1/17/12 More january snook fishing in Islamorada!

Capt. Rick Stanczyk fished with John down from DC area today on 1/17/12 for a little birthday getaway january islamorada fishing trip.  We left out at daybreak loaded with shrimp and a few pinfish, though will come to find the pins were not really needed.  Water temps still chilly in the backcountry from another front we had a few days ago, winds have kicked around from the east at 15 mph, but very nice on the back side.  First stop John grabs a rod with a jig and casts it out baitless while I turn around to get shrimp out of the well.  He starts jigging and before you know it a big old snook SLAMS it!  Ultra light tackle, we fought him for over 10 minutes, luckily John is a skilled angler and knows when/how to apply the right pressure.  We finally get him to the boat, nice 15 lb florida keys snook!  He insists I make a few casts too, and I hook a nice snook after that as well, not quite as big but just as fun!  We caught about 10 in all, along with lots of sheepshead and jacks.  After the tide quits and starts falling, we jump around a bit and hit a few trees and drains along the shorelines.  Pick away catching a few reds and black drum, several trout in one area, and of course more sheepshead.  By noon we make our way to some channels a little closer to home.  Loaded up with big trout and bluefish.  Several trout get eaten by some of the big blues, pretty cool to see!  We catch several nice slot trout and keep three for dinner, then head home!  Fantastic day fishing in islamorada!  John has two more full days booked, so will try some different stuff at least for one of them. 

Capt. Rick Stanczyk
305-747-6903
rick@seethefloridakeys.net

1/14/12 1/15/12 Fishing the Everglades in January after cold front!

Capt. Jim Willcox ran back to the cape yesterday on 1/14/12 after another front came through Islamorada and chilled things down.  Many guys struggled on half day islamorada fishing charters as the wind mixed the bay up pretty bad and the cold weather the night before shut some fish down.  In the deeper canals and creeks they caught several redfish, black drum, and sheepshead.  Saw some crocodiles as well as had some bull sharks eating the drums!  Today Capt. Rick Stanczyk had similar fishing with Andy and his sons Conrad and Derek. We caught several black drum and a few sheepshead.  The bite wasn't red hot we kept hopping from spot to spot, picking a few fish from each and moving on.  We ran back to some run-offs around noon time and caught plenty more reds to finish the day out strong.  The crocs were thick in one of the run-off creeks in the cape canal, we saw 4 of them, one we idled right up to and he didn't moved, but posed nicely for a picture!  Hopefully after the weekend now there won't be near as much boat traffic back there, and better fishing in the everglades!  I also saw that the party boat, Miss Islamorada Capt. Ben Loy, had loads of kingfish from the afternoon today!  Remember no matter what the conditions florida keys fishing in january, there's always something you can do to bend the rod!

1/11/12 Florida keys backcountry fishing january!

Well the threat of weather loomed all day long in the backcountry fishing islamorada today.  Luckily it never got bad on the water till everybody got home safe!  Capt. Jim Willcox reported lots of mackerels on bait and fly in the bay, also caught limit of snappers and a nice cobia on a live grunt.  They finished the day catching trout in the ditches in the everglades.  Capt. Rick Stanczyk reported similar fishing though we started fishing the ditches in the glades for trout which was good.  Fished around the cape area after that caught a few red and black drum and a big ray on a light spin rod, though not red hot in there.  Finished the day in the bay and found a nice hole caught 4 nice red groupers, a couple mutton snappers, mangrove snappers, porgies, mackerels, trout, and sharks in.  Had a good breeze out of the south most of the day and the rain came around 3:00, though suppose to be nicer tomorrow!  Great january fishing in the florida keys!

1/10/12 Winter time backcountry fishing in Islamorada Florida Keys

Capt. Rick Stanczyk had the McGradys out today for a father-son retirement fishing trip!  Fishing has been pretty good overall in the backcountry especiallying fishing in flamingo.  We ran to that area and headed even further towards the cape and fished a few areas which have been pretty good as of late.  Seems the fish have been pretty beat up I've seen lots of boats sitting in there.  We poked around a few spots and had to work hard at it.  Between getting eaten alive by bugs on the boat and catfish on our baits, we finally got into a few good fish.  Several nice black drum along with a few other jacks, ladyfish, trout, etc...  We put a shark rod out and also caught a nice bull shark.  Saw a handful of tarpon rolling but they did not seem interested in eating.  When the tide quit we ran back towards flamingo to catch the end of the tide and fished some runoffs.  Not much to talk about there, did catch one little red and a nice snook on pinfish at the end that made it worth while.  Brian also caught a double header seagull and redfish at the same time - not what he was expecting!  Finished the day where we had a good bite of trout the other day, they were still there caught several nice size specs, along with jacks, pompano, and you guessed it - more catfish!  The guys had a blast though and our fishing with Capt. Nick Stanczyk offshore on Thursday.  They also are already planning a spring/summer trip for tarpon!

Capt. John Johansen reported a similar bite near the east cape area.  Capt. Mike Bassett reported a good mackerel bite on the edge of the gulf, good to know those fish are back as they had shut down due to the cold we experienced about a week ago.

Capt. Rick Stanczyk
305-747-6903
rick@seethefloridakeys.net

1/8/12 Bonefish light up in Islamorada, oceanside!

Capt. Vinnie Biondoletti reported loads of islamorada bonefish today on 1/8/12. The bonefish came out this afternoon and were moving on the Oceanside flats. Some of the schools had as many as fifty fish in them. His anglers Mike and Cliff Moore caught a nice bonefish while losing another on bait and one on fly. Not bad for their first bonefish trip.  Very cool thing to see the cooler water in the bay driving these fish down the oceanside, not a condition you find on your every day trip for islamorada flats fishing! Capt. Rick Stanczyk reported a good bite of redfish on his half day today they caught about 2 dozen and a few trout on his florida keys fishing trip.  Still low water in the back leaving many flats exposed and fish stacked up in some areas on the end of the tides.