Slow morning for us today I had Brian out from Oklahoma. Winds were light south and then turned more west and kicked up late morning, and had to dodge around a good bit of weather. Didn’t see a whole lot of tarpon but we did get into one good group that i would’ve sworn we’d of gotten a bite out of but they just weren’t happy and seemed to disappear as quickly as we found them. First day in a good while that we didn’t even get a bite but I guess I was probably overdue! But we caught plenty of large blacktips and a few other critters to keep us busy. Anyways taking a day off tomorrow and then back at it Saturday for a few days. 0 for 0
Just got back from vacation last night and back to work this morning. Had a nice visit to Kentucky for the eclipse and to see some family. I had Tommy and Bill over from Texas for a 3/4 day. Conditions looked good today very light winds, they called for rain which we had a little of later on in the day but didn’t mess up our fishing. We caught bait on the way out no problem and got to fishing the channels with the very start of the falling tide. We didn’t see a whole lot early on, fished where I had seen one roll and we had a few big blacktip sharks, moved around a bit after we saw a bust a little later, and more sharks. Saw a few roll in a channel nearby and we made our way over there. Once we got settled in, some more fish started to pop up. They weren’t super happy but eventually we got a bite though unfortunately he threw the hook after a few jumps. We shook it off and got back to it, after a little longer we hooked another tarpon. Smaller guy about 30 lbs, I got off the anchor right away and we got him to the boat quickly on the leader for a technical catch, but unfortunately we didn’t get the rod tip high enough to clear the poling platform and he got wrapped up around that and broke off. Sometimes those tarpon are sneaky! After that we moved around again and had a couple more shark bites. We made one last move where I saw a tarpon roll off in the distance a few times, and had one more nice tarpon there. This one stayed on and we chased him down a nice 50 lber. We got him up on the wind on leader next to the boat and looked like he was slowing down and would cooperate for a picture, but this time the hook just pulled. Have had some bad luck with pulling hooks the last few trips. Anyways another technical release but I’m sure the guys would’ve loved some pictures, unfortunately sometimes the fish have other idea. We had a good time and the action was pretty steady between the tarpon and sharks so we’ll take it. Back at it again tomorrow but I’m open Friday and Sunday if anyone is looking to go, good tides the next several days for catching bait which can be the hardest part of the trip this time of year, so if you want to go give me a shout! 2 for 3
Got out with Mike today for a full day of tarpon fishing. I had plenty of leftover bait from yesterday and am going out of town tomorrow for a few days, so didn’t have to bother with catching them. We headed out to some channels I hadn’t fished in a while but heard some fish showed up there… we had a little time to wait for the tide change where I had been fishing anyways. We pulled in and tarpon were rolling around. The tide was just starting in here. We sat for a bit waiting for the current to move. The tarpon were a little finicky, had them roll right over our baits a few times but nothing. After about 45 minutes and where I was almost ready to move around a bit, we hooked one and caught a nice 45 lb fish. After that we got another about 55 lbs. Mike had a blast fighting both of them. Things quieted down after that, we had a few bonnet head sharks, and moved once where I had seen some tarpon rolling. No more tarpon bites but we did get a couple big jack crevelles. After that we headed inland and tried the other area where I’d been having good fishing. Not much going on there today though didn’t see any tarpon rolling or splashing. My buddy said he had jumped two nearby right when he pulled in but that was it. We each made a couple moves without much but a few sharks. We got a nice big triple tail though, and had some shots at some others but couldn’t connect but got a nice fish for dinner. After that my buddy called me he had found some tarpon and caught a double header! We headed over as he left, saw a couple fish roll after a bit. But no bites there we moved a few times and fished hard, but sometimes you gotta be in the right place at the right time. Anyways we hooked a big shark that cut us off and a sting ray, and ended up calling it a day. 2 for 2
I’m out of town like I said but later in August I still have some availability. Tarpon fishing is possible all the way through October, and as I’ve said we had the best fishing we had all year last year in September and October.
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!
