Went out for fun today to explore some off of the cape area of the mainland everglades. November fishing in Islamorada is often a better time for species such as snook and redfish as water temperatures cool down a bit and there is a lot of whitebait a.k.a pilchards around. We had a good trip catching double digit snook and a few other rascals including a nice triple tail. Pilchards have been fairly plentiful so most days we are catching a load of them in the morning and bringing them along with nice live shrimp. Today we worked some new areas exploring. We had some luck this morning with a few nice snook on the last of the falling tide. After that it was a little slow while we tried some different areas. Then late in the afternoon we found a few good spots on the higher incoming tide for snook. Both places the water was very nice and pushing easily along tree-lined shores and snook were waiting there to ambush prey. The live pilchards are great because you can chum with them a little bit and get the fish really fired up and congregated in one area.
11/8/13 November islamorada backcountry fishing report
The winds laid down yesterday some but kicked up again today. Northerly in the morning which we like this time of year. The tide has been very low, being pushed out by the wind from several days earlier. The last two days we got into a sick redfish bite, both days we caught 50+ fish. A mix of little guys and slot/over slot fish. They are eating shrimp and pilchards, whatever you throw at ’em. Snook are mixed in too. Today we got into some nicer size snook too, while yesterday they were mostly little guys. The ticket with them is live pilchards which have been plentiful. On the ocean side beaches you can find plenty especially with the northerly wind this time of year. As it continues to get into winter time, this type of fishing should stay good. Black drum and sheepshead will move in more and more as it cools off. Cold fronts can provide great opportunity if your in the right area, and many of these spots are protected from the wind and weather so it can be a fantastic trip!
10/25/13 Fall Florida Keys Fishing Report
Well business is picking up a little bit. The fishing in the back has been getting better and better as things cool off. Lots of pilchards around which are a favorite of snook in the everglades. The snook bite has been really good we’ve been getting double digit catches regularly. Quite a few redfish too, as things get colder in the winter especially more and more reds, black drum, and sheepshead will move in. Today we caught almost 2 dozen snook and we only had live shrimp as the pilchards we had been catching had left the area. The day before there were millions of them, and tarpon from 20 lbs to 200 lbs were blasting them left and right. It was a sight to see! We had a mild cold front, the first of the season, which can make for some really good fishing. If your thinking of making a trip, November can be a great time as many spanish mackerel move in the gulf as well as big blacktip sharks, cobia, and more. The redfish and snook bite is really good in the deep everglades as well as around flamingo then too, and larger bay boats such as mine can reach them most the time.
Capt. Rick Stanczyk
305-747-6903
rick@fishingislamorada.com
10-5-13 early October fishing in Islamorada Florida Keys
It’s that time of year here now where we catch a little bit of everything. We are starting to focus more on reef fishing compared to the summer and early fall months where we head further offshore. The last few days in Islamorada we have caught a lot of different species of fish. One day on the hump we caught a bunch of blackfin tuna and skipjack tuna, as well as a big dusky shark. Then we came back to the reef and caught a few snappers, king mackerels, cero mackerels, and yellowjacks. The next day we went to the hump but the tuna’s didn’t cooperate as well as expected, but we did catch a couple and turned one into a nice hammerhead shark which we released. We also caught some nice snapper while bottom fishing on the way in to the reef. Back near the reef we fished a couple wrecks and caught a bunch of yellowjack and then released a lot of bonitos and rainbow runners. Yesterday we went out swordfishing, and we missed one sword bite, but did find some dolphin (mahi mahi) on the way home and caught 8 or 10 and kept 6 of them. The next few weeks we should start seeing a lot of more king mackerel, black grouper, sailfish, and snapper while fishing the reef and wrecks.
Capt. Nick Stanczyk
