4/4/12 April backcountry tarpon fishing lights up!

April tarpon fishing in Islamorada lit up in the backcountry today for Capt. Rick Stanczyk on 4/4/12.  Had Rob Gottlieb and Lee Wasserman down, regular who have fished with me the last several years.  Last October they came and we caught some nice redfish, black drum, snook, snappers, trout, and pompano.  Lee also caught a nice bonefish on the next day which was rainy/windy.  This time they were here for the big tarpon.  We fished last night for some florida keys night tarpon fishing.  The bite was fair for the conditions, being in-tide and very weedy.  We had 2 good strikes on the mullets up top which we did not hook up with, and did end up catching on a ladyfish.  Today we did a 3/4 day, fished the bay and caught snappers for dinner, trout, and a few ladyfish.  Headed further into the backcountry for the last 1.5 hours and it was game-on for big tarpon!  We caught 3 out of 4, missing one which grabbed the shark rod.  All nice fish in the 80-100 lb range, which jumped and went absolutely nuts allowing for quick catches since they tired very fast.  These fish seemed to be fresh in from the gulf, very good to see them!  I hope they stick around back there for a while!  Florida keys tarpon fishing in April is prime time, so come on down!

Islamorada tarpon fishing in April!

Capt. Skip Nielsen reported for the past week islamorada tarpon fishing...

I had Bryce Henderson from Leeds, England out for five Tarpon fishing sessions this past week. On the first 4 trips he caught 2 Tarpon each time. On the last trip he had fantastic action catching and releasing 5 Tarpon. All the fish were caught using Foxsportfishing Tackle on live Mullet for bait.

Last night, Capt. Rick Stanczyk had Nick and John Hodge, they each caught a big tarpon and had a couple others eat knock off our mullets.  The fish did bite early on the in tide which was good, water was very clear you could see them laying on the bottom all around the bridges. Capt. Vinnie Biondoletti also had some successful nights tarpon fishing this past week, again mostly on live mullet, as did Capt. John Johansen, Capt. Mike Bassett, and Capt. Jeff Beeler.  Tarpon fishing in April is prime time.  The fish our feeding on mullet during the days, crabs will still work but usually better around sunset/sunrise or when it's dark.  Live mullet is available through Richie now, check at Bud n' Mary's and they can put you in touch!  Get on out for some florida keys night tarpon fishing!

4/25/11 Great night fishing tarpon islamorada action!

Capt. Rick Stanczyk brought his father, Capt. Richard Stanczyk Sr., and girlfriend Elizabeth Baxter out for an evening tarpon trip on 4/25/11.  Elizabeth hadn't yet caught a large tarpon so we were out to put her on one!  We caught some mullet out of a huge ball of bait nearby, big tarpon and purpoises were busting on them which was really exciting to watch!  Unfortunately this made fishing nearby pretty tough so we ran down the road to one of Richard Sr's old favorite spots.  We had one good bite on a mullet though we missed him just before sunset.  We made another drift and ran back towards home to a local channel close by to Bud n' Mary's.  We had a bite within 5 minutes on our first drift and Elizabeth caught her first tarpon - a nice 50 lb fish that didn't jump we thought might have been a permit.  We made another drift and hooked a larger fish, a nice 90 lber that we were able to keep the light on and see some cool jumps out of!  After this we headed home.  Fishing was good from sunset on, with the tide running late into the evening. 

4/18/11 How fishing can change overnight!

Capt. Rick Stanczyk had part of the big english group for their last day of backcountry fishing in the florida keys.  They ran far out in the middle of nowhere again where their were tarpon and permit everywhere yesterday.  Today was a different story, the fish all disappeared!  They tried two spots, did catch some nice jacks and on the fly as well.  Also caught a big bull shark they fowl hooked.  The winds started to pick up and they headed back towards Islamorada to tarpon fish for their last hour.  After making a few ocean side drifts, they headed back into a bayside channel.  After some lobster pot complications, they reset for their final drift, and one cork went under.  Rick yelled, "Reel!"  Came tight on a big 120 lb tarpon, which did make a few nice jumps.  We caught him and then headed home - a good end to a tough day of fishing!!!  Capt. Bill Bassett caught another one on fly today as well with some other members of this group!

4/14/11 Florida Keys Tarpon Charters today!

Our regular brits from the U.K. came for their 3rd trip in 6 months with a large group of 8 guys.  They have 4 guides booked for 5 days and today was the first day of fishing!  They stay right at Bud n' Mary's and love the atmosphere, the captains, and of course the fishing!  Capt. Rick Stanczyk, Capt. Bill Bassett, Capt. Jeff Beeler, and Capt. Dave Sisung fished them for some Islamorada tarpon today and all had success!  Everybody caught a tarpon, Capt. Dave caught 2, and Capt. Bill caught one on fly!  Capt. Rick also caught several blacktip sharks, and some huge nurse sharks one which was almost 300 lbs!  Great action today and more to come I'm sure over the next 4 days!!!  We are hoping to mix up some of the fishing so look for some different things happening! The tarpon were everywhere we stopped today, so get your bookings in now while the fishing is still hot!!!