Fishing Islamorada

This july fishing in islamorada has really been sensational.  I’ve been mixing things up a bit though still doing a lot of tarpon fishing.  The early departures at 6 AM have really helped especially with the catching of bait.  We are loading up on mullets easily before the sun gets really high which increases the chance of catching a tarpon tremendously having the fresh bait.  The backcountry channels and beaches have had consistent tarpon action and I’ve caught tarpon on every trip this July with exception to one where we only had a half day and just didn’t have time to move around much.  Though we did catch plenty of sharks that day and saw some tarpon that just would not eat.  The afternoon tarpon bite has been good too if they don’t cooperate or stay on the hook in the morning, your chances are still very good in the early afternoon.  I often like to try again for the last hour of the day before we head in.  Other than tarpon the trout and snapper action in the bays has been great.  That is the best option for ‘dinner fish’.  I’ve also been finding some nice white bait a.k.a pilchards in the gulf.  When we are able to chum those up and net them the snook fishing has been stellar.  Many days we are catching double digit snook and some days they are pulling us out of the boat!  A few red drum are mixed in there and we’ve had several days with backcountry SLAMS consisting of redfish, snook, and tarpon. The gulf  is also a good option with the calm weather there have been a few permit and cobia out there and of course the big dogs goliath grouper and bull sharks!  I am pretty booked up through the middle of the month when I am going on vacation  though I have some open days when I get back near the end of July.  August is also pretty wide open and that can still be a great time to fish tarpon and other species as well!

Capt. Rick Stanczyk

We are in mid june and the weather has been stable and nice.  While it has gotten a little hot on some days, most have had a slight southeast breeze which has kept the real heat down.  The mornings are often a little overcast too, perfect for half day fishing trips though if you do the full day at least you get a break with the clouds off and on.  Fishing has been good for the most part we’ve enjoyed lots of action in the bays with plenty of mangrove snappers along with a mix of trout, jacks, ladyfish, and more.  The backcountry channels have had a variety of sharks and there have still been plenty of tarpon around too.  Most full days we are mixing it up with the smaller fish bending the lights rods, perhaps catching dinner, and then going and trying for tarpon or sharks.  We’ve gotten a few reds and snook on occasion as well as the occasional floating tripletail or cobia when we are running around.  For the most part though tarpon is still my mainstay this time of year.  For the best fishing leaving early gives you an added chance of success as the mullet are much thinner now though there are a few spots you can find them before it gets too bright.  You can also catch the last of the falling tides in the morning and have good fishing drifting crabs.  This is the same on the evenings, the tarpon are feeding on crabs much more now especially with the falling tides and near dark.  Of course soaking mullet on the bottom or fishing them live if you can find them is still a good method too.  I’m pretty booked up the rest of the month though I have days available in July which can be great tarpon fishing in the everglades then.  Again it’s an early game though we often depart the dock at 6 AM or earlier.  Drop me a line if your interested in getting out!

Capt. Rick Stanczyk

The april islamorada tarpon fishing bite has continued to stay strong throughout the month.  We’ve been catching fish on every trip really.  I think I only had one trip where we fished a half day due to a cold front and caught fish on the patches, only giving the tarpon a try for the last hour, where we did not hook at least one tarpon.  And only one other trip where we did not land a tarpon (we had two tarpon break us off in the bridges).  That’s great fishing!  We average probably two fish landed a trip, when you average the good ‘banner’ days where we release 3, 4, or more.  We’ve had a share of 1 fish landed trips in early april as we had a bit of a lull in the numbers of tarpon around, though the last week we’ve seen plenty more show up.  I think we had such a good early start that fish showed up strong in february and march, leading to a lull in early April which is traditionally considered ‘peak’ season.  Every year is different but like I said the last week seems to have seen big numbers around town again.  The backcountry has been a little slow with the tarpon since the last front, but they can show back up there any time again too I think when the wind stops blowing and some of the nasty ‘red weed’ that has been plaguing us back there dissipates.  Look for May to be stay strong that is often the best month of the year for tarpon and the weather stays consistently warm.  Summer can be very good too, last year July was just about as consistent as April with the early mornings being very good in the backcountry as well as good fishing around town on the evening trips with much less pressure on the fish since it is a bit slower with business and boats then.  I have some evenings available over the next couple months, just about every day is booked until June, but tarpon is what I’m doing and if your looking to catch one now is the time!

