat and we found a patch of clean water and came across some big reds!  Caught a triple header of 12 to 15 lb fish, and then got a monster 30+ lber on a pinfish!  What a way to end the day!  Also a couple small goliath groupers.

Capt. Rick Stanczyk
Instagram: @richardstanczyk
Facebook: Islamorada Tarpon Fishing

Got out with Dan, Mike, and Bill for the day.  We fished the backcountry, pretty nice conditions the winds laid down and slightly prefrontal as we have another cold front coming in over the weekend.  We tried for some big fish early on, luck was with us.  We found some big reds early, getting a whopper probably 30-35 lbs, and a couple in the 25 lb range on a double header!  Then a nice 12-15 lb black drum.  Wow what a way to start!  After that we tried another spot and had a nice something get eaten by a shark, then just a few jacks and trout at the next couple spots.  We went in the creeks and got into a good bite of smaller redfish and snook, got better as the tide bottomed out.  Good action for us.  Then tried again for a a shot at bigger fish before heading home, we got one big black drum about a 25 lber, and then a few more jacks and trout, and rocked up by a goliath grouper.  But all in all a spectacular day!

Capt. Rick Stanczyk
Instagram: @richardstanczyk
Facebook: Islamorada Tarpon Fishing

Got out the last couple days for some fishing.  Yesterday I had my dad and our friends Andy Newman and Barry Gregg.  We went after some bigguns early, they weren’t super cooperative but managed a handful of nice fish.  Sometimes thats the way it goes you can spend hours trying to catch one good size trophy fish, and forgo catching tons of smaller ones for more action.  But when I take my dad, we’ve caught enough numbers in our day that we don’t mind the occasional strike out to get something glorious when it works out!  Dad got a monster red to start the day, a near 30 lb redfish.  Nothing much after that for a couple hours, then got into some smaller snook and I managed one decent 13 lber.  After that we ran out in the gulf looking for fish out there but didn’t see a whole lot.  Came back inshore, and we got a nice big 25 lb black drum!  Finished the day up with some smaller fish for action – snook and reds mostly.

Today I had Tommy, Kevin, and Nick who were visiting from Illinois and filming for their YouTube fishing show, McGrath fishing.  The wind had picked up a fair bit blowing northwest.  Not a favorite wind condition and we had a high falling tide to start the day.  Current was ripping in a lot of areas, but we got tucked away and picked away at snook and reds.  As the tide fell out and current slow down, the bite got better and better.  We kept moving around, and by the day’s end I think we boated well over 50 fish.  Nothing super huge but wasn’t the day for it.  But the guys got some great footage for their show.

Capt. Rick Stanczyk
Instagram: @richardstanczyk
Facebook: Islamorada Tarpon Fishing

Got out with a long time friend Charlie Kluck and his buddy Herman down from North Dakota.  We had a slick out with the weather and looked like a gorgeous day.  Stuck on the outside as I figured the bugs would be bad early. We picked away catching a few redfish, trout, jack, mackerel, croaker, and stuff jigging along with shrimp.  We got in a good area and got a couple big black drum too which was awesome… big nasties about 22 and 25 lbs each!  After that we found a few more black drum and some snook in an area.  Then we got a nice redfish.  Worked our way into the creeks after that and tore up the smaller snook and a few decent reds along with a couple small goliath grouper, and had a tarpon on for a minute.  All in all just a fantastic day!

Capt. Rick Stanczyk
Instagram: @richardstanczyk
Facebook: Islamorada Tarpon Fishing

Got out with Jim today just by himself again for our last day, gwen stayed at home.  We focused on trying to get some trophy fish, in hopes of some big ones but giving up possible numbers.  Picked away on some spots early.  A nice redfish, a couple nice juvenile goliath groupers, a few black drums including jims personal best about a 20 lber.  After that things slowed up a little we hit a few spots without much luck, but then finished up with a few more juvenile goliath groupers.  All in all not too shabby, back at it tomorrow but I think we’re going to be more in the numbers game but may try a few spots for some big ones.

Capt. Rick Stanczyk
Instagram: @richardstanczyk
Facebook: Islamorada Tarpon Fishing