Mid January Backcountry Fishing Report

It was good to get back into town last week after spending a week out in Wyoming skiing where it was getting down to -25 at night... Brrrr!  I've been lucky enough to have fished every day since I got back and we had our first real deal cold front hit us a couple nights before I got back and got down into the 50s here and the water got down around 60.  This led to some good conditions for the backcountry specimens such as black drum, redfish, snook, and sheepshead.  Usually right after these hard fronts, once the water has a chance to warm slightly to mid 60s, fish can stack up in certain areas and lead to some pretty good days on the water.  Most every day I've gotten back into the cape sable area and had good action with some nice size snook, a mix of redfish and black drum, and a few sheepshead.  We got a couple large black drum in the 30 lb range in the last week too... on of my favorite things to catch when its colder.  Brandon and his dad Fred fished with me and had a great day with all those specimens, and Brandon got one of those big lunker drums.  Tony and Rob were with me the other day and we did a mixed bag, catching some mackerels as well.  Jerry and his boys down from NJ were here early in the week as well, with lots of drum and snook.  The gulf fishing has been good though it's been a bit windy so some of the smaller skiffs can't always get out there.  Capt. Mike Bassett and Capt. Mike Venezia both had reported good days at the cape with drum and snook, and M. Bassett had a nice tarpon the other day.  Capt. Jim Willcox today had redfish, snook, sheepshead, and even a juvenile tarpon.  Capt. Vinnie Biondoletti reported a mix of jacks, ladfyish, mackerel, bluefish, and a nice grouper fishing locally around town.  Capt. Bill Bassett has been taking his canoe with one of his regular customers and getting into some nice reds and snook in the very deep shallow creeks in the everglades.  Capt. John Johansen had a mix of snook, redfish, and black drum a few days ago.  Looks like the winds are suppose to lay off throughout the week and maybe by mid week it'll be calm throught the weekend.  This should be great for patch reef fishing and also going into the gulf.  Give us a call if you want to get out on the water, it's a great time of year with the cooler weather to go fishing!  305-664-2461

Capt. Rick Stanczyk

1/8/17 Early January Offshore Fishing Report

We had the first strong cold front of this winter hit us last night here in Islamorada, Florida Keys. It's windy today but I wouldn't be suprised if it sparks the sailfish up. The Catch 22 had a great trip catching and releasing 9 sailfish in one day last week! Most of the boats have still been averaging 1 - 3 bites per trip, and making the bites count has been important. We've seen a couple tuna and a couple stray mahi caught as well while targeting sailfish. 

 Blackfin tuna aboard the "That's Right" 

The shallow water grouper season is closed but some boats have still and caught released a few while targeting yellowtail snapper, mangrove snapper, and mutton snapper. There's been plenty of sharks around too, some eating the snapper before you can get them in the boat. If you want to pull on something big don't be afraid to ask the crew to rig up a shark rod as we've seen a lot of bull sharks and sandbar sharks lately. There's been kingfish around every day and a couple wahoo last week while it was calm. A couple boats found cobias when it was calm, and I bet after this blow we'll see more of them. Barracudas have provided action on the reef as well. 

 

Wahoo on the Kalex 

Big Yellowtail snapper for this junior angler on the Cloud Nine 

Way offshore the Catch 22 made it out on a daytime swordfish trip and went 2 for 4 on broadbill swordfish, with fish in the 60 - 70 lb range. On the 37' Freeman Boatworks "Broad Minded" I made it out on two swordfish trips and we had 1 bite each trip, catching a 75 lber one day and a 331 lb monster the next! We also caught a couple queen snapper on the way out. The swordfishing this winter has been better than usual, so hopefully they stick around. 

 

Give the  marina office a call at 305 664 2461 when you're ready to book your next offshore fishing trip in Islamorada at Bud n' Mary's!!! 

Tight Lines

Capt. Nick Stanczyk 

End of December 2016 Islamorada Deep Sea Fishing Report

Well 2016 came and went awfully quick, but we ended it with some great catches at Bud n' Mary's Marina in Islamorada, Florida Keys!!! The sailfish bite was fair the last 10 days of month, with most boats getting 1 - 3 shots per trip. Making the bites count is the biggest factor inbetween having a great day or a slow day fishing. Remember all of our sailfish are catch and release and the best way to remember them is to get a picture of them in the water, it against federal fishery rules to pull them out for a picture. 

 

We had a couple calm days before the cold front came through last week and we saw some beautiful cobia caught. Some boats had 4 - 5 keepers and the Kalex had a big 66 lber one trip. We should see cobia the next few months, but they are a species of fish that take a lot of patience to look for and we won't get them every day, but when you find them be ready for action! Around the wrecks there's been king mackerel,  a couple blackfin tuna, some amberjack, and a few mutton snapper. The yellowtail snapper bite on the reef has been good overall, including some nice "flags" in the 2 - 3 lb range. Since today is January 1st our shallow water grouper season is closed for the next 4 months, but we were happy to see a few boats catch some keeper black and red grouper the last couple days of December. There's also been some big bull sharks and sandbar sharks if you want a tug of war. 

