4/18/17 Mid April Reef and Offshore fishing report

Sorry for skipping last weeks Islamorada fishing report, but I'm back in town and will have the weekly report up the rest of the spring and summer. The past week has been pretty windy in Islamorada, but it hasn't stopped all the boats from getting offshore, or atleast to the edge of the reef. The Spring time is a transitional time of year here, and the fishing changes day to day, but if you're ready for what's biting you can have a great day on the water. Earlier in the month there was a handful of days of great sailfishing, when they were "tailing" down a color change. The Reel McCoy and Kalex both got in on the action and had 11 releases on a single trip, and many boats had a handful of them. There was a couple cobia in the mix as well. The current died out, the wind switched a little, the water color changed, so those conditions faded, but I was happy to hear that some people experienced it. It could still happen again anytime the rest of the month or even next, we'll just have to wait and see. 

Some boats have continued to go offshore and the mahi are definitely starting to show up. They aren't thick yet, but a couple boats that braved it out had 8 - 10 fish yesterday, including schoolies and a few gaffers up to 12 lbs. Last week a few boats had some "slammers" over 20 lbs. It should only get better as we near summer. There has been some "football" blackfin tunas on the humps as well as just migrating in the gulfstream. Amberjacks are on the humps and wrecks as well, but a few spots are loaded with sharks so you have to be aggressive to get the fish up. 

The reef has been good for yellowtail snapper, with a few mangrove and mutton snapper in the mix. Grouper season opens May 1st, and everyone is hoping the grouper stick around. Almost all the boats that have bottom fished lately have reported releasing nice size black grouper with a couple red grouper. I think we will continue to see a couple sailfish here and there, but probably not with the consistency we see in the winter. The permit have been on a couple wrecks just oustide the reef, so if you're lucky and the school of fish is happy you might get in on the action. 

The Catch 22 made it out on a few daytime swordfish trips the last couple weeks, Catching 1 fish on each of their first two trips and pulling the hooks on a fish the last trip. The rest of the year is prime time to try your luck at a broadbill swordfish, and we have plenty of boats ready to give it a shot! 

Give the marina office a call at 305 664 2461 to book your next Islamorada Offshore fishing charter and we'll set you up with a great boat! Either fishing the reef or going offshore will be options the upcoming weeks! 

Tight Lines, 

Capt. Nick Stanczyk 

3/31/17 End of March deep sea fishing report

I'm currently out of town but I wanted to give everybody an updated fishing report for the recent deep sea fishing off Islamorada at the end of March 2017. Boats have been on the reef and wrecks for the most part, with a couple venturing further offshore. On the reef there's been a good bite of yellowtail snapper witha few mutton snapper in the mix. The gon fishin v had a mutton that weighed 18 lbs on a recent charter. Some king mackerel have been around too. There's been a lot of black grouper caught and released, hopefully they stick around till May 1st when season opens up again. Some cobia finally showed up for a few days, with fish in the 20 - 45 lb range. There's been a few sailfish around most days, but we are nearing the end of the season when we catch them with consistency. This is typical spring time fishing with a variety of fish being caught, and conditions changing on a daily basis. If the wind and current line up just right expect some good sailfish and cobia action. A few boats ran into some mahi, and we should only start seeing more each passing week. There was a good run of blackfin tuna both outside the reef and on the humps offshore. The Catch 22 caught a nice swordfish one day last week that weighed in at 139 lbs. Things have been busy at the marina but give them a call to get in on the action! 305 664 2461 to book your fishing charter!

Tight Lines 

Capt. Nick Stanczyk 

3/19/17 March Offshore/Reef fishing report

We had a pretty strong cold front last week with temperatures in the high 50's. I really was hoping it would spark the sailfish bite, but there was just a few here and there for the offshore fleet. The Reel McCoy had 3 releases one trip, a handful of boats had 1 fish on a couple trips, and a lot of boats put in a few hours a day targeting sailfish without any luck. If the current and wind line up just right we should see some big numbers if we get our "spring time tailing condition", but we can't predict the conditions and if/when it will happen. I'm sure we'll continue to see a few sails here and there. A lot of king mackerel moved in the past week, with a few really nice size ones in the mix. There's been some in the mid 30 lb class and Gimme Jimmy weighed a 40 lber. We've seen a few mahi and blackfin tuna as well. This time of year we usually see a little bit of everything, but not always a ton of one thing. There's been amberjacks on the wrecks and humps, as well as some sharks for fun. 

