Backcountry Fishing Reports

Got out on a group trip and ran the boat myself along with another captain on our SeaCraft bay boat.  Capt. Stephen who runs my boat is out of town for September so I’ll be running a few trips this month but he’ll be back in October and that is an awesome time of year to fish with all the bait runs etc…  So we had a group of english gentlemen over for a couple days of fishing.  Day 1 on Sunday we caught pilchards early on.  Plenty of bait around and seems it’s been in a few different spots so that is always a good thing… getting good live bait can easily make or break your day.  We loaded up on a mix of sandy key and razor belly pilchards and then headed back into the backcountry.  We stuck around the Flamingo area as that’s been a little more consistent fishing as of late.  First stop we hit an island with the start of the falling tide.  Picked away on some snook it wasn’t red hot but not bad either probably caught a dozen or so in an hour or more, plus a juvenile tarpon.  Enough action to keep it interesting and tough enough to feel rewarding!  After that we tried another island which was really kind of dead.  We hooked one fish there but it got us into some structure I’m thinking likely a goliath grouper.  After that we decided to put the big gear out for some tarpon.  Sure enough we saw signs of tarpon in the first area we stopped… not tons of fish but just a splash and bust that I knew was the silver king.  We looked around and ended up marking some fish on the sonar.  We set up and about 20 minutes later a 100 lb fish goes airing out – got ’em on!  Unfortunately after about 30 seconds he went through the leader on us.  Doesn’t happen often but occasionally it does.  We shook it off and set back up and sure enough a small fish rolled right nearby so we moved in front of him and hooked up again pretty quick!  This fish we got boatside but couldn’t get pictures of unfortunately as he made one good run and got under the boat and popped off, but a technical release none the less.  After that we had about an hour left and we went and hit some channel runoffs on the bottom of the tide and caught another dozen or so snook.  So all in all a productive day!

Day 2 we focused on the big rods primarly.  The wind had really kicked up northeasterly and it was almost cool feeling.  The air really dried out and had that fall feel and the water temps are down around 81 now too.  Anyways we ran further back in the backcountry and found some tarpon again early on.  Again not big schools but a good solid handful and we got lined up on what we saw and had 3 bites and landed 2 fish.  Got good pictures of one this time!  We caught a few sharks as well including a big lemon shark which was fun.  Later on we ran back to flamingo and in the same area we had our tarpon action the day before we marked a little group of half a dozen fish.  Set up and after about 20 minutes – boom! – double header!  We landed both fish and got a cool picture which was awesome and made these guys trip for sure!   After that we caught a couple of juvenile goliath groupers on our pinfish and had a couple more break us off on structure, but nice way to end the day there too.

September can be great fishing here don’t be fooled.  It’s also the slowest time of year with business so flights are cheaper, hotels are cheaper, you can get in all the good resturants… lots of upsides to coming here in September and October!  I may take a few more trips this month and Capt. Steve will be on the helm again in October.  The SeaCraft is also available this month as well so give us a call if you want to get out!

Capt. Rick Stanczyk
Instagram: @richardstanczyk
Facebook: Islamorada Tarpon Fishing
YouTube: Bud n’ Mary’s Marina

Got out with our pal Ron Modra and he brought along a good friend of his Ronnie Dunn of Brooks & Dunn, along with Ronnies son Jesse and grandon Huxton!  It was quite the day we found plenty of small finger mullets deep in the backcountry.  There has been a pretty steady bait run back there the last month… it’s not always easy to find and sometimes the bait kinda moves around, but for the most part on falling tides we’ve been able to get in on it.  We caught a bunch of ’em and proceed to feed them to plenty of small & medium size snooks.  The boys all had a ball Huxton caught the most and was kind of putting on a clinic!  After that we went and found a big spawning aggregation of large snook that we found the previous day.  They were really biting today we ended up hooking i think 6 or 7 and landed 5, mostly all in one area which was really cool.  Often times with those big ones you are lucky to get one and then they shut off but maybe the full moon had them a little happier?  It was really incredible and Huxton also caught and landed a large 75 lb goliath grouper on light tackle which was really cool.  After that the weather started to build and we ran towards home though we ended up coming across a school of rolling tarpon where it was still all slicked out.  We put baits out for about 15 minutes and Ronnie ended up landing a juvenile tarpon (under 40 inches) so we lifted him out for a quick picture before healthy release.  Huxton caught another big snook too which was following the tarpon around I guess which was really cool and unexpected.  After that we headed home but wow just what an incredible day it was!

Fishing is still really good and August is slow with business so if you want to get out fishing give me a shout!  I’ll be taking a handful of trips here & there but Capt. Stephen is back in town from the Bahamas and I’m working closely with him so he’s up to date on everything going on in the backcountry.  Come get it while the gettin’s good!

