5/25/16 May Backcountry Fishing Report

We've had some summer time weather the last few days with it slicking off and getting right.  Tarpon fishing has been hit or miss still as has been the case for much of the season.  However we did have some good daytime fishing yesterday both in the backcountry and locally around the bridges.  Capt. Jeff Beeler and Capt. Rick Stanczyk both reported good tarpon action the last several days in the backcountry.  Capt. Jim Willcox has been getting into some nice snook in the everglades as well as some tarpon back there.  Capt. Bill Bassett has reported some tarpon on fly the last few days and has seen quite a few fish moving every day on the ocean side of islamorada.  Capt. John Johansen has reported some tarpon action around town during the mornings and evenings in Islamorada.  Capt. Timmy Arce reported having good fishing a few days ago with the west wind down around long key bridge for tarpon, as did Capt. Mike Venezia and Capt. Gunner Guthrie.  Tarpon season is still in full swing and the summer time can be very good as well especially in the everglades backcountry.  June is still a very good month for all kinds of things down here!

Capt. Rick Stanczyk

5/24/16 Islamorada deep Sea Fishing Report

We had some gorgeous weather here the past week while deep sea fishing in Islamorada! We also saw the mahi bite really pick up, so that was great news! A lot of boats had 20 - 30 fish on their recent trips, but a few boats still just had a handful. The mahi have been averaging 3 - 10 lbs, but there's been a few in the 15 - 25 lb range too. There's also been quite a few "football" size blackfin tuna on the humps, as well as some amberjacks. We got lucky one day and released a 100 lb blue marlin aboard the "Broad Minded", which goes to show you that when you're trolling anything can happen! There's also been a couple sailfish released the past week. There's also been some tripletail around the floating debris offshore. 

 

A handful of boats have been doing some deep drop bottom fishing in 300 - 600' of water and they've caught blueline tilefish (we are only allowed 1 per boat now), snowy grouper, rose porgy, and even a couple barrelfish! 

 

Back on the reef the yellowtail snapper bite has been decent overall, with a few really good days when the conditions were right, and of course a couple slower days when the current and wind didn't cooperate. There's been a few grouper still around, and they are just like any other fish, where they bite good one day and not the next. Most of them have been black grouper from 10 - 25 lbs, and there's been a couple red groupers mixed in. 

 

Way offshore a few of us have been out daytime swordfishing, and there's been fish around! Capt. Charlie on the Bn'M had a 195 lber a couple days ago, we tagged and released a couple juveniles yesterday, and Capt. Travis had a 90 lber yesterday. We also had some fish at 110 lbs and a 170 over the weekend. 

 

We are super excited that this weekend will be the "Grand Opening" of our Bud n' Mary's Outfitters store!!! We have the largest selection of Pelagic fishing gear in the Florida Keys, a bunch of YETI products, custom Columbia products, and a lot more Bud n' Mary's Shirts and Hats! So swing on in and check it out!!! 

 

Give the marina office a call at 305 664 2461 to book your next fishing trip in the Florida Keys, and don't forget we have hotel rooms and houseboats for you to stay on while fishing with us! 

Tight Lines, 

Capt. Nick Stanczyk 

This fishing report brought to you by YETI! 

5/18/16 Mid May Offshore and Reef Fishing report

We've had some up and down fishing here in Islamorada, Florida Keys the past week.  A week ago it seemed like the mahi were going to be thick for the upcoming days, but sure enough they were hit and miss. A few boats did ok with anywhere from 10 - 20 fish, but some boats fished full days without ever finding one, and a few boats had 1 - 2 fish all day long. Not what we were expecting for the second week of May! It is fishing though, so it's you have to take the good days with the bad days. Last Saturday we hosted the 4th annual "Gotta Luv Them Charity Dolphin Tournament". The crew aboard the ''Broad Minded" finished in 2nd place with 43 lbs lbs for a 3 fish weight, and Helen took top lady angler. The big fish of the tournament went to the "Gimme Jimmy" with a 20 lber. The Florida Keys Dolphin Championship also took place over the weekend and Helen took top female angler in the Islamorada district as well, and "Gimme Jimmy" took second place in the Islamorada District with a 25 lber. We are coming up to the May full moon so hopefully we get some east to southeast wind and the dolphin (mahi) fishing gets more consistent for all the boats fishing. 

 

There's also been a couple wahoo offshore, some amberjack on the wrecks and humps, and a few blackfin tuna. A couple boats have been doing a little deep drop bottom fishing as well and the Warbird landed a big 34 lb yellowedge grouper on Mother's Day, and Capt. Nick spent all day doing it one day and found a monster 34.2 lb Golden Tilefish! There's also been a couple snowy grouper, blueline tilefish, and Capt. Wes got a queen snapper on a recent trip. 

 

The reef was on fire for a few days, but then conditions changed and it was a little tough yesterday. The few days prior we had strong east current and the sailfish showed up out of no where. The Relentless had 5 releases one day, the Cloud Nine and Reel McCoy had 4 releases a few days ago, and quite a few boats had 1 - 2 releases. It's definitely late in the season for sailfish, but you never know what the conditions will be when fishing off Islamorada! There's been some permit around, as well as a few black grouper, mutton snapper, and yellowtail snapper. 

