Well I have just gotten back from a couple weeks off, having a nice vacation in Turks & Caicos! So I had not been fishing since end of June but we got out yesterday. Bait has been around and was fairly easy for us to catch locally which was great. We found tarpon in several locations… however they were very spread out and not wanting to bite very well. We would set up and see a few, and then everything would just seem to scatter. After our 3rd spot, we moved a few times and then finally hooked a big lemon shark. As we lifted the trolling motor to get around that, we hooked a tarpon on our other rod that was still out! A nice little 25 lber. And that was really it for the tarpon action, we finished the day catching a couple tripletail and some trout & snappers for dinner. So I will say the tarpon bite is still a little tough in the backcountry, about how it was before I left. The fish are there you just must put time in to get the action out of them, and it is easy to dedicate a day to just getting a handful of shots at them. However that being said – I really feel like it’s due to open up here and get good soon, I was hoping me taking a couple weeks off it would have changed when I returned, but doesn’t seem to be the case. Though as with all fishing, that could change tomorrow. But I’m hoping we’ll perhaps have a very strong August/September later summer tarpon season. The fish are out there they have to bite sometime!
Capt. Rick Stanczyk
Instagram: @richardstanczyk
Facebook: Islamorada Tarpon Fishing
YouTube: Bud n’ Mary’s Marina
