Backcountry Fishing Reports

WOW what a day out there today! I had the day off and our friends Andy and Maria Newman wanted to get out along with my father again. I knew conditions were favorable and said let’s give it a whirl absolutely! It was fairly calm and the water still chilly, the possibility for big things was good! We got out into the backcountry and checked a spot. It was game on right away! Maria hooked a big snook that screamed out some drag, and after a hard fought battle we landed it her biggest ever! After that to be honest it’s kind of a blur… but we ended up with a half dozen very large snook and lost a good handful more. My dad had one we almost had and it took one more run straight into the prop and cut us off which was likely the biggest of the day a 20+ lber. But he couldn’t complain too much landing that monster a few days ago. We got a monster redfish 35ish lbs for Andy which was very cool! Some smaller reds that were still very big by florida keys standards as well, maybe another half dozen in total. Also a half dozen 10 to 15 lb black drums. The tide started rolling and then believe it or not, tarpon started to bite! I hooked a nice one that I thought was a snook, it never jumped and then ran me around the bow and once it got forward it jumped and threw the hook! We then missed another, but then we caught a double header Andy and my dad! Then I landed another one before we called it quits. We hit one other spot on the way home and caught a bunch of smaller redfish and smaller snook, and a few trout. But the morning sure spoiled us and we headed on in after getting a few trout for dinner. Truly spectacular we should get some more good fishing after this next front blows though, as long as the wind settles down a little we’ll have to wait and see! Half day for me tomorrow then we just cancelled Sunday as it looks like it’ll be nasty and I need a day off… too much pulling on big fish takes it out of you!

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

Got out with Reg and Lucinda today.  They found me at the dock yesterday afternoon and said they were going to be down here for a while as they are snowbirds.  Asked when I had something available if i’d give them a ring to go.  I said today was available, and conditions looked great and fishing had been really good… so we decided to go for it!  Things warmed up slightly though still chilly in the morning.  Winds were more easterly, and not blowing as hard as yesterday, so the ride wasn’t too bad.  We hit the drums to start.  Not a red hot bite by any means, but a slow pick.  We managed to catch about 8 or so in little over an hour, plus a few redfish and trout.  Lucinda did get a decent size drum not a monster but a 13ish lber.  After that we tried another area and got into a decent snook bite, landing 7 or so and a few more redfish.  Several nice size fish too which was great to see!  We tried one other spot nearby and got a little dink snook there.  After that we tried an area up in another spot that was good a couple weeks ago, though tide was high now and water muddy, so we didn’t have much luck there.  With the tide higher now, we decided to run to another area to try some things.  I hadn’t fished these spots in a couple weeks and was interested to see how the bite was there as previously it had been good.  Lucky for us it was on fire!  It was a redfish every cast, and we got another half dozen snook too including a couple nicer size ones!  A few trout too.  Great fun we just stayed about 45 minutes and then decided to check some of the spots for something glorious.  I had been having some luck with big snook in some areas with the nice conditions, and said we should give it a try.  Nothing but catfish for a little bit there, but we did catch a few redfish eventually then a few trout.  Then Lucinda hooked something that screamed off some line!  Unfortunately the hook pulled, but I was pretty sure that was our snook that we missed!  After that Reg got a black drum, and we decided to try one more spot as we had a few more minutes and it was just getting gorgeous out and looking super fishy.  The last stop Lucinda got revenge and landed a nice 16 lb snook!  Reg got a fat redfish too probably about the same size!  What a way to end the day!  We headed on home after that.  Reg and Lucinda can’t wait to go again and want to try for some tarpon soon, so we’ll likely be trying that when things warm up and get right!