Capt. Rick Stanczyk

It’s April and the tarpon have made their presence known here in Islamorada and throughout the Florida Keys.  Islamorada tarpon fishing is the big thing here for the next several months.  We’ve had a great early season and the weather is now really getting right for a big month in April.  Plenty of big schools of baitfish (mullet) have been showing up, several big ‘balls’ of thousands at a time that we use for bait.  The last few days I’ve been having great action fishing live mullet for tarpon.  We’ve had 6 fish to the boat in the last 3 trips, and over another fifteen or so that didn’t quite make it there!  Lots of other fish boiling, flashing, and busting the baits that weren’t hooked too.  It’s game on here for april tarpon fishing in Islamorada.  The fishing should only get better.  I’m booked most every day but I do have evening trips available that go from 4 to 8 PM so check with me.  It is a great time to go after big tarpon and the bite around sunset usually goes off!  You can see from the pictures below we’ve been having wild action the last month, and as stated before April only gets better.  The weather usually stabilizes and the big schools of migrating fish show up along with the schools of mullet.  It’s a mixture for tarpon craziness that you don’t want to miss!  Drop me a line lets get you hooked up to the fish of a life time!

Capt. Rick Stanczyk

Well it’s spring time here in Islamorada and that means we are kicking off with march fishing in islamorada.  For myself that usually means starting to target larger things – tarpon, sharks, mud marlin, goliath grouper, and more.  Most of February the tarpon fishing in the florida keys area we fish was fairly good.  We caught fish just about every day we tried for them aside from a couple.  However this time of year can be hit or miss especially when we have late season cold fronts, that really turns tarpon off.  We did have a few banner days, one day we had 6 nice tarpon to the boat between 60 and 90 lbs.  Most days however we are getting a variety of sharks, the occasional large ‘mud marlin’, and a handful of tarpon bites.  Tarpon have been biting a bit around town locally too if you can get fresh mullet like we have been, that can be a good option.  Evening tarpon trips are a possibility, again though warm weather is key.  Looks like we have a minor front coming in this weekend so that may slow the tarpon bite down but it will likely pick up again quick as it’s not getting too cold.  Other than tarpon we’ve been doing a lot of trout and snapper fishing in the bays.  Lots of juvenile trout showing up from the gulf with some larger ones mixed in.  The gulf is also a good option this time of year, I haven’t been out there much but this time of year tripletail are often out there plus some cobia, goliaths, and more on the wrecks.

Capt. Rick Stanczyk

Well it’s February fishing in Islamorada and that means we are getting into our ‘busy season’.  Spring offers the most variety of fish as you have a shot at catching just about anything at this time.  Today I wanted to let you all know we tarpon fished as it’s been warm for several days and looks to continue to be throughout the week.  This is a perfect recipe for early tarpon fishing in the Florida Keys as big groups of migrating tarpon come in from the gulf.  We had some luck and caught 2 big tarpon in the 80-100 lb range plus several black tip sharks on a half day of fishing.  Mullet muds are found pretty easily throughout the bay so bait can be caught first thing in the morning many days.  Before the last few days of nice weather we had a mild cold front with some rain and cloudy weather, though fishing was good.  We had a fun day with close to 20 snook, a dozen reds, and a few other fish.  Fishing the mainland ‘cape’ areas as well as some of the backcountry flats.  Give me a call or email if your looking to get hooked up to big fish, the spring time is a great time to go fishing in Islamorada and February is often the start of that!

Capt. Rick Stanczyk

Fishing in Islamorada in January has been good so far this year.  We’ve only had 1 cold front however this evening it is already starting to cool off again for our second.  While the fishing back there can get tough when the temperatures drop dramatically, as soon as it starts to warm back up it can get really good.  We had some excellent post cold front fishing last week.  One day we had over 50 fish of the redfish, snook, and black drum variety.  We also had good catches the few days after that.  Yesterday we got into the snook really good, catching close to 20 of them fishing some of the creeks and canals of the mainland everglades.  Some were very nice size, we also caught half a dozen red & black drum.  Pilchards were the hot ticket and the fish couldn’t resist.  However when the temperatures are below 70, shrimp works best for everything back there.  The fishing a couple days after this next front could really light up back there again, as the fish really congregate in some of their deeper holes to stay warm and when they start feeding again it is game on!  When the temps are too cold back there though there are always other options such as fishing the gulf or even out on the patch reefs on the ocean side, which can be really good since the fish in the bays often flush out there in search of warmer water.  Drop me an email I’ve got a handful of days open still the rest of the month, and of course February – May is filling up FAST!  Tarpon fishing season is just around the corner!

Capt. Rick Stanczyk