Had Jen and Phil from a couple days ago again today. I had a little bit of bait leftover from our previous session as I had the day off yesterday. We ran right to the channels where there had been some fish early and we got on them again this morning. Jen hooked a big tarpon of 75 lbs that we didn’t think was a tarpon at first. It made a slow run out and then just a big circle around the boat. I thought it was a lemon shark or ray or something, so we locked the drag down and slowly got him near the boat. After about 15 minutes he finally jumped off the bow and it was a nice tarpon! We fought him from the dead boat and Jen landed him, very strange fighting fish. While that was going on we jumped another one on the other rod that was in the holder. Than later on Phil caught a nice 40 lber we got to the boat and jumped off boatside. We also got a few other little sharks. Later on we caught some bait, it wasn’t easy but we found a little mud on the flat with dolphins chasing the bait everywhere but were able to get 15 or so. We tried off the beach and we got a few hammerheads and landed another smaller tarpon plus a few other sharks. After the tide quit things slowed down we didn’t catch much the last hour just a couple small blacktips and a nurse shark. But another great morning with multiple tarpon! 3 for 4
2026 Tarpon Season Outlook
Here you can read our latest fishing reports. I try to keep this section updated regularly when we are tarpon fishing consistently. Though remember in the off season we may not be fishing as much or we may be targeting other things.
Alright summer time is here as we’re well into June! ‘Prime’ tarpon season seems to be over as the big numbers of migrating fish have been less and less the last couple of weeks. We’ve had overall decent fishing for resident fish however and we’re starting to transition more into backcountry tarpon fishing where many of these fish reside for the summer and fall. The bridge fishing can still be productive however you won’t see quite the numbers we had in April and May. Plus the summer time can get tricky finding bait in the morning and the seaweed can be a hassle to fish in. Evening trips for tarpon can be a good half day bet and we do a lot of local channel fishing with mahi carcasses through the summer so if you want to set something up last minute and do a shorter trip that is a good option. Capt. Luke is at the ready for a trip like that. Otherwise for the backcountry day time tarpon I typically recommend at least a 3/4 or full day trip to have the time to make the run back there. I’m gone now for the rest of June and most of July but I’ll be back late July and will start taking some trips again the last week there and in August. Drop me a line though if you want to get out with Capt. Steve or Capt. Luke here over the summer so far it’s shaping up nicely for some summer tarpon action!
Capt. Rick Stanczyk
305-747-6903
Instagram: @richardstanczyk
Facebook: Islamorada Tarpon Fishing
7/14/15 Mid July Flamingo Tarpon Fishing
More tarpon action today we fished a 3/4 day and got out early. Had bait from yesterday and we hit some backcountry channels around flamingo. Took a little bit but eventually hooked up a nice 50 lb tarpon we landed. Also later on we got a hammerhead shark. After the tide quit we ran and tried off the beach area though first we caught a couple dozen more mullet out of a mud real quick. At the next stop we got a few nice big snook of 15 lbs or so, a cobia, and a few more sharks. All in all a fabulous day. We saw some tarpon starting to roll when we left though they didn’t seem real happy. We had a steady 15 mph southwest breeze. Anyways day off tomorrow and then the same folks again on Thursday. 1 for 1
