Capt. Rick Stanczyk's Islamorada Tarpon Fishing

Capt. Rick Stanczyk

March 1… it’s tarpon time!

Well we had an overall cold February this year so the early season tarpon thing didn’t really happen… at least with any level of consistency.  It was cold front after cold front so the water temps were down in the mid to high 60s most of the month, a little too chilly for good tarpon action.  Not that it was impossible to catch one but I definitely wouldn’t be telling everyone to come and do that.  However we had our last front last week and at least from the forecast I can see it’s steady southeasterly spring time wind for the foreseeable future and the water temps are back into the low to mid 70s.  This should be the start of the tarpon run I know Capt. Stephen was out there catching bait today (he loaded us up on mullet so we’re ready to rumble!) and he saw some schools of tarpon in a couple of different local channels here nearby.  I can say I’m willing to bet some of the backcountry areas are starting to get some tarpon showing too.  My first tarpon trips start on Monday so we have a few more days for things to start up, but I imagine this weekend could be good for tarpon season with the forecast and current temperatures.  If anyone is looking to go in the next week here, as mentioned we’re loaded up with bait and ready to rock.  I’ll definitely be posting some reports as soon as we’re into them.

Capt. Trent did get on some juvenile tarpon action a couple of days ago fishing around some of the bay islands.  Those guys are a little more responsive in cooler weather scenarios – I think smaller fish and faster metabolisms possibly – so there are a few little guys around too.  But for the next few months if you want a big tarpon… this is the time!  We’ll likely be fishing the backcountry for tarpon through March and possibly early April, then it usually transitions to bridge fishing until sometime in June, then we go back to the backcountry once the big migration is over here and targeted the 30 to 70 lb residents back there all through the later summer and fall.

Give me a shout if you want to get out there, we’re ready!

(P.S. the tarpon pictured is under 40 inches and was removed from water quickly for a picture before release.  We never lift big tarpon out of the water it’s dangerous for them.)

Capt. Rick Stanczyk
Instagram: @richardstanczyk
Facebook: Islamorada Tarpon Fishing
YouTube: Bud n’ Mary’s Marina

March 1, 2024 by February Fishing Trentin Leary

1/15/2024 January Tarpon Fishing in Islamorada

Had a tarpon request last week from customer Dan.  They were semi-flexible on dates and originally Capt. Stephen was going to take them last Thursday, but they ended up switching to Monday due to travel issues.  Though also the weather did seem a little better Monday.  Not that it’s been super great conditions, but we had some cold last week that had slowly evaporated and by Sunday/Monday it was spring-like conditions with southeasterly wind and water temps in the mid 70s.  The guys found some large schools of tarpon around the bridges locally though they did not have any action out of them.  But plenty of fish hunkered up on the bottom they could see on the livescope.  They decided to then run into the backcountry everglades to try back there.  Tried an island spot for some juvenile tarpon which they had no luck with, but did catch some snook and redfish.  Then they worked there way back further around flamingo to some of the channels near the mainland where we often fish for larger tarpon in the later summer/fall.  Not much going on there with tarpon but they did catch a few big sharks and marked a few tarpon they thought.  They then fished some creek mouths and low and behold got into a good group of smaller tarpon!  They ended up getting 5 or 6 good bites, jumping most of them off as those small guys can be tricky in tight quarters.  But they were able to land one and get Dan his tarpon he was looking for… great work for mid january!  After that they fished one more area and didn’t see much for tarpon but they did catch a big snook and a few more goliath groupers.  Always great to make a fish request happen especially at a not-so-ideal time of year.  We’ve got some more cold weather coming early next week, but not going to last long.  Often by first or second week of February we start to have larger schools of early arrival tarpon showing up pretty consistently.  The boys here will be locked and loaded with bait and ready to fish.  So if you are wanting to escape the cold up north and have dreams of catching a tarpon, early February can be a good shot and I’ll of course give you my best predicitions with weather and chances.  There is always still opportunities to catch stuff if its cold, just tarpon becomes less likely.

Capt. Rick Stanczyk
Instagram: @richardstanczyk
Facebook: Islamorada Tarpon Fishing
YouTube: Bud n’ Mary’s Marina

January 17, 2024 by January Fishing Stephen Byrd

12/6/2023 December Tarpon on a chilly Islamorada day!

Capt. Stephen got a nice tarpon yesterday fishing with my dad even though it was pretty cold!  Normally cold weather kinda kills the tarpon bite though they got one fishing a pilchard in the backcountry for snook.  You just never know!  There have been a good amount of resident tarpon around and I bet when it warms up again tarpon fishing may be a viable option again.  Capt. Trent got out a couple evenings ago too before this front came in and they hooked up with a couple tarpon on an evening trip though didn’t land either of them.  Typically once February rolls around we start really somewhat expecting to catch tarpon again as it warms up in the spring.  Though through the rest of this month and January, if it’s 80 degrees and the water gets into the mid 70s, it can be an option especially if we have the bait for it.  I wouldn’t necessarily book a trip expecting tarpon, unless you are booking it last minute and we say the conditions are good and we have the bait.  But if you are good to fish the conditions, the guys at Islamorada Tarpon Fishing are willing to give it a shot and put in the work if it seems feasible, so don’t be afraid to ask.

Capt. Rick Stanczyk
Instagram: @richardstanczyk
Facebook: Islamorada Tarpon Fishing
YouTube: Bud n’ Mary’s Marina

 

December 7, 2023 by December Fishing Stephen Byrd
Capt. Rick Stanczyk
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!

305-747-6903
rick@islamoradatarpon.com

Facebook | Instagram | YouTube
Follow for daily updates!

Email List Signup

Archives