Backcountry Fishing Reports

Well it is officially summer time here in islamorada.  The backcountry fishing in summer can still be good though often is hit or miss as the warm temperatures can make fishing change day to day.  Yesterday we went fun fishing at cape sable and hooked several nice snook probably 8 in total though weren’t able to land any they all got us in the trees and a few may have been eaten by sharks.  Today we caught plenty of little guys such as trout, ladyfish, snappers, and a few spanish mackerels even.  A couple sharks, mud marlin, and a big tarpon to end the day was nice.  Also got a cobia.  The tarpon fishing had been good in the backcountry though today the fish were not to be found, we ended up getting ours near home in Islamorada.  Some of the fly guys reported tough fishing today though a couple days ago a lot of fish were moving along the shorelines and biting live bait good in the channels – as I said it changes day to day!  Give me a call if fishing in islamorada in july is of interest, later evening tarpon trips are possible as I am not fishing every day that time of year and the bite can be better when it cools off and gets dark!

Capt. Rick Stanczyk
305-747-6903
rick@fishingislamorada.com

Well the fishing has been a little tough on the backside the past week or so.  We’ve been able to catch some things though nothing has come easy not even the trout or ladyfish!  Today things got much better we fished the gulf of mexico as it was nice and calm.  The water has had a real green tinge to it and that has lightened a little bit, a lot of grass floating but starting to thin out with the winds dying.  We caught lots of big sharks – bulls, blacktips, and even a lemon.  We caught a nice permit as well and had several other shots at them though they were very finicky.  Wouldn’t eat crabs, and the one we caught we were casting at another fish and this one ate it blindly from underneath.  We did get a cobia too and had another nice cobia we pulled the hooks on unfortunately.  Some guys got into some tarpon today too which is nice to hear as the tarpon bite during the day has been very slow not many fish in the backcountry and the local islamorada fish are very hit or miss unless you go very early or late (in darkness!).  Oh well the june fishing in the florida keys can still be very good and later in the summer the fishing in the gulf for permit is a great option on calm days with falling tides!

Capt. Rick Stanczyk
305-747-6903
rick@fishingislamorada.com

Well the wind is howling today and forecast too for several days but not stopping us from catching fish!  We caught 2 big tarpon last night in the memorial day weekend insanity while onlookers on waverunners circled us.  And I mean 2 tarpon at once – a double header!  That doesn’t happen too often but we were lucky enough to land both fish.  Today fishing was slow around town we had plenty of mullet we caught before daybreak but couldn’t get the fish going really even though we found them in several places.  Just not a bunch around like there was and they are kind of transitioning from mullet mania too crabs.  We did get one on the bottom though a big 100 lb florida keys tarpon, plus a bull shark and a few nurse sharks.  Some backcountry action tomorrow is in the books!

Capt. Rick Stanczyk
305-747-6903
rick@fishingislamorada.com

Still be catching lots of big tarpon in the florida keys.  We caught 2 nice fish today fishing locally channel 2 and channel 5 bridges.  Bait was tough the last several days but still had our shots at tarpon every day though they were limited.  Before that fishing was still pretty great with multi fish most every trip.  The may fishing islamorada should get better as the busy weekend subsides, we saw lots and lots of fish today though they were not biting great but with less boat traffic and hooks in the water that can change!  If you want to catch tarpon in islamorada the end of may and june can still be very good times to go, june is especially good because much less pressure and still at the end of ‘prime time’.  I have dates available in june and lots of evenings available, I can do later evenings fishing with live crabs too and that often is the hot ticket.  Shoot me an email if you want to catch some may florida keys tarpon.

Capt. Rick Stanczyk
305-747-6903
rick@fishingislamorada.com

May Islamorada Tarpon

Well the may fishing in islamorada is off to a good start.  Today was gorgeous flat calm and lots of fish out there.  We started off with small guys, lots of ladyfish to bend the rod plus a few trout.  We then moved to some backcountry channels for some may florida keys tarpon fishing.  The bite was ‘on’!  We caught 4 out of 6 big tarpon in about 2 hours plus several blacktip sharks.  After this we went in the gulf for some tripletails.  They were a little spooky and we only caught a couple, so my anglers asked to try something else.  Normally I would of kept going but alas I wanted to try something different.  We went around some islands for redfish and snook and found a load!  We got about 10 nice reds and only 1 snook, but spooked out plenty more as my big 20 footer isn’t the quietest getting into shallow island spots, but next time we will be more ready.  On the way home we even caught a few mangrove snappers.  Great day here fishing in the florida keys!

Capt. Rick Stanczyk
305-747-6903
rick@fishingislamorada.com