3/12/18 Early March Reef and Offshore fishing report

We had a couple late season cold front last week and we have another on the way now. March and April are "transitional" months here with regards to fishing and weather. This time of year we see a lot of different fish but not always a lot of each species. A mixed bag is common and with conditions changing certain fish bite better than others. The sailfish bite has been a little on the slow side the past week off Islamorada with just a few releases here and there. However, the Catch 22 fished the Jimmy Johnson Billfish Tournament out of Key Largo last Friday and Saturday, and managed to take 2nd place and bring in $210,000!!! The fished out of Ocean Reef for the two day event and had a charter that had never live baited for sailfish before! They were up against the best tournament teams in Florida that fish all of the big tournaments from Key West to West Palm Beach all winte and Spring. CONGRATS to all those aboard and to all the winners!! 

 

The mixed bag on the reef has included yellowtail snapper, mutton snapper, kingfish, a few wahoo, african pompano, cobia, barracuda and more! Boats have been doing both full day and half day charters, but if you want the best fishing experience we always recommend a full day. 

A few boats have been venturing further offshore to the humps as well as to the swordfish grounds. We have seen a lot of football size blackfin tuna on the humps and the big amberjacks and sharks are showing up as well! The "Dauntless" released a white marlin while trolling for tuna too! A few mahi have been showing up, but I wound't say it's enough to specifically go target them. It's been a few here and there, but we did see the "Warbird" bring in 3 nice ones including a 42 lb bull while they were out swordfishing! The swordfish bite has remained decent with the Indigenous catching 2 fish yesterday, and Aboard the Broad Minded we had 1 fish last trip, two the trip before that, 4 the trip before that, 1 the trip before that and 3 the trip before that. There's been a lot of small swordfish in the 30 - 60 lb range but we did have one nicer one at 164 lbs. 

 

Give the marina office a call at 305 664 2461 when you're ready to book you're next Islamorada Fishing Charter and we'll set you up with a great boat! Remember we have lodging accommodations on property too! Galley Girls Cafe is open daily from 6 am - 2 pm, for your breakfast and lunch, but we recommend calling ahead the night before at 305 664 0166 to place your lunch order for the following day of fishing! 

Tight Lines 

Capt. Nick Stanczyk 

 

2/26/18 February deep sea fishing report

February is flying by here in Islamroada! This is the busiest month we've had since hurricane Irma so that's been nice to see. The sailfish bite has been mediocre overall the past few weeks. A lot of boats have had 1 - 2 releases, with a couple boats having big days. The Kalex had 5 releases one day and the Catch 22 had 6. If sailfish aren't what you're after there's been plenty of action with king mackerel, a few wahoo, blackfin tuna, a few mahi, amberjack, sharks, mutton snapper, and yellowtail snapper. The Miss Islamorada Party boat has been fishing almost every day too, so make sure to call and get your name on the list. 

Way offshore a few of us have been swordfishing and catching fish most trips. The indigenous had the biggest fish recently around 250 lbs. The following day they released a small around 20 lbs. You just never know how big that fish will be when you get a bite! On the Broad Minded we caught them on all but one trip so far the past month. A few trips with one fish, one with two fish, and a four fish day the week before. We have had fish from 30 - 110 lbs recently. The Catch 22 also released a small swordfish their last trip. 

Give us a call in the office to book your next trip at 305 664 2461! If you want to stop by and eat lunch or breakfast Galley Girls Cafe is open every day at 6 am and closes at 2 pm. If you want to bring sandwiches on the boat we recommend you call the night before to place your order at the cafe at 305 664 0166.

Tight Lines 

Capt. Nick Stanczyk 

2/5/18 Early February offshore fishing report

We are moving right into year 2018 and have had plenty of fish caught! The last week of January the Islamorada Fishing Club Sailfish tournament and the Cheeca Lodge Sailfish Tournament took place. The crew from the Reel McCoy charter boat teamed up with local boat My Sea Cin and managed 6 sailfish for the win in the one day IFC sailfish tournament. The Relentless took second place in the cheeca lodge sailfish tournament and the Indigenous finished in 3rd place. Great job Everyone! Those were also the last two legs of the Islamorada Gold Cup Sailfish series which the Relentless won with 29 releases over the three different tournaments. Congrats!!! The Buzz On finished in 2nd place this past weekend in the Islamorada Womens sailfish tournament. They had a tough day the first day with zero fish but had a great day the last day releasing 5 sailfish for a nice come from behind finish! Great job ladies!! 

The kingfish have showed up in good numbers the past week on the reef and wrecks. Most fish in the 5 - 15 lb range and a handful of big "smokers" over 30 lbs! There's been a few blackfin tuna caught on the livebait and we saw a handful of mahi with the southeast wind. Bottom fishing has been decent on yellowtail snapper with a few mutton snapper still around. The Dauntless put his client of a big goliath grouper one trip as well! 

