4/1/16 April Backcountry Fishing Report Islamorada

April is here and tarpon are too! The bite is getting a little more consistent as the fish start to settle in.  March was a bit up and down with the various wind direction changes and a couple late cold fronts, but now things are starting to be a little more predictable at least which means better fishing for all anglers!  Capt. Rick Stanczyk has reported good tarpon fishing the last several days he landed multiple fish the last few trips though a few days before that things were a little tougher he had missed opportunities on a couple of those days though still ended up catching a variety of sharks and various other critters.  Capt. Vinnie Biondoletti has been on the tarpon too also his young angler a couple days ago landed his first tarpon as well as a big jack crevelle.  Capt. Skip Nielsen has been on the tarpon long time angler Deb Riolo had a nice large tarpon yesterday afternoon.  Capt. Bill Bassett has had some tarpon and shark action the last few days and he has alsot still been picking away at some tripletails.  His anglers also got on some bonefish late last month on a very windy day.  Capt. Jim Willcox had a good day landing multiple tarpon several days ago and he also got some backcountry action going a few days ago with redfish and snook.  Capt. Mike Bassett had a jumbo goliath grouper the other day and a couple nice tarpon today.  Capt. John Johansen has been on the tarpon and sharks as well lately.  Anyways it is tarpon time and that is what most guides are fishing for these days, come on down April is prime time and we have plenty of evening trips available.  That is a prime time to catch big tarpon!

Capt. Rick Stanczyk

 

3/27/16 Deep Sea fishing report for Late March

Spring break has been in full swing here the past couple weeks and we've had a ton of boats fishing! We are in the Spring Time fishery now which means there's a wide variety of fish, not always a ton of each, but you need to be ready for everything! There was some great catches of king mackerel, with one monster aboard the Buzz On weighing in at 45 lbs! The sailfish bite has been on and off, but there are still a couple around. 

The Yellowtail snapper bite has been pretty good, although a few days were tougher when the water cleaned up and the current wasn't right. We've also seen a handful of nice mutton snapper caught, inlcuding a true monster aboard the Gimme Jimmy weighing in at 23 lbs! There's also been some mangrove snapper, lane snapper, a couple yelloweye snapper and vermillion snapper. 

We are starting to see some blackfin tuna on the humps as well as a some skipjack tuna. It's still early to gamble on mahi, but there has been a handful the last couple days. Boats will start going offshore more often each week coming up. The amberjacks have been pretty good on the humps as well. 

 

There's been a couple wahoo around, both on live bait and on the troll . We saw some cobias last week when it was calm and I bet we see some more the next few days as the weather gets nice again. Just remember they take patience to find! 

Way offshore there's been a couple swordfish around, and it should only get better as the months pass. The "Broad Minded" had a 200 lber earlier this week and a 120 lber yesterday. 

 

Give the marina office a call at 305 664 2461 and let us set you up on a fishing trip in Islamorada! 

Tight Lines,

Capt. Nick Stanczyk 

3/21/16 March Backcountry Florida Keys Fishing Report

March is rolling by fast and things are super busy here with spring break.  Boats are fishing just about every day. We had a good 5 or 6 days of hard winds over a week ago followed by several nice day where fishing got very good, tarpon were showing up and getting 'happy', and then now we are getting hit by a late season cold front to mix things up again.  Always keeps you on your toes this time of year.  I myself have been starting to focus on tarpon more regularly.  We had some good days when it was calm landing multiple fish and plenty of sharks as well.  The windier days it has been a little tougher for me we've only had a handful of bites those days and you better make the most of them, however the sharks are still there to keep your busy.  In the bays the trout fishing has been decent with some larger keeper size trout showing up, and mixed in our plenty of ladyfish, some snappers and jacks as well.  Out in the gulf there are still some mackerel around and that has been good to have this late in the year.  I had Eric and John out there and they had a great time getting into the spanish macks.  Also a noteable catch several days ago was a 13 lb tripletail caught by John Wilson who was down here with a group fishing.  Capt. Bill Bassett has also repoted good triple tail fishing on the calm days, as well as getting into some tarpon on those days as well.  He had some good fishing in the gulf yesterday with plenty of mackerels, jacks, and some snappers for dinner.  Capt. John Johansen had some tarpon action with the group party I mentioned they caught a double header tarpon one day which was quite a feat.  Capt. Clyde Upchurch reported good trout and snapper action in the bays catching plenty for dinner.  Capt. Mike Venezia had good snapper action for dinner today.  Capt. Gunner Guthrie reported catching a couple tarpon yesterday locally around Islamorada.  The tarpon bite may slow down for a few days it is suppose to get in the high 50s tonight, though just for tonight then things will warm back up considerably.  By the end of the week things should be semi-normal again though it looks to be breezy for a few days so water temperatures may be slow to rise.  Though there are plenty of options and protected water in the backcountry here so you can be ready for anything!

