Capt. Rick Stanczyk

Got out with Jim and his daughters Shelby and Chloe today for a 3/4 day trip.  We were scheduled to go out yesterday though they had a little mix up in the booking office and had Jim down for Sunday which he wasn’t going to be here for.  Luckily he was able to go today and the forecast looked fairly good aside from the typical thunderstorms, so we kept it at that.  Yesterday the winds kicked up a little bit, not blowing like crazy, but not the flat calm that we had over the weekend.  My buddy who was out said the fish shifted around a little bit and he had to work hard to get a few bites.  We got out into the backcountry and started off catching some bait which wasn’t too bad, we did have to put a little time in but it paid off.  We also had some leftovers from a few days ago so we were in good shape.  We checked out the channel where my buddy had found them good yesterday but didn’t see much in the early morning.  We set up and fished for a bit and eventually got a shark but that was it.   Of course some storms had been building up and were headed our way so we had to dodge around a bit.  We tried some other channels around flamingo and stumbled into a couple big balls of mullet and saw a couple tarpon busting into them.  We set up and fished and caught a big bull shark here and a few smaller blacktips.  Then the weather started to get nicer and the winds laid back down though still overcast.  We were about to bail but saw some signs of tarpon again and gave it a little more time.  Eventually Chloe hooked a nice tarpon though he came off after about 10 seconds, nothing she did wrong just not buttoned very good on the hook.  A few minutes later Shelby got one, this one stayed on and we chased after him using the trolling motor.  We got him boatside for a technical release, then he gave one more big jump which we got a good picture of but unfortunately threw the hook at that point so we did not get him to the hand which happens sometimes.  We gave it another whirl and things slowed down somewhat.  We did see another tarpon roll and shifted around a bit and Jim got a good bite real quick, but the fish didn’t swallow the bait we got hook and bait back in all.  After that it seemed like i was over but glad we had some action and didn’t have to stop fishing due to the weather.  I told Jim we’d give it some extra time if the storms were a problem which they weren’t really but I figured we’d give it some extra time anyhow since we had to shift days around and such plus it was starting to look real good and we had the bait.  We tried area where we first started and looked for tarpon.  We stumbled into a pretty big group though the fish were very spread out.  But quite a few rolling, busting, etc…  We set up and tons of little sharks and catfish ate us up.  They’ve definitely been an issue at times but today the catfish especially were thick!  We moved around and then eventually got one more shot at a tarpon but again he threw the hook right away.  After that we motored around to another spot nearby to look if there were any other tarpon around that might be more interested but didn’t see much, so we set back up where we were for the last 20 minutes and gave it a good hard effort but that was it.  Anyways not too bad of a day all things considered.  The tarpon are definitely getting a little more moody it seems this month, not nearly as aggressive as they were in July but that can definitely change any time.  There are still some good groups of fish around and if you put the time in you can still have some success.  I’ll be back at it Thursday!  1 for 4

Capt. Rick Stanczyk
Instagram: @richardstanczyk
Facebook: Islamorada Tarpon Fishing

Got out with Jeffery, Jesse, and Jerry today for a full day fishing charter for tarpon.  We headed out into the backcountry.  Weather looked great they were calling for some thunderstorms but that didn’t materialize so it was all clear and nice flat calm how we like it.  I ran right to where we fished yesterday as there was a good pile of bait there too.  Today though the bait wasn’t in the same area and the bait that was there seemed pretty tough.  We made a few throws without too much luck, and I was almost in panic made thinking I’d have to bail and run back the other way to catch my bait which would’ve been do-able, but would’ve probably killed another hour getting there and back with also having to catch bait.  Not what I was hoping for as I was trying to get to fishing early to catch the tide right.  Anyways we got lucky and ran over some bait up shallow where it was just deep enough for me to stop and make some throws and get us a few dozen baits.  We set up to fish and saw a decent amount of tarpon in the same area as yesterday.  They were really spread out though and moving a lot.  Hard to get lined up on.  We just set up where I’d seen some and had to give it a bit.  After 30 minutes or so though we hooked a nice 50 lber.  He jumped right near the boat and unfortunately got tip wrapped and broke off.  Though right after that the other rod went off and we had a big 100 lber on!  Jesse landed him and it was a good 30 minute battle we got to the boat for good pictures.  We set back up and the tarpon seemed to thin out, I was almost going to leave but after 15 minutes or so a few started to show again.  Eventually we saw a few right behind us and I figured we’d get one more shot.  We did eventually but the fish threw the bait out right away as he jumped and never even had the hook in him.  After that the tide slowed and I figured it was done with so we tried to re-up on our bait which we were successful with.  All the bait from the shallow flat came off on the bottom of the tide and we got a couple good tosses, usually that can be a very tough thing on slick calm days unless you are out there at day break, so that was nice.  We checked some areas further back in the everglades but there was a lot of ugly muddy water, never really saw any tarpon in 3 or 4 other spots we checked.  We ended up running back to where we started an hour or so later when the tide changed, and saw a few more but no bites.  We checked one more area and then found a good load of tarpon there, fish rolling as far as we could see!  I thought we were in the honey hole but the fish were definitely in a funky mood.  We gave it a good hard 45 minutes, and right when it was about time to go we hooked up another one for Jerry!  He battled the fish and got him boat side with the leader into the tip for an official catch in a few minutes, but then unfortunately the fish took off and jumped and we didn’t get the rod bowed down and pointed towards him so he threw the hook!  Unfortunately it was time to go already but I was glad we gave it a few extra minutes for the boys to get one more, too bad it wasn’t a good picture taker but a legal release none the less.

