April 2016

4/14/16 Tarpon Fishing in April Florida Keys

Had a full day today with Paul and his brother they also had me booked for tomorrow.  Fishing was tough today we found tarpon everywhere we went but they were not responding well.  Lots of fish in the morning but no love at all, tried several places and we had one boil on a bait that was it.  Mid day we ran down towards the marathon bridges to fish and we did hook a nice fish by the bridge but the hook broke and we lost him.  We caught some big mangrove snappers and a couple groupers which was cool.  After that in the bay we found some tarpon and had a flash on a bait, but the fish didn’t eat.  I told the guys maybe instead of going tomorrow we could go later this evening so we ended up doing that going at 6 PM.  Fishing was good we caught a nice fish in the first hour then when the tide started falling and it got dark it got very good.  We had a tarpon bite on each drift fishing our crabs and landed 2 out of 3 more fish, including a 110 lb for Paul.  So overall a good day had to work hard at it but felt good to put them on fish.  Tomorrow I have off now but may fish a trip late tomorrow night.  0 for 1 and 3 for 4

Capt. Rick Stanczyk

41416tarpon

4/12/16 Three quarter day and Evening tarpon fishing report Florida Keys

Got out for a 3/4 day with Tom and Will for some tarpon fishing.  They’d fished the day before and didn’t have any luck losing one tarpon.  Today conditions had gotten much better we had a little action everywhere we went.  We caught a nice fish to start the morning of about 80 lbs for Tom.  After that we moved around the bridges and saw a few fish roll, got in front of them, and Will hooked a nice 50 lber though we jumped him off soon after.  Later then we went to another bridge to catch the start of the incoming tide and it was Wills chance again he hooked a good 75 lb fish we chased through the bridge and got to the boat!  Exciting fight in the clear pretty middle of the day.  After the tide got rolling there were fish everywhere rolling must have been 500 or more!   However they were not responding about a half dozen other guides came out there and nobody could get a bite out of them glad we were there at the right time.  During the day the start and stop of the tides has really been when the fish are biting better though I think they will get happier and more consistent as the water warms up more it’s still in the  70 degree range which is OK but on the chilly side.  This is still early season temperatures which that fishing can always be a little more hit or miss.  After that we ran back to where we started our day and found a lot of fish rolling in the bay, I used my trolling motor to line up on them and we soon had a tarpon chasing and busting our bait, but never hooked him up, then it was time to go.  Anyways a great day the boys were glad to each have gotten their first tarpon!

This evening I got out with my brother in law John and his new bride Vivian, my wife Elizabeth also came long.  They were suppose to fish Wednesday day with me but I told them the night was very good the evening before and it worked out for them to go so we did.  We loaded up with fresh bait mid day and then we were at it.  Caught the start of the falling tide and fishing was good.  We got into a bunch of fish by the bridges and I think had 8 solid hookups, landing 4 fish and lost another couple to the bridge or jumped off.  It was action almost as fast as you could go!  Very nice to see them responding the evening falling tide is where it’s at right now.  I did get an out of the water tarpon picture with John, however please note tarpon under 40 inches you may lift out of the water.  We don’t lift big tarpon out of the water as it is illegal and can injure them.  I’m not booked tonight but just opened myself up so maybe I’ll get out again!  2 for 3 and 4 for 8

Capt. Rick Stanczyk

4/11/16 Islamorada Tarpon Fishing Report mid April

Got out for a full day and an evening trip today.  This morning we caught a tarpon around the bridges on the end of the falling tide.  The fish ate a nice live mullet.  After that we went and caught some snappers for dinner.  We gave the tarpon a try again later in the morning and mid day on the incoming tide, though we didn’t have any bites.  Saw some fish in different areas but they were unresponsive and we came in early calling it a day by 1:30.

This evening fishing was much better we got out at 3:30 and caught the start of the falling tide.  I fished some of the local channels with Mick who was down here in south florida on business and wanted to try out tarpon fishing.  We had a good trip we found some fish early on and got some action pretty quick.  We missed a couple bites but then caught a 90 lb fish, followed soon after by a 100 lb fish.  Both put on quite a display and we got them boatside for good pictures.  We tried another channel after the bite slowed but not much there.  Then we ran into the bayside to try a last spot for the final hour.  We moved around a little and by 7:00 we saw a nice fish roll and lined up on him and got another bite.  A big fish to end the night of 140 lbs!  We made short work of him Mick landed all 3 fish and all of them in under 20 minutes.  A great night of fishing it was nice to see them biting again after having a few slower trips lately.  1 for 1 and 3 for 5

Capt. Rick Stanczyk