Capt. Rick Stanczyk's Islamorada Tarpon Fishing

Had some friends in town and we decided to try for some shark/tarpon in the backcountry.  I haven’t been fishing much lately it’s off season so just getting out a couple times a week.  Tarpon fishing usually is not high on the list as it gets spotty this time of year and we often target other things especially when it cools down.  September tarpon fishing in islamorada can be good if you find fish but they just aren’t all over the place being off season and the migrators are gone.  But you can still catch them if you give it the effort often times such as today!  We caught some mullet early in the morning and fished the last of the falling tide around flamingo.  Went 1 for 2 on tarpon and then the temperature started dropping as their were lots of storms around and the tide quit.  So we took off and did some other stuff which we had success with including nice snappers and some snook.

Capt. Rick Stanczyk
305-747-6903
rick@islamoradatarpon.com

September florida keys tarpon

Well I got out today and my anglers were eager to catch a tarpon.  Normally islamorada tarpon fishing in september is possible though very hit or miss, which I explained.  We ran into the backcountry and looked for bait in the morning.  Millions of tiny ballyhoos all over but did not find any mullet in one of my usual areas for the conditions.  So we caught some trout and ladyfish which we kept some of those for baits.  We ran off the mainland and put some cut bait on the bottom.  Within 10 minutes we had something big on one rod, and then the other one screamed off drag as a 75 lb tarpon leaped in the air.  He made a few jumps though as my anglers were switching rods, the tarpon through the hook.  We tried a while more there and had some sharks as well as a couple big ‘mud marlin’.  Saw a few tarpon mid day rolling but they were not feeding on what we were offering.  So with the higher incoming tide we ran back towards flamingo and tried a few redfish spots.  We didn’t catch any reds, but their were some mullets flipping around.  They were very spooky and it took a while but we managed to catch a handful…  We put the few baits we had in the live well – fresh lively black mullets, which I prefer silver but these work when you are in a jam.  We went to one of the local channels nearby flamingo, the water was fairly nice looking as it was calm.  We set up with 3 rods, dead mullets on the bottom.  After 15 minutes or so, one rod twitched a few times, then another 60 lb tarpon goes airborne.  He was a very hard fighter.  Josh landed his 1st tarpon and was ecstatic – we had to work really hard for him but anythings possible when you are fishing the florida keys in september.  

Capt. Rick Stanczyk
305-747-6903
rick@islamoradatarpon.com

september tarpon islamorada

The wind has been howling the last several days and looks like it will continue to do so for a few more.  I am going out of town tomorrow so today was my last trip for a week or so.  Fishing has been tough with the wind lots of muddy water which is usually nice this time of year.  Bait has been easy to acquire though such as mullet.  We tried tarpon fishing some today in a few of the channels but not much action.  We did jump one tarpon after a long while plus had a shark that bit us off.  We ended up doing more stuff with the light rods such as trout and snappers and such.  I will likely be focusing on other stuff come september as things such as redfish and snook get much better. It is still quite possible to catch tarpon though a matter of getting lucky and finding them – right place, right time, and hopefully you have the right bait!

If your interested in trying to catch tarpon in the fall shoot me shoot me an email, if your dedicated to it and put your time in, really until the water temperatures drop later in November there is still a decent shot at getting some tarpon in the backcountry.  Of course in later October the fall mullet run usually goes on for a week or so, no telling when exactly but their is usually some crazy good tarpon action around then!

Capt. Rick Stanczyk
305-747-6903
rick@islamoradatarpon.com