Backcountry Fishing Reports

Yesterday we found a big school of tarpon in the everglades with the warm, calm weather.  Angler Mark Gregg caught about a 140 lber on light gear.  Almost got eaten by a huge shark but it got away!  We caught it all on video which you can watch below!  We also got about a 60 lb tarpon today for Gentry.  But winds are suppose to kick up to 30 mph tomorrow, and a cold front coming dropping temps into the 50s, so the tarpon thing will likely shut down again.  But I expect a good early season again like last year come February.

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

Fun 3/4 day with the Nopps, they bid on a charter with me at the benefit for Capt. Chris Barron we had lots of fun with redfish, black drum, snook, and missed a tarpon!

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

Got out with Steve, Tommy, Jules, and Taylor today for a 3/4 day.  They were suppose to fish with my brother Nick for swordfish but it had been blowing 25 knots for three days so that was a no-go.  But the nice thing about the backcountry we can always get out back there and do something.  We made a good run into the creeks about 30 miles, and once there it was nice and protected and the ride wasn’t too bad at all for the 25 Contender Bay Boat.  Fishing wasn’t red hot but it wasn’t too bad, we picked a few fish early on the falling tide, get 1 or 2 in a spot after sitting for 20 minutes, then move.  Then when the tide switched we got on to a couple good spots where we caught 6 or 8 fish.  Snook and redfish, nothing real big but a few decent slot reds at least.  We decided to cut it to a 3/4 day, and the ride home wasn’t too bad.  Beats sitting in the hotel room and again the great thing about fishing at a place like Bud n’ Mary’s, there are lots of captains with lots of boats and if the wind is blowing we can still get you out some way or another.

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

Got out for the first time this year as I just got back from vacation.  Took my dad and conditions looked pretty good.  We had a cold front finally and temperatures dipped to around 60 and water temps got to the mid 60s.  It was a lighter north wind and died out mid day before picking up a little before the ride home.  We had incoming tide all day and looked like it was going to be real good.  We were hoping for some trophies and checked some spots that I thought would be good.  But not a whole lot doing early on.  Caught a small cobia and a few trout, and several catfish.  Spent about 2 hours hitting a half dozen different spots.  Finally we got a decent black drum.  We then rewound and tried some of the same things over again, just at a different stage of the tide.  Sure enough, one spot we got a nice big redfish of about 18 lbs, then a 20 lb snook, and then a monster 40 lb cobia!  Great catches especially on light tackle.  We also got a small goliath grouper here.  Next stop, a few more small goliaths.  Then we got a few medium size snook on the next stop.  Finally last stop of the day, we caught a few more trout and catfish and jacks, then I got a big bite and a drag screamer of a snook!  About a 25 lb snook, wow!  Probably the biggest I’ve caught myself personally.  Anyways when you look at the pictures, makes it look like an epic unforgettable day which of course it was, but of course I know we worked very hard and spent hours not catching anything to get a small window at the right spot at the right time to get most of these once in a lifetime fish.  But that’s how fishing goes and why i always like to fish full days, you can hit a spot in the morning and not catch a thing, go back a few hours later and have the best day of your life.  Got cancelled the next few days, which I need a little rest anyways after my vacation.  But looks like we have a lot of wind coming after tomorrow anyways and it’s suppose to warm up.  I’m afraid that won’t be good for these big fish I like to go for this time of year, but maybe we will get some more cold weather later in the month.

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

Got out with JP, Ethan, Chase, and Christine today for a full day of fishing.  Was rainy over Islamorada and we had to run through it on the ride out, but once we got to the fishing grounds it was nice and clear skies.  Mackerels bit well, we caught probably 40 or 50, lots of larger size fish there.  Great action for the kids.  After that we hit some channel run-offs for some redfish.  I hadn’t tried these areas in a good while but figured it was worth a shot.  Didn’t look great as the water was kind of muddy and the tide wasn’t super low, but we did catch some fish.  Not a super hot bite but I think we probably caught a dozen reds in about an hour and a half, and a few trout as well and I think we missed another 6 or 8 redfish bites.  Good to know those fish are there!  After that we decided to use the last couple hours to try for something big.  First couple spots didn’t produce much but we did get a couple big lookdowns, a few lane snappers, a shark, and a few croakers.  But we hung in there and at the 3rd spot we got a nice ‘big nasty’ black drum about 18 lbs, great way to end the day!  Tomorrow is my last day for a week or so as we are going out of town, conditions look good we have a mild cold front and nice north wind then fading out in the afternoon… might be big fishing!  But surprisingly not a lot of cold weather in the near future though we may get a decent cold front next weekend.

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