July 2018

Got out with Jason and Adriana today for a full day of tarpon fishing.  They fished with me back in May when we had some very wet weather.  We got one good tarpon for Jason and then got drenched in a tropical storm but made it happen.  Today looked much better and I told them fishing has been very good as well which they know because they follow my reports.  We got bait early and went to work.  I fished the channel where we had found fish yesterday and we got a big 120 lb for Jason to start.  This fish was angry similar to the one he caught in May, we fought it for an hour and chased it 1.5 miles!  Don’t get many bruisers like that this time of year but you never know.  After that the tide had quit and we reset.  We fished for a bit and then Adriana got a nice 50 lber.  We moved after that and started to see a ton of fish.  They were rolling 10 at  a time, but acting a little funny and moving around a lot and not feeding very actively.  After several moves and tries, we got another one for Adriana a nice 40 lber.  Then things settled down and it started to look like the day before.  We could see a nice hard mud strip form and the tarpon seemed to stay in that.  We proceeded to whack ’em, catching a double header right away and then several more including hooking another couple doubles.  We ended up landing eleven tarpon just insane fishing again.  I’ve literally caught more tarpon in the last 4 days then I did in the whole month of May.  July has been super strong and already my best month ever and we still have plenty of good days to go.  Remember folks don’t sleep on the summer time fishing here in Islamorada, it can be just so good and it really is my favorite time.  11 for 15

Capt. Rick Stanczyk
Instagram: @richardstanczyk
Facebook: Islamorada Tarpon Fishing

Got out with John, Jamison, and Christie today for a full day tarpon charter in the everglades.  We caught bait early and headed out.  I had the day off yesterday but had heard fish were still in the area where I had done very well the day before.  We headed that way.  We set up and did mark a good group of fish as we came into the spot so that was a good sign.  First few bites were just sharks and a sting ray.  Eventually though as the tide died we got a tarpon on for John, and then a minute later Jamison hooked up – double header!  We landed both fish and got some good pictures.  The tide was dead after that and then started to fall fairly soon.  No more tarpon bites here though we moved around and no luck just sharks.  I ran to another area where I hadn’t been in a while though heard there was some fish there.  There was a good group we set up and had to move around but Christie hooked up a big 100 lber!  The fish didn’t stay buttoned though we came back with nothing but a scale on the hook which was strange, must’ve been foul hooked.  Anyways it slowed down after that but we kept our eyes open and eventually saw the fish on the other side of the channel showing.  We snuck over there and then it was game on!  We had another 8 or so tarpon bites there, landing another double header, missing one more, and then a few singles.  Just great fishing.  Back at it tomorrow hopefully it stays just as good.  This july has been one heck of a month!  7 for 11

Capt. Rick Stanczyk
Instagram: @richardstanczyk
Facebook: Islamorada Tarpon Fishing

Incredible day with Andy Thompson and his sons Conrad and Derek! Just when you didn’t think it could get any better after yesterday it did! We headed out early and spent some time catching our bait. Nice and easy after a few tosses of the cast net we had the well full of fresh live bait. I told the boys fishing was pretty good yesterday and we had ideal conditions today (calm, warm) so it likely would be again. We joked about possibly setting the season record again as I told them I broke it yesterday. Low and behold we went and did that and didn’t jinx ourselves! We caught the start of the falling tide and found a huge school of tarpon that had moved in from the Gulf. Pretty green water and I just knew they would be happy. Our first two baits that hit the water yielded a double header within a few minutes! A big 100 lb fish and a smaller 40 lber. We had to chase the 100 lber down and that was the biggest fish I’ve had landed in over a month or so. We ended up catching two more double headers after that – just ridiculous! After that we had a few singles, missed a few fish including two more double headers, and Derek got a nice cobia that swam up by the boat. After that the tarpon seemed like they slowed down a hair, but we continued picking away at them, fish of all sizes from 30 lbs to 80 lbs or so. We got a big lemon shark too. Conrad had a big tarpon that we thought was a lemon and we cranked the drag down hard on him almost to try and break him off but decided better of it. Turns out it was a nice 90 lb tarpon that just didn’t want to jump and was doing erratic, head shaking runs like a shark! The tide eventually quit on us and we were about to call it quits, having beaten my record handily already. Then we ended up hooking another double header! Unfortunately one of those fish came unbuttoned, but Andy got his for the final fish. The boys went 16 for 20 for just a magical day here in Islamorada, Florida fishing for tarpon. July has been nothing short of epic… it’s not even half way over and I’m already closing in on my best monthly total ever after two huge days yesterday and today. For those that don’t know the summer time is hands down my favorite time of year for fishing down here. Yes it’s hot but it’s worth a little sweat to get conditions like these on the regular. No big crowds, tons of fish, good conditions – you really couldn’t ask for anything else if you are a fishermen. I’m scheduled to be off tomorrow but just may have to get out there for fun or move some of my clients around later in the week because it looks like it’ll be flat calm again and you can bet fishing will be good.  16 for 20

Capt. Rick Stanczyk
Instagram: @richardstanczyk
Facebook: Islamorada Tarpon Fishing