 

Way offshore I personally did a couple deep drop trips and managed a few queen snapper most trips as well as a couple barrelfish. I also took advantage of the two nice weather days to go swordfishing and the first day we had an epic trip going 6 for 7 on broadbill swordfish including a 292 lber! The next day we went 2 for 3 and got a 280 lber! It was an exciting last couple swordfish trips to end the year. Winter time is my least favorite time for swordfish, but as you can see you never know when you're going to have an epic trip!!! The Cloud Nine also made it out one day and reported a couple bites but unfortunately didn't land them. If swordfishing is on the bucket list, Islamorada is one of the best places in the World to fish for them when the weather is right. 

Tight Lines and Happy New Year!!! Bring on 2017!! Give the marina office a call at 305 664 2461 to book your next fishing charter in the Florida Keys!!! 

Capt. Nick Stanczyk 

12/29/16 Late December Backcountry Fishin' Report

Well here is the last report for the backcountry for the year likely!  Fishing has been good I've been out the last few days and was out of town for christmas to enjoy some time with the wifes family.  Before I left for the holidays on the 21st we had two real good days, with redfish, snook, black drum, and tarpon both days!  Also a nice cobia on one of those days as well.  It's been warm so there has still been a few tarpon around though they aren't happy ever day, but the possibility is there!  Weather is nice since I got back though with it still being very warm and slightly breezy.  Today the wind really dropped off though but we have a cold front coming in tonight to chill it down for a couple days anyways.  The last two days were pretty special we caught a good handful of nice mackerel both days, some pompano in the mix, big jack crevelles, and even some look-downs which are a funny but very pretty looking fish!  Cobias were about on the wrecks we didn't get them to bite yesterday (it was hard getting through the little fish), but today we landed several including a nice 20 lber!  We spent both afternoons catching large stuff including big blacktip sharks, bull sharks, goliath grouper, mud marlin, and more.  The cape was very buggy today we tried a couple spots for snook/reds for a minute, but the bugs drove us out of there pretty quickly.  Also got a nice triple tail today and saw a few yesterday as well.  Yesterday Capt. Mike Venezia had a nice tiger shark, mud marlin, and some mackerel and ladyfish as well.  Today he reported good patch reef fishing with hogfish, porgies, and more.  Capt. Bill Bassett reported lane snappers and mackerels in the gulf yesterday as well as a mud marlin in the chanenls with some sharks.  Capt. Gunner Guthrie reported a good bite on the pathces this morning as well with hogfish, porgies, snappers, and more.  Capt. Mike Bassett yesterday had some mackerel, jacks, and a nice cobia.  Capt. Mike Walter reported some mackerels, bluefish, and pompano both in the morning and afternoons the last couple of days.  All in all it's been a very busy week after xmas like usual, should continue through New Years.  January things usually slow down a bit as we wait for 'season' to kick back up in mid february, so it can be a great time to go fishing and beat the crowds!  If we get some cold weather look for the backcountry to light up with snook, redfish, drum, and more.

Capt. Rick Stanczyk

12/21/16 Islamorada December Offshore Fishing Report

It's been a warm winter so far here while offshore fishing in Islamorada in December. I'm not sure when it will cool down, but fortunately the fish haven't minded! We are fishing the edge of the reef this time of year, so the average distance from shore we are fishing is 3 - 5 miles. Last weekend was the Islamorada Junior Sailfish Tournament and Capt. Paul Ross fished his kids on the Relentless charterboat, and they had a great day the first day releasing 6 sailfish and followed up with 1 more release on the second day. They finished in 2nd place with 7 releases over the weekend. Congrats!!! Most boats have  been getting 1 - 3 sailfish bites on their trips, but making the bites count is how you have a great day. There was a couple slower days on the sails as well, with just a couple caught amongst the fleet. I think we'll get another good push of them as soon as we get some colder weather to fire them up. 

 

There's been an assortment of other pelagic species eating the live baits while kite fishing, slow trolling, and bottom fishing. We've seen a couple mahi, blackfin tuna, kingfish, wahoo, barracuda, shark, crevalle jack, amberjack, mutton snapper, yellowjack, and more. The yellowtail snapper bite has been steady as well, so if you want some fresh for dinner keep that in mind. 

 

It's harder to make it out 30 - 40 miles swordfishing this time of year with the higher winds on average as compared to summer time, but I did make it out on a couple swordfish trips on the "Broad Minded". One trip we landed a big 299 lb swordfish with Paul, and the next trip I had Joe out and we had a 150 lb swordfish close to the boat one time, but pulled the hook a little while later. The Catch 22 fished a couple days after that but unfortunately reported no bites. We also did a little deep dropping on one trip and had some barrelfish up to 25 lbs as well as a couple queen snapper. 

 

Christmas week is going to be a busy one here in Islamorada, so give the Marina office a call at 305 664 2461 to book your fishing trip while you're down here! The sooner the better because the fleet is filling up fast! Also make sure to check out Bud n' Mary's Outfitters while you're here, we have a bunch of Outdoor Apparel and accessories! 

Capt. Nick Stanczyk