Way offshore we have had a few good days on swordfish. Yesterday we caught 3 swordfish aboard the Broad Minded, the trip before we had 4 and the trip before we had 2. We have released a lot of fish and the biggest fish was around 100 lbs. The catch 22 fished one trip but didn't have any action. We did a little deep dropping a couple trips and the bite wasn't great but we did manage a queen snapper. 

It looks like it's going to be a busy spring at Bud n' Mary's Marina so give us a call in the office at 305 664 2461 and set up your fishing trips soon!! Remember we have lodging options available and "Galley Girls" cafe is open for your breakfast and lunch. Remember to pre order your sandwiches the night before or stop in and fill out an order ticket. Galley Girls cafe can be reached at 305 664 0166. 

Tight Lines

Capt. Nick Stanczyk 

1/23/18 Deep sea fishing report for mid January

We had some cold weather for a few days last week here in Islamorada. Temperatures were 50 degrees in the morning, which feels much colder when running on a boat over the water! However, we didn't let it stop the boats from getting out fishing! Temperatures are back to normal the last few days so all us Floridians are happy again. Sailfish have been a main target on the reef and the bite has been pretty decent. The boats have been averaging 2 - 5 shots per day, with a few boats getting even more bites on a couple trips. Capt. Jim Hendrix (who worked with Capt Paul on the Relentless for 12 of the last 14 years) moved his new charter boat "DAUNTLESS" into the marina, and on one of his first charters they released 5 out of 7 sailfish. We wish him the best of luck! 

 

Other fish we have seen while live baiting on the reef and wrecks have included a few blackfin tuna, a couple mahi, king mackerel, amberjack, barracuda, and african pompano. We should see a few wahoo around the full moon next week, especially if the winds are calm. Fingers crossed for that! Bottom fishing has still been the most consistent way to catch dinner and we've seen plenty of yellowtail snapper with a few mutton snapper in the mix. The Miss Islamorada party boat has been fishing almost every day, so if you want an affordable way to get out  on the water for the day and catch a few fish for dinner check them out! Remember you can buy a party boat ticket online! 

Way offshore the weather cooperated enough a few days to get some daytime swordfishing in. It wasn't calm by any means but still fishable. We fished 3 trips the past week and on the first trip we lost giant swordfish estimated between 400-500 lbs and landed a 75 lber. The next day we had a pair of nice fish at 130 lbs and 151 lbs. The last day we fished we tagged and released two juvenile broadbill swordfish. We had a couple queen snapper and barrelfish one of the trips as well. 

Give the marina office a call at 305 664 2461 when you're ready to book your next Islamorada Deep Sea fishing trip and we'll set you up on a great boat! 

Tight Lines

Capt. Nick Stanczyk 

1/15/18 Early January reef fishing report

The new year is rolling right along here in Islamorada. Business has been stready and We've had a few really busy days where almost all of the offshore boats fished. The Miss Islamorada Party boat has been getting out almost every day, and now you can buy a party boat ticket online!. The next 3 - 4 weeks is prime time to get down here to fish before we hit mid february and the crowds arrive. On the reef we had a few good days of sailfishing where most of the boats had between 3  - 7 sailfish releases, and then we had plenty of decent days where boats averaged 1 -2 sailfish. The Islamorada SAILFLY tournament took plast last week and Team Relentless brought home first place with 2 sailfish releases on fly over the two day event. In addition to sailfish there's been a decent kingfish bite and then the usual mix of other fish including blackfin tuna, barracuda, a couple wahoo, and a couple dolphin. 

 

The bottom bite was really good a few days with lots of yellowtail snapper, some mutton snapper, porgy, vermillion snapper etc. There's been grouper around too, but remember they are catch and release until May 1st. We have had a couple of strong cold fronts where water temperatures dropped which slowed down the yellowtail snapper bite, as well as a couple days with weak current that didn't help either. We've seen some amberjack, african pompano, and sharks on the wrecks as well. 

 

Way offshore I made it out on a handful of daytime swordfish trips since the new year aboard the "Broad Minded". We had 1 fish on 3 trips, 2 fish on the last trip, and one trip we didn't have a bite. The Bn'M also fished one trip but reported no bites. Most of the fish have been 50-100 lbs, but we did have one really nice one at 254 lbs! We also caught a few queen snapper deep dropping on the way in and out from the swordfish grounds. 

 

Give us a call in the marina office at 305 664 2461 when you're ready to book your next fishing trip! Remember we have lodging options available too! If you want to order sandwiches or breakfast "Galley Girls" cafe opens up at 6 a.m. The best way to order lunch for fishing the next day is to pre order the night before at 305 664 0166. 

Tight Lines

Capt. Nick Stanczyk