5/23/14 Tarpon Fishing Report for the Upper Keys

Tarpon fished all day yesterday.  The weather was gorgeous though the bite was very slow as has been the case for the week.  We had a couple cheap shots early on at some of the bridges, but no bite just a big boil and flash on the bait.  I fished just about every area we normally fish ‘around town’ in islamorada and even down at long key bridge for a bit.  Fish were seen everywhere we went, a lot in some areas and a few in others, but they just are not very happy or feeding.  We did finally jump a tarpon on a dead mullet in one of the channels near the marina, but he didn’t stay on the hook.  Long day but we gave it our all and my customers as always appreciate the hard work but there is only so much you can do.  I even went out late that night for a couple hours for fun with some buddies.  We caught the evening falling tide but not a breath of wind and the sargasm weed was absolutely horrendous just about everywhere we fished.  TONS of it all throughout the bays and channels from this weeks high winds, and with no wind now to push you along it was very difficult to set up to drift and get the baits away from the boat without getting them covered in grass.  We finally found one channel where it was at least somewhat fishable, though we did not have a bite after making a couple drifts. Saturday I’m taking off my first day in 2 months, a good one to take I think with the holiday weekend craziness!

Capt. Rick Stanczyk