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Got out for a full day today after having the last couple days off.  The winds slicked off nicely yesterday and things got to really warm back up and I heard some tarpon had moved back in.  Today the winds were slightly breezy but not too bad.  We found some bait had to work for it but managed enough to fish with.  We found a decent amount of tarpon in one of the areas where they were before the front.  Sharks ate us up pretty good in the first stop, but we moved around and soon hooked a nice 90 lb fish for Matt!  He fought it well and we got it boatside for some pictures.  Later on we caught a few more sharks including a cool hammerhead.  Then Matt’s son Will got a nice 80 lb tarpon.  After that we gave the tarpon a break and looked for some snook which Matt hooked a nice one but we lost him unfortunately in the sticks.  We finished the day up catching some nice mangrove snappers for dinner.  All in all a great day on the water, though unfortunately we had some motor problems on the way home and had to get towed in.  Luckily we were fairly close to home so it was only about a 45 minute tow home.  Had to give my trip away tomorrow and take my boat into the shop since we couldn’t figure out what was wrong.  Hopefully they can diagnose and fix it quickly, though luckily I have another skiff to use for the rest of the week.  At least we got to get our day in though and it was a good one!  2 for 2

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

Got out for a full day with Jason and Tammy today down from Maine.  Jason had a dream of catching a tarpon though I told him chances might be slim with the cold front we had that came in the past couple days.  Water temperatures plummeted into the mid 60s and low 60s in some areas of the bay, plus locally we are in the midst of a terrible algae bloom that hopefully will be getting pushed out to sea soon.  Anyways we opted to fish mostly for other things but gave the tarpon a try for the last hour of the day.  Seemed to be the right move as that was when the wind laid out some, and the water warmed up to at least the 69 degree range.  We did see a few tarpon around but unfortunately not very happy we didn’t get a bite, but did hook a big shark and a sting ray.  We had fun in the morning though with snappers, sheepshead, and mackerel.  Anyways I think maybe tomorrow might be a better bet the winds are suppose to swing back to the easterly direction but the water temperatures still won’t be great… but at least in the range where you may have a shot.  Sunday is suppose to be pretty calm though so that may be the day things warm back up and get back in ‘the zone.’  Though this week looks to be windy with the winds kicking up hard out of the east.  But will be better for tarpon then the cold that’s for sure.  I’m off tomorrow but available sunday if anyone wants to give it a go… as I said conditions look favorable!  0 for 0

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

Got out with Michelle and her son Matthew today for a 3/4 day of tarpon fishing in Islamorada.  We decided to run back into the everglades as a good wad of fish had been back there the last few days.  But it is prefrontal with temperatures suppose to be dropping back into the high 50s the next couple nights.  So tomorrow morning may be the last of it, if not today.  We caught bait early and headed out, plenty of fish there early I mean a lot of ’em!  We got a bite fairly quick and Michelle hooked a big one about 120 lbs.  We fought it for about 45 minutes chasing it down the channel.  Michelle fought it well and we landed her and got some good pictures.  Later on she hooked another we passed to Matthew, however bad luck the hook broke on us!  She later hooked a nice cobia that Matthew caught about a 40 lber… nice fish!  Matthew had a couple tarpon bites later too but unfortunately they didn’t stay on the hook.  Been having quite a few get away on me the last couple trips but at least we’ve been catching a few.  Anyways that was about all she wrote we headed back around noon.  Funny no shark bites at all today, the sharks have been a little strange in the backcountry this year for sure.  Back at it tomorrow I have a half day scheduled not sure what I’m doing yet, but after tomorrow I think the tarpon thing might be over for a couple days at least.  Hopefully no more cold fronts as we get into April!  1 for 4

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