Got out today with Bob and Bill down from North Carolina. Tarpon was on the itinerary and we went off into the everglades fishing for them. Had leftover bait though will be having to restock soon and will be tough with the glass calm weather and holiday boat traffic but hopefully can do it tomorrow AM. We tried the first channel and saw some fish rolling there but no bites out of them. Gave it a good hour and a a half as fish were rolling right by our baits but never a bite. We did catch a couple sharks however. After that we ran towards flamingo and tried an area where my buddy said he found some the previous day. He was right before we came off plane we saw several tarpon rolling so we anchored up and got in position. Soon we hooked a double header and both guys landed there fish though we only got Bills up for a pictures, little guy of 20 lbs. After that we proceeded to get 2 more fish to the boat, 2 more on the leader before the jumped off, and another one we missed entirely. Ended up catching five my best catch date so far this year! I’m glad summer time is here this is my favorite time of year hands down nowadays for tarpon fishing. 5 for 7
Capt. Rick Stanczyk
5/29/16 End of May Islamorada Tarpon Fishing Report
Had Jim, Jay, and Ruth Anne out again today for some tarpon fishing in the everglades. We got out early and caught a little bit of bait on the way though the bait was a little tough. Luckily we had plenty stashed away from the previous day to fish with but just have to try and keep on top of it for the next days sometimes too! We set up in the same area we started yesterday and saw a few tarpon rolling and busting though not a ton of activity. It was slick calm so I expected to see fish if there was a pack of them around. Eventually we got a bite but he didn’t stick on the hook unfortunately we jumped him off. A bit later Ruth Anne hooked one and we took off after him. Unfortunately though he didn’t stay buttoned and came off after a wild jump. Nothing anybody did wrong but sometimes tarpon just don’t like to stay on the hooks! After that we ran caught a big shark and then ran out to try another area where there had been plenty of tarpon a few days ago though we didn’t see much this morning. We did catch a few sharks though. We ran the long way along the shoreline to flamingo to check for free jumpers or any signs of activity off the beach along the way, though didn’t see much. I stopped at one area that can get very good in the summer and idled around for a few minutes but didn’t see anything worth stopping for. We got to the channels in flamingo and the tide was still coming in hard so that was good. We didn’t see much life but did see a couple tarpon roll and eventually had one behind the boat. I thought for sure he’d eat and after 5 minutes, Jim had slowly lifted his line checking for grass and we saw a big huge boil as a fish got spooked. I’m pretty sure that was him sniffing out the bait but just didn’t eat for whatever reason and then got spooked. We did end up catching a big lemon shark after that and then it was time to head home. Wish they were a little more cooperative but we had a couple shots at least and some fun with the sharks. My trolling motor also had crapped out on me so time to send that in, luckily I have one in the shed that is suppose to be rebuilt brand new so just threw that one on there. Back at it again tomorrow! 0 for 2
5/28/16 Islamorada Tarpon Fishing Report
Got out with Jim, Jay, and Ruth Anne today for some tarpon fishing for a 3/4 day. They are also fishing with me tomorrow. We ran out into the backcountry to avoid the holiday weekend crowds, but also since the fishing has been pretty good back there as of late. I also didn’t have to bother catching bait as one of the other guides wasn’t fishing this weekend and gave me a cooler of leftover mullet which was plenty for today. Things have finally started to stay semi-consistent, though I am a little leary to start thinking like that especially with this year I see how quickly it likes to change! Anyways the winds laid down to almost nothing. We fished some of the channels we did the last few days, a couple sharks to start us off and then Ruth Anne hooked a nice 90 lb tarpon we landed which put on quite a show when it was first hooked. After that things settle down for a little while and the tide started to slow up. I was threatening to leave spots and then all of a sudden Jay jumped a nice tarpon, and a few minutes after that ended up hooking one that he also landed of about 50 lbs. Now it was really time to go as the tide was getting near slack. We ran further out west where we had found fish the previous day though the tide was not quite getting going yet. We had a few shark bites while the water was still, and once it started going Jim jumped a tarpon. We didn’t see whole lot though with as calm as it was I would’ve expected to see quite a few more rolling etc… That was the last of the tarpon bites unfortunately we fished for almost another hour with the tide rolling out pretty good, though we did catch a few more sharks and a small cobia anyways. All in all no complaints after this year I’m very happy to catch at least one on any day! Tomorrow we will do it again I’ll probably start off in the same general areas and maybe check out some new stuff later on as the fish may be moving around a little bit. 2 for 4