Capt. Rick Stanczyk
Instagram: @richardstanczyk
Facebook: Islamorada Tarpon Fishing
YouTube: Bud n’ Mary’s Marina

Well I’ve been fishing a little here & there in June but Capt. Stephen has been running the boat a bit more regularly.  With my kids out of school now and also my wife broke her ankle last week I’ve definitely had my hands full but luckily things with Capt. Stephen running the boat for me part time is working out very well.  He’s been fishing a lot with me on charters as well as when I go with my dad once a week for fun and I’ve been able to really share with him exactly what I do fishing wise.  We’re working together to keep stocked up on bait when possible and being there isn’t any threat of competition sharing fishing knowledge entirely day to day.   So as far as fishing goes lately we had some good summer tarpon action in early June in the backcountry however that has slowed down a little bit.  There are still tarpon around and you can definitely have some good fishing for them but the last week and foreseeable future we have some southerly wind which kinda seems to keep them down a little more and not quite as happy as they are when we have more easterly wind direction.  But luckily we’ve been mixing it up with snook lately and the snook bite thus far has been incredible.  Seeing lots of fish on the shorelines which is great even with the not-so-great southerly winds.  Lots of small and medium size fish and good rod bending action.  I’ve been catching a handful of larger snook with my dad when we go do that ‘trophy fishing’ but that has often been fishing all day for a bite or two so not what we’re doing necessarily all the time on charters.  Tripletail fishing this summer has been a little slow we’re not really seeing a lot of them floating freely which is unusual but we have been catching a few off structure here & there.  Lots of bait is around in the backcountry too which is good to see and overall very nice water quality even with the south wind which has a tendency to make it muddier as it blows on shore.  Overall I think things look promising for July and the later summer.  The last couple of years we had somewhat mediocre later summer tarpon fishing though with all the bait we’re seeing now and the cleaner water, I think it’s lining up to be productive when we get a little shift to that later summer mode.  And the fall may be very good too when we have that wind direction change and start getting more northeasterly breezes and the bait runs I’m really interested to see what happens there.

Anyways if you want to get out fishing give me a shout again I’m sharing duties with Capt. Stephen though I’ll be booking stuff directly more short notice if you are wanting to fish with me.  Stephen will be in the Bahamas over July so I’ll be running a few trips then.  But I also have Capt. Brandon still running the seacraft and Capt. Trentin running our 18′ action craft.  They both have plenty of availability as well.  Capt. Trentin will be available for some evening trips in July too so that can be a very productive time for tarpon fishing if you are here during July and it’s not very busy on the water then so you really get it to yourself.

Capt. Rick Stanczyk
Instagram: @richardstanczyk
Facebook: Islamorada Tarpon Fishing
YouTube: Bud n’ Mary’s Marina

Got out with pops and our good friend Ricky Walker visiting over from England.  Capt. Stephen also tagged along.  We had a tremendous tropical system blow through last weekend and sunday was 30+ mph winds most of the day.  I hadn’t been in the backcountry in a bit but I figured that may have stirred things up a good bit and didn’t know what to expect.  However one thing in our favor was a light northerly breeze which in the past has often yielded good fishing for the larger snook we like to target.  Something about that cool air in the summer time maybe?  Anyways we got in the backcountry and with the last of the falling tide the water looked more or less like a mudhole about everywhere we went!  We drove around and couldn’t decide where to stop first so we just took a gamble.  Sure enough the first spot not much happened and as we pulled the trolling motor and drifted away, dad hooked a nice fish!  A good size snook not a super monster but respectable none the less probably a good 12 lber or so.  After that we kept moving and didn’t find much with the last of falling tide on the next four or so spots we hit.  Once the tide turned we tried a few others and one area where I’d been finding a few the last few times back there produced a monstrous bite.  Ricky hooked it but unfortunately we had it all the way to the leader after a good 3 minute battle and pulled the hook!  Never saw it but I’m sure it was a monster snook could’ve been in the 25 lb range easily.  One of those ones where you think it may be a shark because you just can’t stop them.  Bummer!  We shook it off and kept moving.  Next stop same thing not much and we drifted off and boom we hooked another big fish.  This time Ricky had some redemption and landed himself another good size fish in the 12 lb range.  We decided to give it a bit longer since I had marked some fish on my bottom machine and low and behold pops hooks something else that screams off some line.  He thinks its a shark so he passes the rod to Stephen, but I’m not convinced to Steve fights it carefully but firmly.  It races around to the bow and then just starts dumping line like it can’t be stopped…. hmm must be a shark right?  Well we finally turn it and then Steve cranks like a mad man as it comes towards the boat and we get a glimpse of it.  Looks like a friggin’ sub marine of a snook!  Holy cow!  We get the bear claw net and swoop her in and wow another monster fish that is in the 20-25 lb range!  Incredible!  After that we make one last move to our last area and the water actually looks great in here.  Surprising as the tide is just quitting here now and that bottom of the falling water is usually dirtiest but it looks good.  We get a nice juvenile goliath on our first stop.  Then next stop we don’t have too much happen but I mark a school of fish a little ways away from where we are fishing.  We troll over and I say cast ahead about a boat length and pops hooks up to a drag screamer!  She zips around back and forth and wow its acting like another really big snook and sure enough that is just what it is.  So banner day we landed 2 monstrous snook and 2 other really good size snook and lost one more monster.  As many of you know we often go fish all day just for a shot at one good size snook in the 35-40 inch range here these days.  But when you get the conditions sometimes you get several.  Today was our day!

Capt. Rick Stanczyk
Instagram: @richardstanczyk
Facebook: Islamorada Tarpon Fishing
YouTube: Bud n’ Mary’s Marina