January 2014

1/15/14 January Backcountry Fishing in Islamorada

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

1/8/14 January Fishing in Islamorada

We’ve had some great fishing trips here the past few weeks in Islamorada. Some days with windy weather, so I was definitely glad to be on my 36′ Jersey Devil, Bn’M II. The last couple days I fished however I helped shoot a tv show for SFTV, and we managed to release 6 sailfish over the two days and keep 4 blackfin tuna all around 10 lbs. We are “reef fishing” this time of year, a lot of kite fishing with live bait as well as some bottom fishing. We consider it the same thing as “Deep Sea” and “offshore”. In addition to the sailfish being the trophy fish, we’ve caught a handful of real nice mutton snapper, with some pushing 12 lbs. There’s also been some king mackerel in the mix. We caught a big bull shark last week as well as a juvenile hammerhead shark, both which were released. The next month we should have should action with sailfish, mackerel, wahoo, shark, and snapper. The cobias should start moving through in big numbers any day. Send me an email at bnmcharters@gmail.com when you’re ready to get out there!

Capt. Nick Stanczyk