Capt. Rick Stanczyk's Islamorada Tarpon Fishing

Got out with Rod and Mark today and we decided to mix things up a bit.  It’d been flat calm the last couple days after it blew very hard sunday/monday, like 45 mph it was crazy!  Anyways things had warmed up a bit and I heard yesterday there were some tarpon around that the fly guys were chasing.  Anyways we decided to give it a shot we caught plenty of spanish mackerel in the morning and used them for bait.  We found some sharks in the channel as well, lemons and blacktips, as well as a couple big ‘mud marlin’ saw fish!  We only had 1 tarpon bite, but it counted and we landed a nice 75 lb fish!  Anyways nice to have caught the first tarpon of the year in January!  Looks like its suppose to get cold the next few nights though so it probably is going to be short lived.  But February is right around the corner and that can be the start of tarpon season for us if it is warm like it is today.  Of course the weather is unpredictable…  1 for 1

Capt. Rick Stanczyk

Stumbled into some nice tarpon today.  We were fishing for mackerels in the gulf which was very good and then decided to hit some channels for some sharks and possibly other stuff.  Luckily the other stuff was there!  Winds were a little breezy but southeast and warm with 75 degree water temperatures.  We didn’t see any tarpon rolling but I did mark a few on the bottom machine so we changed our gear to be more suitable for a possible tarpon hookup.  We ended up jumping one, but a bit later hooked another that stayed on for us!  A nice 70 lb fish.  We also caught some sharks and a big mud marlin aka sawfish.  Anyways I think the ‘big stuff’ like this will hang around for a while as long as it stays warm.  I wouldn’t go betting the farm on it for your fishing trip, but if you have a day like today when you can mix it up and give it a shot during part of the day it can be well worth it.  1 for 2

Capt. Rick Stanczyk

Got out today after being off for a week.  Was just fun fishing with dad.  But we came across a nice school of tarpon in one of the backcountry creeks in the everglades.  There has definitely been some around with as warm as it has been the last few weeks.  I just haven’t been fishing much and the few times I have, we’ve been doing other things.  Anyways as the tide came rolling in we had about 20 fish around us and we caught a nice 30 lber on a live shrimp.  Didn’t get pictures of him as he pulled the hook while we had him on the leader trying to net him.  But a definite catch none the less.  Anyways I am fishing a few more days here, then going out of town for xmas, but then will be back for the xmas week craziness.  Not sure if I will get after any more tarpon this year, but if it stays warm it is a possibility!  Gimme a shout if you are looking to go!  1 for 1

Capt. Rick Stanczyk