Capt. Rick Stanczyk

Mid March 2016 Offshore/Reef fishing report

It's been a busy week here fishing offshore in Islamorada. A lot of days almost every boat got out, some of half day charters but most on full day trips. The king mackerel bite has been the hot ticket lately, with many boats limiting out (2 per person). The kings have averaged 5 - 18 lbs, and there's been a few big "smokers" over 30 lbs. 

Amberjack have also been plentiful for the most part, so if you want something big that pulls hard consider one of these bad boys! They average 20 - 50 lbs, but there was a pair of 70+ pounders weighed earlier this week! 

The sailfish bite has been a little slow, with just a few caught each day amongst the fleet. I think we'll see a few more here and there the next week, but hopefully we'll get spring time "tailing conditions" at some point this spring. 

The snapper bite has been good overall, with lots of yellowtail and a few muttons. There's also been some grouper (catch and release till May), and a the occasional african pompano. Yellowjack and porgy have also been in the mix. You Ben Dodson also released a giant 400 lb goliath grouper on a recent charter! 

It looks like some of our best weather of the year so far the next few days, so give the marina office a call at 305 664 2461 and take advantage of the calm conditions and go fishing!!! We'll set you up on a great boat! 

Tight Lines, 

Capt. Nick Stanczyk 

3/11/16 Mid March Backcountry Florida Keys Fishing Report

The winds have been howling here the last several days and that has led to some tougher fishing conditions.  We had a little bit of nice calm weather early in March and things were warming up, however all this week it's been blowing 20-30 mph.  Before things got windy and nasty, Capt. Mike Venezia had a great day in the gulf catching mackerels, big sharks, tripletail, and 3 cobia off of a lemon shark!  Also Capt. Mark Hlis had some luck sight fishing they caught a couple tarpon in shallow water one day, and another day an angler landed a nice permit.  Now since things have been blowing, we have been able to get out and still fish in the backcountry for the most part as it is all protected water.  Options have been a little limited however, but as long as you are open to suggestion the captains can put you on some rod bending action.  Snapper fishing has been the go-to for a lot of guides, especially on half days.  It hasn't been real easy though you can usually pick out enough snappers around the mangrove islands for a meal, and sometimes find something else around there if you are lucky.  It's nice and protected water too so you don't have to get beat up.  Capt. Bill Basset and Capt. Mike Bassett had some luck fishing around the islands for snapper, as did Capt. Dave Sisung.  Elsewhere there have been some trout, ladyfish, jacks, and the like in the more open bays and in some of the channel run-offs in the backcountry.  The bays haven't always in been fishable though some of the larger boats can get out there.  Capt. Jim Willcox had some good action with trout, ladyfish, and other specimens out there today and it was a little calmer than before as winds were more southeast rather than east (which had been rougher).  I've been mostly mackerel fishing the last week and that has been good still, though that is more open water so not everyone can get out there.  The backcountry channels have had some sharks and a few tarpon in them.  The tarpon are not very happy though and with the water temperatures still in the low 70s, we need some calm weather for them to move in strong though that may come soon.  We caught a couple tarpon the day before yesterday on our way in during the afternoon around Islamorada, a great way to end the day.  We have landed a few others throughout the week, though it's been a bite or two a day and hopefully you make the most of it.  Though there have been some sharks and other big critters to keep you busy.  Capt. Skip Nielsen has had some tarpon action on his last few trips too, they landed a nice big fish several days ago in Islamorada in the afternoon and one that morning in the backcountry, and has had a few throughout the week as well.  The winds should be laying down somewhat and going more south, which will make it a little more comfortable in the backcountry.  Things look to improve as winds are forecast to lay down little by little over the weekend, with it getting calm hopefully by sunday.  This may be the conditions we need for tarpon to start pouring back into the area, and then it should be game on!  Spring break is here and it is a busy time, give us a call if you are looking to get out on the water.  305-664-2461

Capt. Rick Stanczyk