3/23/11 Florida Keys Tarpon

Capt. Ted Wilson reported... For the last few weeks on my Islamorada Fishing Charters,  I’ve been fishing off and on for tarpon. Success rates have been all over the board.  I had a “three large fish in a half-day outing” with one couple and a painful “no fish for three trips” with a father and son family stinker. Late February to mid-March can be that way. The tarpon fishing in Islamorada can be very good one day and then non-existent the next. The reason for the inconsistency is a function of water temperature.  Water temperature is a function of air temperature, and air temperatures in late February to mid march can be cool. Seventy-five degrees seems to be the magic water temperature reading. Above it your good, below it and all bets are off. 

This leads to the famous question that I get asked over and over again. “When is the best time to come to the Keys to fish for tarpon?” This question has been a hot topic for the Spring Break families that have been the lion’s share of my anglers the last few weeks. They have heard rumors of tarpon being around and for good reason entertain the idea of catching one. Everyone seems to have been briefed that it’s “still a little early” for tarpon, but that still doesn’t stop them from dreaming about catching one on this trip. When the reality of the fisheries inconsistency is experienced, that’s when they pop “the question”.

So, when is the best time to catch a tarpon in the Florida Keys? Let’s start by saying the best time to fish is when you can make time to go do it. The best time to fish for large migratory tarpon in the Florida Keys is when the water temperatures reach and stay above seventy-five degrees Fahrenheit.  That can be as early as mid-March, but usually equates to late March to as late as early April. May is all safe as well as most of June. By the end of June most of the migratory fish have moved on leaving resident stragglers for us to play with all summer. There you have it. April through June is the best time to come down to the Florida Keys to catch a tarpon.

Capt. Ted Wilson



Capt. Vic Gaspeny did report catching 4 tarpon last night fishing late in the evening, so the late and wee hours of the AM are starting to be productive, BIG fish starting to move in!

3/19/11 Florida Keys backcountry fishing half day!

Capt. Rick Stanczyk fished a half day today in the florida keys backcountry.  There was a big mud that's been around for a couple weeks and we caught half a dozen nice size trout in there plus a few smaller ones.  Plenty of ladyfish, some nice sized ones too, jacks, and a nice size bluefish.  Good action close to home about 20 minutes away!  We then set up to catch a shark nearby and put the big rods out.  Soon we hooked a nice size blacktip we drifted down on and caught.  After we reset, one rod started zinging out line - boom - big 80 lb tarpon on!  Unfortunately he jumped crazily and we actually straightened the hook on him, oh well!  We gave it another shot for the last few minutes of our morning and then another shark bite.  Line zinged all over the transom and didn't feel like a big fish, but soon he took off straight behind us and we followed.  A nice 80-90 lb hammerhead, 3rd one I'd caught this week!  We got him up for a picture and released him and headed home!

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

 Captain Ted Wilson also reported this week... Just when we were starting to get used to having tarpon back in the neighborhood again things were turned upside down last week by a late season cool front. But with this week's rising water temperatures the tarpon are starting to move back into their early-season locales. Stewart Sarnac from Jacksonville and wife Angie went two for three tarpon in the 90 to 100 lb range deep into the Islamorada backcountry. Strangely the only bites came on pin fish even though they had a variety of baits to choose from. Whatever their tastes, Islamorada fishing guides like myself are excited to see them back in town and ready to eat.

3/17/11 HOT action islamorada tarpon fishing and sharks!

Capt. Rick Stanczyk fished Todd Belinger and his son today for some great florida keys fishing in Islamorada on March 17, 2011!  We left out early around 7:15 right before the sun starting rising.  We stopped in the back where I've been having luck lately near flamingo and caught plenty of trout, ladyfish, jacks, and a few pompano on the last of the falling tide back there.  Put a big rod out while doing so and caught a few sharks there too.  Once the tide died we moved further up the channel and waited for it to come in.  We caught several more sharks there and had one tarpon bite we missed, then hooked about a 60 lber we landed!  After the the weeds start really rolling through so we moved on a little further out towards the gulf of mexico and fished another deep channel.  Plenty of small blacktips in there we probably caught another 6 of those in there, and another larger 80 lb tarpon right off the bat!  Then we hooked a 150 lb hammerhead that we fought for about 30 minutes and got him up for a picture alongside the boat!  The waters back to normal and getting warmer as we get into spring, the tarpon are getting happier and soon it will be full on!  Florida Tarpon Fishing is spectacular here in Islamorada!

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

3/13/11 Florida Keys Tarpon action plus another big sea monster!

Capt. Rick Stanczyk had Lars, Oscar, and Antoine fishing in islamorada today.  All three are swedes who love to fish!  We caught plenty of trout, ladyfish, and jacks to bend the rod early.  Water temps were still pretty chilly in the mid 60s.  Though they wanted to catch some big stuff so we put the shark rods out.  Within 20 minutes we saw a big bust behind the boat and the BG90 bent over and started zinging line - big 130 lb tarpon!  We fought him for about 30 minutes and Lars landed his first tarpon and it was a lunker!  We fished a while longer though the tide started dying so we moved out further on the edge of the gulf.  Not much action there, one shark bite we missed, so I asked the guys what they wanted to do - bend the rod on smaller stuff or go for the big stuff.  They chose the big stuff, so we ran back to a channel where the water temp had warmed up some in the afternoon sun and put 'em out again.   Same rod bent over again and started slowly taking drag.  I could tell by the action it was something else - we fought it for about 20 minutes again and I started hand-lining it up having the feeling that it was another 'mud marlin' and sure enough it was, about 300 lbs!  We got a good look at him and then he went back to the bottom, and cut us off, but at least we saw him!  Well the guys were happy with their decision, we soon headed back after that.  Not bad for a chilly day in early March!

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

3/10/11 Cold front coming means... great fishing!

Capt. Jim Willcox and Capt. Rick Stanczyk fished a 3/4 day this morning due to the cold front coming today.  The sky turned black and winds were extremely nasty by 12:30 or so.  We had our british group from the UK down and a couple of the guys fancied catching a bonefish, and with the front coming in that was ideal conditions to try some stake up fishing.  Capt. Jim put them on 3 bones this morning, here's a picture of a nice 7 lber!  Part of Capt. Rick's crew wanted to catch a tarpon in a bad way so we ran back into the everglades for that.  Fishing was very good early, caught 1 out of 3 tarpon bites we had, possibly 4, plus a few blacktip sharks and a big nurse shark!  We also caught plenty of trout, ladyfish, jacks while doing so and a few pompano too!