Got out with Gary and Melissa today for a 3/4 day. Didn’t fish over the weekend and was happy not to be as we had howling 30+ mph winds from Friday through Sunday. There was also a big tournament going on with 80 boats, so you can imagine every look nook and cranny where you could hide, there would of been boats! But today the winds let up somewhat, it was still windy but a more manageable 20 mph northeast. We decided to make a long trek up the coast to check things out up there as I’d heard the fishing had been pretty good with a mullet run in effect. It took a little longer with the wind but we still made decent time that left us a good 3 hours of fishing time. The wind swung around more northerly and the tides were high, which I was hoping the wind would be blowing offshore leaving it calm there but there was a little bit of a swell on the shore, which isn’t as desirable of a condition. We mostly focused on our light gear and we caught a decent number of snook though mostly little guys, a handful of redfish which were larger (we did lose about a 12 lber on a pulled hook!), big ladyfish, jacks, a small goliath grouper, and finally a nice 25 lb tarpon! He was just under 40 inches so small enough to legally boat for a picture. There were more tarpon around but we didn’t focus a lot on them, but did get the one bite. I have the same crew tomorrow, and we crushed the bait this afternoon coming home, so may give that more focus tomorrow. Conditions are suppose to be better this week with the wind dropping to the 10-15 mph range but staying northeast which should keep the fall bait migration conditions in effect. I’m booked up this week, but next week starting Monday I’m fairly open. October is a fantastic time to fish here and as mentioned the fall bait run is already in effect so it should be good! 1 for 1
Capt. Rick Stanczyk
Instagram: @richardstanczyk
Facebook: Islamorada Tarpon Fishing
