January 2020

1/7/20 January Fishing in Islamorada in the Florida Keys

Got out for the first time this year as I just got back from vacation.  Took my dad and conditions looked pretty good.  We had a cold front finally and temperatures dipped to around 60 and water temps got to the mid 60s.  It was a lighter north wind and died out mid day before picking up a little before the ride home.  We had incoming tide all day and looked like it was going to be real good.  We were hoping for some trophies and checked some spots that I thought would be good.  But not a whole lot doing early on.  Caught a small cobia and a few trout, and several catfish.  Spent about 2 hours hitting a half dozen different spots.  Finally we got a decent black drum.  We then rewound and tried some of the same things over again, just at a different stage of the tide.  Sure enough, one spot we got a nice big redfish of about 18 lbs, then a 20 lb snook, and then a monster 40 lb cobia!  Great catches especially on light tackle.  We also got a small goliath grouper here.  Next stop, a few more small goliaths.  Then we got a few medium size snook on the next stop.  Finally last stop of the day, we caught a few more trout and catfish and jacks, then I got a big bite and a drag screamer of a snook!  About a 25 lb snook, wow!  Probably the biggest I’ve caught myself personally.  Anyways when you look at the pictures, makes it look like an epic unforgettable day which of course it was, but of course I know we worked very hard and spent hours not catching anything to get a small window at the right spot at the right time to get most of these once in a lifetime fish.  But that’s how fishing goes and why i always like to fish full days, you can hit a spot in the morning and not catch a thing, go back a few hours later and have the best day of your life.  Got cancelled the next few days, which I need a little rest anyways after my vacation.  But looks like we have a lot of wind coming after tomorrow anyways and it’s suppose to warm up.  I’m afraid that won’t be good for these big fish I like to go for this time of year, but maybe we will get some more cold weather later in the month.

Capt. Rick Stanczyk
Instagram: @richardstanczyk
Facebook: Islamorada Tarpon Fishing