March 2014

3/25/14 Offshore fishing in Islamorada on the Bn’M II

It’s been a busy month here while offshore fishing in Islamorada. March is a transitional month and there’s been a little bit of everything. We have caught grouper, wahoo, mackerel, mahi, tiger shark, hammerhead shark, yellowtail snapper, mutton snapper, golden tilefish, blueline tilefish, blackfin tun, amberjack, barracuda, swordfish, etc! Some days have been slower than others, but hey, that’s why they call it fishing. The slower days make you really appreciate the good days. We are still fishing on the reef quite a bit, but the next few weeks we will really focus on going “offshore” further, out into the gulf stream looking for more pelagic species. One of the most exciting things lately has been vertical jigging with tormenter tackle for big amberjacks, some over 50 lbs on spinning jigging outfits! Send me an email when you’re ready to go give it a shot! bnmcharters@gmail.com

Capt. Nick Stanczyk

golden tilefish

tiger shark bnm ii

amberjack

hammerhead bnm ii

3/5/14 March Islamorada Fishing Report Florida Keys

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