June 2019

Got out with Dave and his father and son Jack for a family trip today!  We focused on tarpon but left the options open for a mixed bag day too.  I’ve had good fishing the last few days, however I will say the tarpon thing is still a little hit and miss – definitely not a guaranteed thing and there are no spots that are consistently producing on a timely basis.  So a lot of days you have to just grind it out and fish several spots/tides until you get in the right one and it can be good.  That’s what happened today, we blanked early on in the first couple spots we tarpon fished.  Sharks were horrendous.  We tried where we had done good yesterday, but today the tarpon were in a completely different mood.  We did bail for a bit and caught a good handful of snook and redfish to mix it up a bit.  Then we ran around a bit more and were on our way to do something else when we saw one tarpon show himself in a different area.  We pulled in and saw a handful of fish.  Had the tide change so we still had to sit and wait.  Finally after 30 or 40 minutes, the tide switched and it looked like it may happen.  We gave it a bit more time and finally Jack hooked up and landed a tarpon.  A bit later, Dave got one too a little bit larger 50 lb fish.  Then it was grandpas turn, he had another big fish on but this one broke through the leader!  He got another shot though and landed a 30 lb tarpon.  Then finally before it was time to go, Dave got another one about a 40 lber.  So we had a pretty terrific day when you tally up the scorecard, but again had we not seen that one fish or been in that spot at the right time, it could’ve been a totally different ball game.  Hopefully as we get more into July, the fish will settle into spots where you know they’ll be and it’s just a little more consistent like clockwork.  4 for 5

Capt. Rick Stanczyk
Instagram: @richardstanczyk
Facebook: Islamorada Tarpon Fishing

Got out for Day 2 with Brandon, Kevin, Ron, and Charlie.  Bait was fairly easy and we caught a good amount with one throw of the net.  We tried tarpon early on where we had some luck yesterday, but today no dice.  Saw a few fish in the general area, but no bites we moved a couple times and just some sharks.  The boys wanted to mix it up with some action so we did that next.  Plenty of redfish and some snook, and we did get a little tarpon there too!  After that we came across a big school of tarpon in another area!  Not monsters, but our typical summer time fish in the 20 to 50 lb range.  We got them going on live baits, and hooked a couple double headers!  I’ll say we got 3 to the boat and jumped another off.  Was very exciting for sure on our light tackle too.  After that we caught a bunch more redfish and a few trout and a nice snook.  Wow just what a day these guys are lucky to have experienced the past two days like they did, we don’t see fishing like this all the time!  4 for 5

Capt. Rick Stanczyk
Instagram: @richardstanczyk
Facebook: Islamorada Tarpon Fishing

(tarpon under 40 inches we are allowed to pick up for quick pictures, then release unharmed back into the water without dropping or stressing them out too much)

Great day with Charlie, Ron, Brandon, and Kevin. Charlie and Ron fished with me last year and experienced some great tarpon fishing. We started off with that today. Caught a bit of bait on the way and fished some areas that looked good. Saw a few fish and didn’t take long and both Kevin and Brandon landed a tarpon! One big one too almost 100 lber! The tide quit and we looked elsewhere. Found some fish where I was last week and the tide was starting to fall. However they weren’t so happy we moved a couple times and finally hooked up but we got wrapped up in some hard bottom and broke the tarpon off. A few sharks kept us busy though. After that things seemed to quiet down, so we decided to take a look for something else. We got lucky and found the motherboard of permit! It was action as fast as you could cast for a bit. We caught several doubles and even hooked a triple header! Even threw some artificials as we ran out of crabs and had luck with that! Just a banner way to go ish our day and something special to see. After that we headed home. Back at it tomorrow with this crew again, hope were twice as lucky tomorrow but I’ll be happy if we’re half as lucky!  2 for 3

Capt. Rick Stanczyk
Instagram: @richardstanczyk
Facebook: Islamorada Tarpon Fishing