11/4/15 Early November Offshore Fishing Report

A few boats the last couple weeks have ventured offshore 15 - 25 miles in search of mahi. Some have been successful but some have struggled with finding fish. The boats that found them had some great catches of fish, but it is nearing the end of the season so the mahi bite will probably remain hit and miss until next spring. One single piece of floating debris is what did the trick for some of the boats! The mahi follow the debris as it holds a lot of baitfish. The blackfin tuna bite has been mediocre on the humps, also with the wind we've had the live bait has been a little tougher to catch so chumming the tuna up has been harder. It looks like the wind is going to start calming down this weekend, so hopefully the bait gets "happy" again and we can get in on the tuna action. There has been a lot of sharks on the humps, so if you want to catch something big that pulls hard you might want to consider that. Unfortunately they eat a lot of the tunas, so if you are trying to catch dinner you have to get the tuna in before the sharks get them. A lot of boats have been staying on the edge of the reef the past week. There's been quite a few yellowtail snapper as well as some mutton snappers and groupers. A few boats have also got in on the sailfish action. The sailfishing should only get better and more consistent as we get into winter. The Kalex had 4 releases one day, The Relentless has released a few fish the last week, and the Hey Papa had a couple releases too. There's been quite a few cero mackerel on the reef as well as a couple king mackerel too. Way offshore there's still a couple swordfish around too. Jon Patten from England released one juvenile one trip and Capt. Charlie reported losing a nice fish his next trip. Give the office a call at 305 664 2461 to book your next Florida Keys Fishing Charter! 

Capt. Nick Stanczyk 

10/23/15 October Backcountry Fishing Report

It's finally starting to really feel like Fall.  We had a little taste of it early in the month and then things got hot and calm again though the last week the wind has been cranking and the temperature of both the air and water has dropped somewhat.  Unfortunately the hard winds have made the fishing a little uncomfortable though there is still some things to be caught and it is manageable running around the edges of the banks to keep out of the hard chop most places.  Today we fished deep in the everglades there was a good bit of bait around and we were able to catch it on the way back.  We got into some snook and a few redfish, a few spots were active for a little while, a couple others only had a fish or two, and a few spots we struck out in.  But all in all a decent day.  Yesterday we fished the bay and there were a few spanish mackerel that are starting to show up, mixed in with plenty of ladyfish, jacks, and a few trout and snappers.  This fishing should really get better and better and the mackerel get very strong in the winter.  Capt. Bill Bassett got a few mackerel today as well on his trip plus a few big snappers.  Capt. John Johansen had some nice snook in the everglades the last few days back there.  Capt. Vinnie Biondoletti had some mangrove snappers around the island, and some action with some baby tarpon as well.  Capt. Jeff Beeler reported some decent snook action yesterday and today, though he said the sharks got bad yesterday and shut everything down real quick.  Capt. Jim Willcox reported a mix of some snook and redfish today.  Capt. Mike Bassett had 2 out of 3 smaller tarpon in the everglades a couple days ago fishing the creeks.  Looks like with the cooler weather the bait migration should continue to push this way and when it lays down and gets a little nice we should have some really good fishing for a window.

Capt. Rick Stanczyk

10/19/15 Deep Sea Fishing report for Islamorada in Mid October

October is flying by like all the months do here when you go Deep Sea fishing in Islamorada. We've had a few boats fishing each day, and there's been a variety of fish caught. There was a red hot daytime swordfish bite last week before this wind started, and we got in on the action aboard the Bn'M as did the Cloud Nine. We did have one slow day with 0 fish, but we had two trips with 3 fish and one trip with 4 fish. We tagged and released half of the fish aboard the Bn'M, but the real prize was a giant 462 lber that we caught with Tim and Nancy. It was a 5 1/2 hour battle, and not a bad way to celebrate your 60th birtday! The Cloud Nine released a handful of their swordfish and kept a few too, the biggest being 125 lbs. Some of the fish we released we as small as 20 lbs, so you never really know how big of one you will hook! 

There were a couple great catches of mahi the past week, but it is getting a little more inconsistent as we get later into the Fall. Some boats found that "magical piece of debris" and made their entire day with one stop, cathcing 20 or more mahi at one shot. I think we'll see some the next few weeks, but I wouldn't make that you only target species.