The bottom fishing has been very steady. Some boats have caught giant yellowtail snapper up to 6 lbs and mangrove snappers up to the same size! There's also been a few mutton snapper in the mix. I'm hoping the grouper stick around till May 1 st, because a lot of boats have reported catching and releasing some nice black and red grouper. A couple boats also found schools of cobia, and hopefully we see more and more of them the next few weeks. We've seen a ton of barracuda on the reef too. 

Give the marina office a call when you're ready to book your Islamorada Offshore fishing charter and we'll set you up! 305 664 2461 

Tight Lines 

Capt. Nick Stanczyk 

3/13/17 Early and Mid March Deep Sea Fishing Report

We're in full swing for "season" now here in Islamorada. Lots of boats have been fishing every day as tons of people are down on spring break and on vacation. A couple weeks ago we had a few days of very windy weather where all the boats canceled their trips, but the past few days have been nice. We have a late season cold front on its way now, but it shouldn't affect us too bad. Now that it's spring here we are seeing a wide variety of fish on the edge of the reef. For a few days we had a color edge with blue water meeting dirty greenish/white water. There was strong east current on the blue side and very little current on the dirty side. We call this a tailing conditiion, and tons of different fish migrate down the waves.  We saw a pretty good bite of sailfish for four days, a few cobia, some scattered mahi, a few wahoo, blackfin tuna, and the Relentless even caught a big white marlin on it! The conditions faded the last couple days with the wind switch and current dying out, but now that we are in the transitional period of fishing here each day can be very different. 

The bottom bite has been good almost every trip. A couple days the yellowtail bite slowed down, but most of the boats haven't had any problems catching a bucket full for dinner. We've seen a few more mutton snapper than I expected lately as well, and a couple real big ones in the mix. Grouper season opens May 1st, so we have been releasing the black and red grouper we've been catching. Amberjacks are open for harvest now, so we've seen a handful on the dock since March 1st. A lot of people release the amberjacks too. 

Way offshore I made it out on two daytime swordfish trips. One trip was very slow without any bites, and the other trip we fought a big fish for 45 minutes and unfortunately pulled the hook. We did get a few big queen snapper one trip too.  I'm hoping this cold front sparks the sailfish bite again the next few days. There's been some big sharks caught and released lately and we've seen quite a few king mackerel on the dock. Give the marina office a call at 305 664 2461 when you're ready to book you're Islamorada Fishing Trip and we'll set you up on a great boat! 

Tight Lines

Capt. Nick Stanczyk 

Late February 2017 Reef Fishing Report

February 2017 came to a close yesterday but not without a few good fish hitting the dock! We could a nice 35 lb kingfish aboard the Catch 22, and both the Kalex and Reel McCoy each had a sailfish release. There has been a lot of kingfish the past week here, mostly in the 4 - 12 lb range, but you never know when that big smoker is gonna bite! 

 

The sailfish bite has definitely been on and off the past week. For example, the Catch 22 fished 3 days in a row, losing 1 the first day, releasing 9 of 10 the second, and losing a couple the last day. Making the bites count is the most important thing, and you never really know what day they are going to snap! The Indigenous also had a good day last week with his angler catching his first ever sailfish (4 of them) and then the next day reported a few bites but unfortunately they all got away. A little bit of luck always helps, but the tough days make you appreciate the good days. Most of the boats have been getting 1 - 2 sailfish bites per full day trip if they put their time in. It looks like we have another strong cold front coming this weekend, so hopefully that stirs up the sailfish and gets them going. We haven't seen the cobia like expected, but hopefully any day they show up! 

 

The snapper bite has been pretty decent most days on the reef with yellowtails, mangroves, and a couple muttons. Offshore there's been some big amberjack up to 60 lbs as well as some almaco jack up to 30 lbs. We've seen a couple blackfin tuna the last few days, but nothing like it was a week ago with the calm weather when some boats had 10 - 15 fish. The bait that was plentiful disspeared with the wind, but you never know when it will show back up and the condiditions may get right to make the run back offshore to the humps. There's also been a stray wahoo here and there and hopefully around the next full moon we saw some more.

 

Way offshore I made it out on 1 daytime swordfish trip before the wind started and Tom and Joey landed their first ever swordfish, around 100 lbs. The spring time is when some of the biggest swords have been caught off Islamorada, so if the weather is right (not super windy), keep that in the back of your mind if you want to take a gamble. 

 

Give the marina office a call at 305 664 2461 when you're ready to book your next Islamorada Fishing charter. Remember we are in "season" now, so the sooner you call to book the more likely we can accommodate your schedule. 

Capt. Nick Stanczyk