1/20/12 Monster Black Drum in the Everglades!

Capt. Rick Stanczyk fished John again for his last day here on 1/20/12.  Did another full day back in the 'glades for some more january islamorada fishing.  The water temperatures had warmed up considerably, however there was another mass of cold air all the way up from north florida that made it a chilly ride back there.  The fish didn't seem to mind though, we fished some deep canals and run-offs.  Lots of black drum with a few ladyfish and jacks mixed in at first.  Shrimps on jigs were working as they usually do on our florida keys fishing charters, but the best bet was a shrimp on the bottom with a 1 oz lead and circle hook.  As the tied slowed the fishing got a little better, and before we left we had slow heavy bite on the bottom rod.  John picked it up and wound tight as the rod bent over and drag started slowly peeling off.  Didn't know if we were gonna stop the fish, finally turned him and he started thumping very hard.  Came up to the surface half a dozen times, creating some major turbulance as he went back down.  Finally boated him after 10 minutes, big old black drum, close to 30 lbs!  After that we headed further back up the cape to check out some new scenery, fished a few other creeks and caught some more reds, sheepshead, and a few big trout with the high incoming tide.  Also one nice red drum out of a drain!  Once tied died we ran back home, wind had kicked around out of the east and was pretty snotty, but not too bad of a wind direction for back there.  Beautiful day here for this islamorada fishing guide!  Capt. Mike Bassett reported a similar bite of black drums and reds, they also lost a big snook in the mangroves and caught a couple smaller ones.  Capt. Vinnie Biondoletti reported lots of black drum, and Capt. Jim Willcox reported a good bite of reds and some nice trout to end his day.

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

1/10/12 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

1/6/12 Islamorada snook fishing in January!

Capt. Rick Stanczyk fished a full day today and headed back into the everglades early.  Yesterday some big schools of snook showed up way in the back, likely from this cold weather driving them down from the gulf coast of florida.  These fish were there today for our islamorada snook fishing trip.  We set up early, leaving the dock by 7 AM.  Shrimp was the bait of choice hooked through the horns on troll-rites, as the water was still cold.  Fish bit all through the end of the falling tide, slack tide, and the in tide.  We never moved all day, probably caught close to 40 snook, several nice size specimens such as these.  Also about a dozen redfish, handful of larger ones.  A couple black drum, trout, and sheepshead!  Aside from a few other boats running in on top of us and pratically casting into our boat, it was a great day on the water!  Come on down for some january fishing in islamorada!

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

1/5/12 Great fishing the everglades in islamorada

Capt. Rick Stanczyk and Capt. Mike Bassett both fished deep in the everglades today on their florida keys fishing trips.  The water/wind was still pretty cold, the air not quite as cold as yesterday but the water hasn't had a chance to warm.  We fished some deeper channels and the redfish and blackdrum were loaded up again today.  A few nice size ones plus lots of smaller ones, great fun light tackle fishing islamorada.  Capt. Mike also found a big school of snook and caught several dozen nice size ones like this!  Hopefully they will stick around a few more days the cold weather likely drove those fish down from the northern gulf coast of florida!