Capt. Rick Stanczyk's Islamorada Tarpon Fishing

Well yesterday was pretty good fishing again.  Not quite as good as the day before however that was mostly due to not capitalizing on as many opportunities.  We missed a couple bites and had one fish break through the leader.  Though we landed two fish and got one all the way to the boat for pictures which we’re always happy with.  I think we probably had a half dozen bites and the other day i think we may have had a couple more than that.  It was a lot busier at the bridges on this day though at one point probably 25 boats down there whereas the day before I think we only ever saw half that.  Also the seaweed was bit more difficult to deal with and was likely the reason we lost one fish as we got a ton of sargasm weed on the line at one point which always puts extra weird pressure on your fish and gear.  It also makes the actual fishing a bit more difficult as you are having to reel in and clear lines and that sacrifices time you could be getting a bite.  But again still a good day catching a couple tarpon and having several more opportunities.  We also caught a couple big nurse sharks as well as a mutton snapper which is always a welcome bycatch!  I had return customers Dan and his wife Julie and they were a pleasure to have on the boat, and Stephen came along again as well.  Was good to get him a bit more experience at the bridges.

Capt. Rick Stanczyk
Instagram: @richardstanczyk
Facebook: Islamorada Tarpon Fishing
YouTube: Bud n’ Mary’s Marina

Well got out today for a tarpon bridge fishing session finally.  As many of you know I’ve cut back on my personal guiding and have just been fishing a handful of days here & there.  However now I am going to be fishing mondays, tuesdays, and wednesdays for the next few months strictly for tarpon.  This coincides with the best bridge tarpon fishing of the season.  Today was my first day around the bridges and we had some epic fishing!  I had my regular customers Chris and Thiago who have tarpon fished with me for 4 or 5 years now every year.  The bite was on pretty much all morning.  We had a nice incoming tide and the seaweed wasn’t too bad.  We hooked a fish in the first 5 minutes that we landed and got pictures of and proceeded to get a bite just about everywhere we stopped after that, not waiting much more than 15 minutes or so for any bites.  Mostly all tarpon too I think we ended up getting 5 to the boat and broke off a couple more.  The sharks got bad too unfortunately we had one fish get eaten and after that we willingly broke a couple off that were getting chased before the sharks ate them.  That at least gives them a fighting chance when they are full of adrenaline to get away.  Anyways about mid day around 11:30 the tide began to quit and I gave Chris the option to call it a 3/4 day since I didn’t really think it was going to be worthwhile to sit there through the slack afternoon tide.  So we headed back after that.  Anyways awesome fishing and good to see so many fish locally around Islamorada.   Capt. Stephen who is going to be running the boat for me some rode along today so he got to really see first hand how I like to bridge fish and particularly how I use my trolling motor and electronics to assist in the fishing.  I have another trip booked tomorrow he’ll be coming along on and he’s already got a few trips on the book for later this month.

Capt. Rick Stanczyk
Instagram: @richardstanczyk
Facebook: Islamorada Tarpon Fishing
YouTube: Bud n’ Mary’s Marina

Well it’s about what we like to call ‘prime time’ for tarpon fishing here in the Florida Keys! We had some slick calm weather a couple days ago and there were thousands of tarpon in the backcountry and thousands showing up locally around the bridges, channels, and ocean atlantic side… almost everywhere you looked there were tarpon! April is one of the best months to fish here for them and the mullet run coincides with this timeframe which is the bait of choice for tarpon. We often go out early and catch bait or buy it when we have to to give you all the best shot at catching fish. Bait is part of the game and can definitely make or break your day but April is often nice because the bait is usually still pretty easy to catch. Sometimes later in late May/June it gets tougher on that front for sure but every year is different.

Anyways Capt. Trent who has been running our 18′ skiff this season has been doing pretty good. He’s been mixing it up a lot of trips but the last three trips all yielded nice tarpon catches for his anglers along with large nurse sharks, lemon sharks, rays, groupers, and cubera snappers. He’s also been catching a lot of nice mangrove snapper for clients for a little hook & hook, and a few resident snook as well. He’s got plenty of availability still in April and he along with my team of guys will be working together to keep the bait stocked up and in the know as far as where the best tarpon fishing is.

I’m also happy to announce Capt. Stephen Byrd is joining the team and will be running my boat for me on my off days (usually Friday & Saturday right now) and will also soon be available for evening trips just about any evening (the 4 pm to 8 pm window). Right now we have most Friday and Saturdays available the next few months with him. He’ll still be available at my older rate not my new seasonal rate too which you can find info on that on my charter FAQ page.

Capt. Rick Stanczyk
Instagram: @richardstanczyk
Facebook: Islamorada Tarpon Fishing
YouTube: Bud n’ Mary’s Marina