Here you can read our latest fishing reports. I try to keep this section updated regularly when we are tarpon fishing consistently. Though remember in the off season we may not be fishing as much or we may be targeting other things.
We’re almost through April and fishing has been decent overall. Not a red hot April and nor was the year before though but we’ve been getting a decent number of bites on the nicer days but a lot of windy days or days where they are not super happy and having to work for a handful of shots. But that is fishing and it seems the last couple of years things have gotten better a little later into the season so hopefully that will be the case here in May and June. We have night trips available and that can be a great time to target the silver king so don’t forget to ask about that!
Getting right on along here in April and had a busy week tarpon fishing here again. Had a bit more wind again this week with another late cold front blowing in Tuesday. While the temperature didn’t get super cold it blew about 25 knots and had the northeasterly direction so it definitely did drop water temps from what they were down to low 70s from near 80 what it was Monday. So Monday I had Ian and Brooke, regulars who have fished with me the last couple of seasons. Tarpon fishing was pretty good again this day was nice and calm. We found fish in the backcountry where we’d been getting them the last couple of weeks. Ian had a nice one to start the day within the first 15 minutes. We got it boatside several times but it ended up chaffing through the leader before we could get a picture. Which he really wanted because we hadn’t been able to seal that deal. Luckily a little later he got another bite and that one cooperated we got the nice boatside picture! We ended up jumping three or four more fish in the next couple of hours didn’t even really have to move so really good fishing. After 10:00 or so things slowed down we did find a pack of fish free jumping and busting offshore from where we were but we didn’t get any bites out of them though got into some big sharks of course. So the next day was a complete 180 on Tuesday. I had Ian and Brooke again and it was blowing a gail, steady 25 knots I would say about as windy as it gets for us to fish. We were able to get to the same area just hugging the banks carefully for the ride. Once we got there it wasnt too bad as the backcountry areas are often protected by shallow water so that was nice. Fishing was slow to start we tried the same little area and did not have a sniff there. As mentioned the water temps were a bit colder but still not out of the realm of tarpon biting I didn’t think. We moved a few times and tried another nearby channel but no luck aside from a sawfish and a hammerhead shark which was cool. We ran a little ways to check another area where I had found some smaller fish the week before. We ended up stumbling into a pack of them rolling and set up and lucked out we had seven or eight bites though only landed one fish but it was lots of action. One of those days where we had to hunt them down though as opposed to the day before where we were able to just sit and wait for cruising fish to come by. So Wednesday then I had Karl and crew visiting from Maryland. We did the backcountry again the winds were still blowing pretty good though not as crazy as the day before. We pounded it out in that area where we found those little fish the day before and they were in there but not as happy today. We moved a few times and after an hour we hooked one but it came off spitting the bait right away. We fished a bit more and just had some shark action. The tide quit on us and once it started falling we worked an area where the fish had been the day before. Sometimes you find some edges or live bottom where the fish seem to congregate more and this was what we’d found as when we snagged bottom a few times we pulled up some sponge and live bottom. And the fish had been laying here multiple times where we had bites. Sure enough we got another one there we landed. That was it for the day. Thursday it got nicer it was still a little blustery but a steady 15 mph so we were able to run across the bay getting out. Tried that same area again and sure enough we got a nice 60 lb fish to start the day. A big shark ended up spooking it though after we got it boatside and it broke off but got away I’m pretty sure which was good. We did not hook any more after that though we did get into a good pack of fish which I was surprised didn’t bite as we marked them on the sonar multiple times right on our baits. After the tide started slowing down I decided to run back down to long key bridge to check that out. I hadn’t been there yet this year and we got there right on the tide change. I did mark a good group of fish right where we first stopped and we put our baits out and within 5 minutes Karl hooked a nice one! We jumped it off unfortunately but then his buddy John hooked into one about 10 minutes after that which stayed on. We had an excited battle through the bridge a few times. Got it boatside fairly quickly for the size fish that it was a good 130 lbs or so. But a big hammerhead got after it and we broke it off. It was an exciting view watching the hammer chase it around but not much we could do being right next to the bridge. We tried again for another hour and the tide started ripping in then but we did not have another bite. So all in all we had a consistent week of catching tarpon every day. So good fishing when it was nice and then of course got a little tougher with the cold front and extreme wind but we still were able to make it happen. Next week it looks like it’ll be calming down and hoping we have a very exciting May. I think the bridge fishing will hopefully be a little more productive later into the season this year as I think that happened last year too though I was fishing the backcountry mostly at that point. But time will tell. I don’t have anything left until a few days in early June. Capt. Steve has a handful of evenings and days available in May and much more in June. June can still be great fishing so if you want to set something up give us a shout!