Way offshore a couple of us made it out daytime swordfishing. Yesterday the Bn'M went 2 for 3 with fish up to 120 lbs. I fished on Monday and we caught a 170 lber. Give the marina office a call at 305 664 2461 when you're ready to book your next fishing adventure and we'll set you up with the best available boat! 

Tight Lines

Capt. Nick Stanczyk 

This fishing report brought to you by YETI! 

5/12/16 May Backcountry Fishing in Islamorada

For the most part it's starting to feel like summer time now however we did just have a late cold front several days ago that chilled things down quite a bit.  Air temps got in the 60s at night and the water temps dipped to the low 70s in the backcountry which did really shuffle the deck on our fishing for several days.  Things now have warmed back up and seem to be back to normal.  Tarpon has still been the target for most guides and anglers and shall be for a little while more to come.  The best way to describe the season so far is inconsistent that is for sure.  There has been windows when fishing has been good and the tarpon have been cooperative but there have definietly been a lot of times when it's tough and you are working hard to just scratch out a bite or two on a trip.  It's not been uncommon to come up empty handed at the end of an outing unfortunately so if you have the opportunity it may be best to book several trips or try day and evening as that gives you more time on the water and different tides, conditions, etc... to be there at the right time.  Anyways we've had tarpon action on most of our trips though we have had a few strike outs in the last couple weeks.  I had good activity on several early morning trips landing multiple fish the last few trips.  After a few tougher days in the backcountry where we were able to eek out a catch with a variety of sharks, smaller things like trout, snapper, etc... Today we had a good day mixing it up in the backcountry with snook, tarpon, trout, snapper, cobia, and shark and that was nice!  The stepan polymers corporate group is here and they've fished multiple guides every day including Capt. Dave Sisung, Capt. Perry Scuderi, Capt. Vinnie Biondoletti, Capt. Ted Wilson, and others.  Everyone has been mixing it up a bit and doing different things but mangrove snappers have been a go-to for table fare, and some tarpon, sharks, and big cudas for larger things to pull on most days.  Capt. Jim Willcox had some good action in the backountry a few days ago with several snook and a nice tarpon.  Capt. Skip Nielsen has been on the tarpon and had some snook and redfish mixing it up in the backcountry the other day as well.  Today Capt. Bill Bassett had a nice tarpon in the afternoon fishing locally, as well as cobia and a few tripletail in the gulf.  Capt. John Johansen has been catching some tarpon as well as some big sharks in the backcountry.  Anyways it was nice to have normal weather today for this time of year and things look to be stabalizing for the rest of the week.  Summer time fishing is one of my personal favorite times of year and there is a lot less pressure on many of the fisheries in the coming months which can mean good fishing for you while you are out there!

Capt. Rick Stanczyk

5/11/16 Deep Sea fishing in May in Islamorada

We've had boats fishing both the reef and offshore here in Islamorada lately. Offshore the mahi bite has been fair overall. A few days the fishing was great and all the boats found plenty of fish, and some of the days the fishing was tough with just a handful of fish around. Hopefully it continues to get more consistent soon. We are also hosting the 4th annual gotta luv them charity dolphin tournament this Saturday (May 14th), so if you want to fish it for a little added excitement, sign up on Friday afternoon! If you already have a charter booked call your captain to discuss! We've seen fish from 3 - 25 lbs lately, and last week the Gimme Jimmy said fishing was tough overall, with just a handful of fish over two days, but they finished with this monster Bull that weighed in at 43.4 lbs! 

43.4 lb bull dolphin aboard the Gimme Jimmy 

The blackfin tuna showed up in good numbers on the humps lately too. Most of them are "footballs" from 3 - 7 lbs, and there has been a few in the 15 - 20 lb range as well. There's still some amberjacks on the bottom, and they can be as big as 50 lbs, or even more! A few sharks are still out there following the schools of amberjack too. 

On the reef we've seen lots of yellowtail snapper, a few mutton snapper, and a handful of black grouper caught. The grouper bite is always the best the first few days of season (it opened May 1st), but if you put your time in on the reef and wrecks anytime this month you'll have a good shot at catching a couple. Making the bites count is key, not letting them get back into the bottom where they break you off. There's also been a few permit around on the wrecks. The sailfish bite has dwindled down, but there's still a chance of always catching one. 

Capt. Travis from "the Indigenous" with a big black grouper 

The sharks nipped this big permit aboard Relentless 

Fat 35 lb black grouper from the Buzz On 

Mutton snapper from team Kalex 

Further offshore a few boats have been "deep drop" bottom fishing in 400 - 600' of water and we've seen a few really nice yellowedge groupers and a few blueline tilefish. Current regultions only allow us to keep one tilefish per boat (where it used to be 3 per person), so make it a nice one when you catch one. 

Big yellowedge grouper from 600' of water on Bn'M 

Way offshore there still continues to be some swordfish, as both the "Broad Minded" and "Catch 22" each had a fish around 70 lbs on their last trips. A few days prior the "Broad Minded" had a 247 lber too. 

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

Tight Lines, 

Capt. Nick Stanczyk