I just realized I’m open for tomorrow had a little booking miscommunication, so if anybody wants to go tomorrow the days available.  Looks like perfect flat calm conditions again, we have a good amount of left over bait, and I know where there should be plenty of tarpon.  Can’t really ask for a better shot at catching one than that.  Give me a shout!  2 for 4

Capt. Rick Stanczyk
Instagram: @richardstanczyk
Facebook: Islamorada Tarpon Fishing

Just got back in town last night and back to the tarpon grind today.  Got out with John, Joe, and Brett today for a full day tarpon fishing charter.  John is a well established swimming coach with the Badger Swim Club in NY, we talked about that a bit as my wife is a swimmer and we have a few swimming events in town here like the lighthouse swim so that was nice.  We had good conditions with it getting very calm yesterday.  Sounded like it was fairly windy while I was gone and fishing was not all that great so I don’t think I missed too much.  My one buddy did say tarpon were OK the last few days though and pointed me in the right direction.  We caught some bait early which was fairly easy.  Checked a few spots nearby there and did not see much for tarpon life.  So we bolted out to the area he suggested.  Found quite a few there we got set up but had a fairly weak tide though still a bit of current for 45 minutes or so.  Made a move and had tarpon all around us and rolling right behind us.  Thought we’d get bit for sure but didn’t happen.  The tide quit out eventually and we moved around.  Did get plenty of sharks though including some blacktips, bonnets, and nurse sharks.  When the tide started in we moved further out and found a good group of tarpon again.  With some patience we eventually hooked up and Joe got a nice 80 lb tarpon.  Battled him for a good 25 minutes and had him boatside several times on the leader but he made one more surge and broke us off before we could get him to roll over!  After that things seemed to thin out a little.  We moved around several times up inside the channel then back out near where we were.  Saw a few more tarpon eventually and got near by them and then John hooked a big 100 lb tarpon!  Same story we battled him for a good 40 minutes and had him boatside several times.  I thought for sure this one would roll over but same thing we just couldn’t break his will and eventually he snapped off too on a good hard surge.  Those big stubborn fish can be hard sometimes for the good glory pictures!  But we got some good action shots and the boys got some good jump shots which sometimes you just have to be good with.  Catching them is one thing, getting them to roll over for a picture is another.  Anyways we were glad to make both bites count.  After that we had an hour or so left and it got really slick calm.  The tarpon seemed to be done with and we decided to try bending the light rods a little.  Though not much was going on it was very hot with almost 90 degree water temperatures.  We caught a handful of trout and then the boys were about done as was I so we headed on in.  Back at it tomorrow I think I’ll be running right to that spot and hopefully with a little more current they’ll bite a little better earlier in the morning.  I’m booked through Monday but this coming week I have several days open and the following weekend is open too if anyone wants to get out there.  Looks like it’ll be getting a little windier tuesday/wednesday but not too bad, then nice and calm again by Thursday.  2 for 2

Capt. Rick Stanczyk
Instagram: @richardstanczyk
Facebook: Islamorada Tarpon Fishing