The blackfin tuna bite has been fair, and I think once the weather calms back down and we can catch more live bait to target them we'll see some rackful's again. On the reef there's been a few sailfish around, and they should only get better each week. The king mackerel are showing up as well, and the snapper bite has been steady. Once we get a cold front I think we'll see the reef light up. This week looks a little windy, but give us a call when you're ready to try your luck fishing and we'll set you up with a great boat! 305 664 2461 

Tight Lines

Capt. Nick Stanczyk 

10/12/15 Islamorada Backcountry Fishing Report October

October is winding on and the fishing in the backcountry has been pretty good.  We were starting to get a little feel of fall at the end of September however the last 10 days or so it's gotten down right hot and muggy again.  We've had a predominantly light westerly wind and it has kept the humidity and summer feel in the air.  Fishing has been decent however and there are shots at just about everything.  There has been some good bait nearby with a mix of pilchards and mullet so that part things has been fairly easy.  The everglades has been fair there has been some decent snook action with a few reds mixed in.  We've had some luck with that the last few days you have had to work at it and may only get a bite or two on a spot and just have to keep jumping around.  But if you are into the scenery and catching those kinds of fish it's well worth it.  Fishing the creeks, shorelines, and island moats with pilchards has been the most productive.  Once the wind swings more northeast it should get better as the water cleans up and we start getting a harder push of the fall bait again.  In the gulf there have been a few tripletails and if you take time running around you can get some shots at them.  Capt. Bill Bassett has caught some the last few days he even got one on fly today.   Capt. Jim Willcox has been catching a few snook casting the beach shorelines off of the mainland.  It's not always red hot action but if you have patience it is definietly a notch on your anglers belt to catch these guys on aritifical like this.  Capt. John Johansen reported good shark activity the other day they saw quite a few tarpon but there were not responding to any bait or aritifical presentations.  He reported good action on the light tackle with trout, ladyfish, jacks, etc...  Capt. Dave Morris caught a nice permit out on the patches with his kids there were also a few porgies and hogfish out there too.  That fishing will get better as things cool down.  Mackerel will also start showing up in number after the first good cold front we have which we all look forward to.  Capt. Vinnie Biondoletti has been on the bonefish again lately he has had some luck sight fishing the local islamorada waters in his micro skiff.  Capt. Mike Venezia also won the mad dog tournament a local islamorada backcountry tournament here this week.  They caught trout, snapper, redfish, snook, and more.  Congratulations Mike good job.  We should get another good push of bait in the backcountry and a window where things really light up once we get more northeasterly winds.  It looks like the rest of the week is suppose to stay fairly calm and go back to west by the end of the week, but maybe the following week will have a better wind forecast!

Capt. Rick Stanczyk

10/11/15 early October Offshore/Reef Fishing report

We've had some extremely nice weather here so far this year fishing in Islamorada in October. Most of the boats have still been heading offshore, but a handful of boats are staying on the edge of the reef. There's been action both offshore and on the reef, but each day has been a little different. October is a transitional month here where the offshore fishing usually tapers off and the reef fishing really starts turning on. The weather and water temps affect what the most productive fishing will be. Offshore some of the boats have had some great catches of mahi, I mean some of the best catches of the year!! While some of the days some boats haven't found them. Most of the fish have been "gaffers" , which are medium size fish which we need to gaff to bring aboard, anywhere from 5 - 15 lbs. There's still been a few slammers up to 25 lbs as well.

I'm sure we'll see some more good catches of mahi the next couple weeks, but it definitely is getting towards the end of the season, so it may not be consistent too much longer. Last week we saw a lot of blackfin tuna caught, but the last few days it slowed down a little. The sharks have been ferocious on the Islamorada Hump, eating a lot of the tunas the boats have been hooking. The fish have ranged from 3 to 25 lbs. 

 

On the reef we've had a couple sailfish releases already. We're hoping it's going to be a good year for them. There's also a few king mackerel showing up, and there's stil some mutton and yellowtail snappers around. In the fall months we usually catch a few mahi on the edge of the reef as well, so if you are livebaiting there's no telling what you will catch!

 

Further offshore I've swordfished a couple days the past week and we tagged and released two juvenile swordfish the first trip and tagged and released 2 swordfish the second trip and kept a 70 lber for dinner. The Gon Fishin V also got in on the swordfish action and angler Tim caught his first ever swordfish! Congrats! The fall is some of the best swordfishing months around! One of the swordfish we tagged and released was caught by angler Stephanie Choate, which completed her Royal Bill Slam for the 2015 year! Congrats! 

Give the marina office a call and we'll set you up on a great fishing trip for whatever you want to try to catch! 305 664 2461. 

Tight Lines, 

Capt. Nick Stanczyk