4/11/12 Winds lay down.. major gulf/backcountry action!

The winds subsided the last couple of days to flat calm, giving some new options on florida keys backcountry charters.  Capt. Jim Willcox fished the gulf the last few days, running far back 30-40 miles to some wrecks.  They had some big sharks, goliath groupers, cobia, permit, and tripletail.  Capt. Rick Stanczyk fished off the cape, reporting several big sharks, mud marlins, and a big tarpon today.  They also caught plenty of big trout and tripletail on the way home.  Capt. Vinnie Biondoletti also had a nice goliath grouper and cobia today.  Many of the guides ran the trap buoys out west and the tripletails were pretty thick.  Lots of options, this is the time of year for great islamorada permit fishing in the gulf of mexico!.  The tides are right for evening tarpon fishing here the next several nights.. get out there and go fishing for tarpon in islamorada!!!

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!

1/28/12 Good Backcountry Fishing in Flamingo

Bob and Bobby Joyce from Boston went out on a full day in the backcountry with Capt. Vinnie Biondoletti a few days ago. They fished in the Flamingo area catching trout, redfish, and Blackdrum. They also caught black drum and a snook!  Capt. Skip Nielsen reported a good bite of tarpon the other day in the backcountry with Cliff Fox, they caught 4 out of 6!  Capt. Rick Stanczyk reported a good spanish mackerel bite on the edge of the gulf yesterday, they caught a boat load, plus mangrove snappers, trout, and pompano.  They jumped a couple tarpon they couldn't get to stay on, but did catch a couple 100lb bull sharks!  The tarpon may thin out again for a few days since we had a drop in temperature, but after it warms up again for a few days it should be game on! 

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.

1/8/12 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.