Can’t believe it’s already the middle of April but here we are! We had another fairly windy week but mid week it did get tolerable and actually with the northeast directions we’ve had in the mornings the ride out hasn’t been too bad but its been a little rougher/windier in the afternoons when it’s swung more southeast. Fishing has been fair I’ll say I’m still fishing in the backcountry as I was last week and having some luck. We fished Monday with Pete and Cynthia and got a good tarpon first thing right off the bat. We had the last trickle of falling tide and it quit right after we caught that fish. We didn’t have much action for 20-30 minutes after that so we ventured beyond to try and find a larger group of fish I had mentioned seeing the week prior. Those fish were there though today they were fairly spread out so as far as looking on the sonar and trying to find a big wad of them to sit in, you kinda had to just find one or two and sit and wait. We worked hard and caught quite a few big sharks but the tarpon just did not seem super happy. We had one swimming in between our baits several times for about 15 minutes I saw him roll 2 or 3 times but still no bite out of him. After a couple hours we finally jumped one but it was a fairly lazy bite that spit it instantly and it was gone. But all in all happy to have gotten one. I did not fish Tuesday but I did on Wednesday again. I had Ronald and Suzanne out. As mentioned the ride out was very nice I ran right across the bay and it wasn’t super rough, it even appeared to almost slick out while we were fishing a couple of times but then started blowing a little bit. We had the same bite in the same area and started off with a nice fish for Ronald. Had a little more tide today so we moved around and set up on another fish we saw and had a bite instantly but it jumped off. After that we had a few sharks and the tide quit. We moved around up into an area where we had really good fishing a couple weeks ago but I mentioned that had turned off for me after a few days. Today though those fish were back there and we set up on a few we saw and sure enough hooked another 60 lber that we landed after a good fight. No sharks after them today which was a bonus! After that we caught a few more sharks and a nice medium size sawfish which was really cool. We decided to run back around town and tried down around the bridges. We did find a small group of fish around a bayside spot and saw one boat fighting one there. We set up on them however we did not get a bite. Looked at the bridge for a minute before it was time to go and we caught a couple of big nurse sharks. All in all another great day getting a couple nice tarpon. Thursday I had Ron and crew visiting and we caught 3 more tarpon! The day got really nice and calmer winds. Fish were happy we had 5 bites in total i think.
