Backcountry Fishing Reports

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

Got out with Alex, AJ, Cooper, and Joanne today visiting from Tampa.  We decided to mix it up and fish the conditions.  Mackerels bit very well early on with the falling tide.  Again the wind faded a lot and the gulf was really nice in the morning. After a couple hours of that we worked our way towards the mainland everglades and caught some tripletail on the way.  Caught several small guys, then AJ got a nice 18 inch legal one we kept for dinner.  After that we tried a few spots for the shot at something big.  Tide was nearing it’s change and conditions looked OK.  The wind had kicked up a lot but with the tide starting in the water looked half decent.  We gave it some time, and then we got a few big look downs, a juvenile goliath grouper, and finally a nice 18 lb black drum!  Next stop produced a couple big 13-15 lb redfish, and missed something big on a pinfish.  After that we hit the creeks and were just barely able to make it in there.  But the snook bite was good we caught 20 or so snook, and a few smaller drums and reds.  Action packed day that made me look like a rock start.  Winds suppose to fade a little tomorrow, then get nice easy north breeze on Tuesday and a mild front that may be a great day for fishing.  Then I’ll be out of town for a week.  But let’s see what happens tomorrow!

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

Great fishing with the Slacks visiting from Knoxville. Tons of mackerel early in the AM with nice calm weather in the gulf. Finished it up with a strong bite of redfish, drum, and snook in the Everglades when the tide changed. Little blustery on the ride home but no sweat for the Contender Bay.

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

Got out will Bill, Taylor, and Tucker for a days fishing in the Florida Keys.  Christmas week is here and boy the traffic has sure showed up and people are here.  Should be a busy one luckily the weather looks warm and we have a couple windy days over the weekend but next week looks very nice.  Not cold though and no hard fronts in sight, usually January is when we get our coldest weather of the year and I look forward to it as it leads to some great fishing opportunities, but I’ll be out of town the first week anyways so it can wait on me if it wants!  Fishing was pretty good for us today, started off OK we got into a slow but steady pick of black drums, several small guys and a few mediums, but then we got a big mama 25ish lber that took about 10 minutes to land!  What a battle on light tackle lots of fun.  After that things shut off, we tried a couple other spots without too much but did pick off a nice sheepshead, a redfish, a mackerel, and a few catfish.  But falling tides have been tough in the backcountry with the warmer weather and windy conditions making it muddy.  When the tide turned we moved areas and got into a good bite.  Lots of redfish, then the snook turned on, and a few more black drums and sheepshead too.  We tried one last spot in hopes of something big, and found some more smaller snook and a black drum.  Hooked a big ray, and then a big shark that dragged us around but not what we were hoping for in terms of big.  But all in all still a great day, double digits on black drum, snook, and redfish can’t complain about that.  Saturday will be super busy on the water I’m sure everything that floats will be out there.  Not sure what we are doing but we’ll see.

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