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

Great day with Mitch and Mary visiting from Oklahoma. It was a chilly morning as temperatures dropped slightly and a little windy, but definitely gets worse! Once we got into the backcountry though it was nice just a little cold. Fishing was good we got into a great drum and sheepshead bite early! Mary got a lunker drum 30ish lbs I’d say, her biggest fish ever! We got a bunch of smaller ones too but decent size, some snook, redfish, and a bunch of nice size sheepshead too. I just got pics of the first one but we caught quite a few that were bigger probably a dozen in all. After an hour or so things slowed down. We found a few more snook and redfish in a other spot. Mitch had a nice snook on that threw the hook unfortunately. Later we hit another area near the tide change. More redfish here and some nice size trout! Also another snook. After that we hit a spot that was good yesterday but not much today, though did get a trout there. Lastly things got nice and the wind laid down, we gave the monster snook hole a try again. Nothing but catfish for a little bit, but then we got a nice black drum and a few more mediums sized ones. Finally a huge thump and screaming drag! I passed Mitch the rod and the fish made a big run then went under the boat. Unfortunately he made a few tricky moves and was a little hard to keep up with and we got tangled around the underneath of the boat. The one that got away! Oh well it happens and those are the ones that keep you coming back. But all in all another fantastic day. Just got booked for tomorrow and I’m pretty busy through the next 10 days or so. Looks like big weather/cold front coming Sunday, should cool off but when the dust settles and smoke clears, I’ll expect some big fishing!  I do have Friday open this week if anyone wants to go, conditions look pretty good.  After that I don’t have anything available until the 30th or so.

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

Some days you are lucky and get to see something very special out there fishing. Today was one of those days! My dad caught his largest snook ever as a young boy, early teenage years or so. A whopping 26 lber that won the South Florida MET tournament. Today some 60 years later he found one that may have been bigger! I took my dad Richard Sr and our buddy Ron Modra out for the day.  It was our last fish of the day, we were checking that ‘one last spot.’ Conditions weren’t great it was fairly windy out of the northwest, weak current, and kind muddy water. We didn’t expect much but you never know right? Anyways he hooked up to something ridiculous that screamed out a good 30 or 40 yards of line. It slowed down and made a big circle around the boat, then ran out about as the same distance but in the other direction. Dad was off chasing it just like he was a kid again on the shores of Miami Beach. It shook it’s head and didn’t seem to want to turn. I was thinking maybe snook, but now was thinking maybe we snagged a shark or possibly a large cobia. But cobia usually come up to the top where you can see ’em pretty quickly. We had to chase it down with the boat, luckily my dad is a good angler and knew to let the fish run when it wanted to run. This was especially important as we had the fish on a fairly small hook, as I wasn’t expecting such a monster, that could’ve pulled easily or bent out. After another minute or so we eventually got up and down on it. Had to be careful maneuvering the boat with the trolling motor still down and tide going into the wind so it was rough. But we got a good look at the beast finally and I won’t repeat the words that came out after that, but let’s just say it was exciting! The fish was wore out and we got her into the net easily. I didn’t drop it on the deck to measure or anything, or hang it on the boga grip, as these fish are sensitive and I wanted to make sure it would live. It’s hard to say and sometimes pictures don’t do a fish justice, but this thing had a huge gut and was likely the biggest one I’ve had landed on my boat as well. Somewhere between 25 and 30 lbs. We snapped a few good pictures and released her healthily, she swam off just fine! Anyways what a spectacular fish, that’s why I love fishing you can be a 73 year old vet and still catch the fish of a lifetime after all those years! Other than that, we started the day off with a nice juvenile tarpon. A handful of smaller snook later in a couple different spots. And some black drums and redfish too, along with a few trout. Backcountry SLAM! Not a red hot bite by any means as we had high water and weak tide. But a decent pick of fish if you had a little patience. I also investigated some new areas as I like to always do when I’m fun fishing, but we didn’t do much in those spots. Anyways catching that one snook was more than worth it… To hit a home run you gotta swing for the fences!

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

Fun day with Irv and Linda. Irv fished with me last year and caught I think my largest tarpon of the year, close to a 200 lber. Today we had a slick calm day and hit the backcountry and gulf. Started off fishing for reds at the top of the tide. It was pretty good, lots of action and as many as you wanted. We also caught a bunch of mullet as they were swarming. Next stop we fished some shoreline and found some more redfish. More of a pick here but better side fish. We did get a nice 29 incher, over slot fish! Linda also got a nice sheepshead and a big tripletail about an 11 lber. After that we ran offshore and tried a few gulf spots. Didn’t find a whole lot on the wrecks we hit, mostly Jack’s. But we did we across a school of tarpon we messed with but no bites, though did get a shark. Later we found some big wads of mackerel eating baits. We drifted through and caught plenty on our jigs. Tried one more spot on the way home for a Cobia but no luck, though did get a few trout and snapper. All in all lots of fun. Looks like it’ll be cooling down again but not suppose to be super windy. I’m fairly open this week, just busy Tuesday, so if you wanna go lemme know. Conditions look pretty favorable for the backcountry!

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