Well through another week here they keep rolling by! We had an overall nice week here with the wind finally laying down late last weekend. I had regular Randy and Karen Townsend out for a couple days this week on Monday and Wednesday. We found some fish in the backcountry in an area that we used to fish often years ago though I haven’t been to much in recent years as the fish hadn’t been there as consistently. But it was good to see them there! We got out early Monday and caught the start of the falling tide. We were able to just kind of sit on numbers and got several tarpon bites as well as sharks. When I say sit on numbers I mean just sitting on known spots where you catch tarpon – usually either some kind of bottom or hold they may like to lay in, or edges of channels that they often cruise past. As opposed to how I usually fish for them these days which is using my eyes and sonar to locate them and set up on them. So a little more old school if you will. Anyways we ended up hooking 5 tarpon doing that and we landed 3 and got two up for pictures. One of them that we didn’t get pictures of was a complete moose and dragged us over 2 miles out into the gulf! Tuesday I had Michael and his son Aaron out. Fishing was a little tougher this day but the weather sure was nice it really slicked out flat calm. We tried a similar tactic and only had a few shark bites the first hour. Eventually once that wind lied down I visually saw some tarpon and we moved – they were lining up on the opposite side of the channel a little more. We got in them and even while we marked them pretty regularly next to us, it still took about an hour for us to get a bite but we did and caught a nice fish for Michael. We ended up moving and found a pack of some smaller fish elsewhere and had several more bites and caught a nice one for Aaron but unfortunately a bull shark got it before we could get it boatside. Wednesday I had Randy and Karen again and we got on those smaller fish again from the get go. Karen caught a nice one to start the day. We moved around and had to work a little but we eventually got in front of them again and jumped several more and then Randy got once for himself again. It was about 10:00 and we decided to run back towards home to try some bridge fishing. Caught some fresh bait on the way back and checked out some of the local bridges at Channel 5 and Channel 2. We did not see much for tarpon however – they were in there good a week or more ago but I really did not see much aside from a handful. Karen caught a nice big bull shark and a big nurse shark. We eventually ran back towards home to try the local channels nearby and hit three spots but did not see a thing though we caught another nurse shark. Thursday I just had return customer Chris and his son Odin. We ran into the backcountry to try that routine one more time but today wasn’t our day. The pack of smaller fish we had lots of luck with the previous few days seemed to have broken up. We saw a few but never really could get on them and did not have a bite from them though we caught a few sharks including a big bull. I decided to run and try another backcountry area where we’d been catching them a couple weeks ago but I hadn’t been too since, as the around town fishing the day before seemed pretty quiet. We got lucky and did find a big group of tarpon though we had a very weak tide setup in that area for the day. Some days you get these weak tides where it will come in hard like normal, but then only falls for an hour or two and you get very little current movement. Fish often just don’t like that and don’t feed well in that scenario, and it is more or less severe depending the area you are fishing as we didn’t have that problem in the area we were fishing previously. But you just have to play the hand you are dealt and the tarpon were there so we tried. Unfortunately we did not get a bite though we caught some more big sharks. So stinks to have stuck out but we had a good run as of late. And finally today on Friday I fished Keith and his brother Dale. Keith has fished all over and had never caught a tarpon. We had the high winds that had picked up the day before but we ran out into the backcountry early. I was tempted to run straight to where we had found all those fish the previous day, being we’d be there early and have the better incoming tide. However I decided to stick it out in the channels and ‘fish the numbers’ I was previously speaking of. Sure enough we had a bite within about 10 minutes and Dale caught a nice tarpon of 40 lbs or so that we got up for pictures. We set back up and another 10 minutes later, Keith was hooked up to a nice 60 lber! We fought her for a little while and got her to the boat several times, but unfortunately a bull shark came up and attacked so we popped the fish off before it got eaten. After that we fished a little more and we tried several more backcountry channels but all we found were sharks. Tried nearby home for the last hour and we did mark a few fish close to home but didn’t have a bite, and the boys were beat and we came in a little early at 12:30. So all in all a pretty good week of fishing aside from Thursday but every now and then you stumble. Pulled the boat today for an oil change this weekend and we’ll be back at it Monday. It’ll be another windy week but we’ll see how it pans out. Give me a shout if you want to get out, Capt. Steve still has some availability here and there especially for evening trips which he’s been productive with (he caught a couple fish each of the last evenings he fished). Also summer will be here before you know it so get your summer plans booked!
Hello my name is Capt. Rick Stanczyk. I’m a fishing guide in the fabulous Florida Keys, Islamorada to be specific. Tarpon are the species I spend a lot of time fishing for and they are my passion. Along with myself, I have a team of young talented guides who I've trained that are available for tarpon charters, so please get in touch if you want to go fishing!
