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August is upon us and so is the heat here in Islamorada, Florida Keys. The fishing can be just as hot though so that is a good thing. On my full day trips we've been hitting the water early getting a 6 AM departure which helps a lot with bait catching and fishing in general as the early hours are often more productive. However early afternoon fishing can still be good too it just takes a little knowledge where to go, usually involving cooler currents, deeper water, etc... Tarpon fishing has still been pretty good for the most part though getting inconsistent. Whereas end of june through the tail end of mid-july, many of my tarpon spots held hungry fish every day like clockwork if you got there first thing in the morning, now some days they are there and some not. Or some days they will eat and others they don't seem interested. Though my best days this week we landed 9 out of 12 tarpon in two trips, most in the 30 to 60 lb range. I've been fishing mostly fresh mullet that we catching first thing in the morning still in the backcountry. In the bays the trout and snapper fishing has been best out closer to the gulf. Here the water is cooler and also alive with various baitfish - ballyhoo, pilchards, pinfish, mullet, and more. Often I am anchoring on the edges of banks out there and chumming up the bait. Whilst doing that, anglers can fish off the opposite side of the boat and catch good size mangrove snapper on cut bait, trout, ladyfish, and other specimens. When the live pilchards come up in the chum, time to throw the net. These guys are great bait for tarpon, snook, redfish, and more. But mostly I am using them for snook. Pitching around the shorelines and island moats has been producing nice fighting snook on light tackle. In some of the deeper holes off the mainland area, I did have several days of catching big snook in the 10 to 15 lb range which was great to see. We've also had action with large goliath grouper in these holes as well. Some of them outclass the tackle, but we managed to land a 150 lber the other day on a 15-30 lb rated rod! Other smaller goliaths we've been getting are usually more manageable. This has been my routine most days, and on a good day you can get all of the above mentioned fishing into an action packed trip of a life time. Of course not all days do the fish cooperate as you like, but the great thing about the Florida Keys and Islamorada in particular is there is always something else to fish for. The gulf can be great for permit and tripletail this time of year as well as some straggling cobia. And don't forget the guys with the real skinny water boats are mohawking the redfish early in the mornings up in 4 inches of water. Capt. Rick Stanczyk rick@seethefloridakeys.net August Shark Fishing in Islamorada with Capt. Rick Stanczyk

Well we are officially in our 'offseason' mode here in Islamorada, Florida Keys. Business normally comes to a screeching halt for a few months until winter time again. However fishing is still plenty good and for some it is the perfect time to come fishing. The best guides often have last minute availability, you have the ocean or bay to yourself without having to worry about people sitting on the best spots, and it's easy to shift things around or fish a more optimum time as guides have more free time. Through the end of August the tarpon bite has been fair. My last few trips we produced a tarpon 2 out of 3 days. If you put your time in you can usually produce a bite or two, though not a guaranteed thing. Mullet is still the go-to bait, you just have to find them usually early in the morning. We've also been having some luck with big goliath groupers in the gulf plus plenty of big sharks such as bulls and lemons. Chumming with dead carcasses works well here. We had these young kids out and they pulled on tarpon, big 200 lb goliaths, and a variety of sharks to 150 lbs. As we get more into the fall, the water temperatures should drop a bit which lends well to some of my favorite backcountry fishing - snook and redfish. These fish will move more and more into the deeper creeks and moats of the backcountry where they can be targetted a variety of ways. 1/4 oz jigheads with a big live shrimp are a staple bait for us, for snook with the shrimp hooked alive through the horns. Medium size pinfish are a great option too for big snook or redfish, you can float them for snook on a bobber or put them on the bottom if your anchored for both. I've caught a handful of snook the times of tried but it should get better and better and become more of the focus as things cool off a bit. Capt. Rick Stanczyk 305-747-6903 rick@seethefloridakeys.net Islamorada Tarpon Fishing with Capt. Rick Stanczyk

Summer time is officially here in the Florida Keys. Summer time tarpon are here too. Those are more of the resident fish that can be found in the backcountry and around Islamorada that are often smaller in size but just as fun to catch. We've been finding lots of mullet in the backcountry and getting those early in the morning then fishing the channels and bays. We went 8 for 14 the last two days, most fish are in the 30 to 60 lb range though we did finish the day today with a 100 lber locally around Islamorada. In the backcountry they've been biting on the in and out tides, morning or afternoon - sometimes both! In the bays trout and snapper are in good supply though the mangroves should be moving offshore soon to spawn. Snook can be found throughout the cape and flamingo areas, and most the redfis this time of year are up in the super skinny water, so make sure you bring your shallow draft boat for them! With the winds that have been blowing I haven't been out in the gulf much though that is often a good bet this time of year for permit. Capt. Rick Stanczyk 305-747-6903 rick@seethefloridakeys.net Florida Keys Flats Fishing

Well we've been on a warming trend here in Islamorada and that means big fish are not far behind in the backcountry everglades. Lately we've had some good action with a variety of sharks, goliath grouper, cobia, sea monsters, and even seeing some tarpon. As march draws nearer the action will be getting more and more consistent. This week we tangled with several big fish on the last couple of trips I made. One day we got a big sea monster of 300 lbs or so, plus a 150 lb goliath grouper, and a nice undersized but fun cobia. Also got plenty of blacktip sharks that day. Today we had more blacktip sharks, had one tarpon bust a bait early in the morning but miss it... unfortunately that was it on the tarpon action though we saw more around throughout the day. We did get another big sea monster and a nice 45 lb cobia off his back, and about a 100 lb hammerhead shark which was really cool. What we do on a lot of these trips is start out early in the morning catching stuff for bait.. mostly ladyfish is what we are after for that. But in the mix you get nice trout, pompano, spanish mackerel, bluefish, and jack crevalle. Then we fish those cut on the bottom or live on top, or both! Some days the action is hot and heavy, other days you have to wait, but we fish a variety of channels and holes to give us the best shot at getting a good mix of big guys to pull on! In March once the weather and temperatures stabilize the tarpon fishing will be much more consistent, so if your interested in that it is time in a few more weeks!!! Capt. Rick Stanczyk 305-747-6903 rick@seethefloridakeys.net Key Largo Fishing Charter

The last few days of November we had here look to be fairly windy, so I was glad to get out and enjoy some fun fishing for myself on 11/28/12. We hit a couple gulf spots early in the day on the last of the falling tide. Caught a cobia and nice redfish both on pinfish on different spots, hit a few more though no other luck. When the tide started coming in we ran back to cape sable and looked in one of the creeks back there. Had a slow pick of redfish, catching between 15 and 20, plus plenty of jacks, ladyfish, and a few trout and snapper. The fish are not quite loaded up in the deeper creeks, once we have another good cold front I imagine it will get real good. Once the water rose higher we ran back to one of the larger canals in the everglades and looked for some snook. Did catch one nice snook and red on the shoreline on the way back. Ended up catching 3 more snook in 2 different spots in the big canal we fished, all on pinfish. Some nice size snook which are always lots of fun! A great end to another great day on the water! Capt. Rick Stanczyk rick@seethefloridakeys.net Fishing Islamorada Keys Fishing Report Islamorada Fishing

We've had a lot of wind the last couple days and it's expected to continue through the weekend from 10/12/12. Yesterday it was a hard northwest wind of 20 mph and we made our way back to islamorada backcountry fishing cape sable hoping the northerlyeasterly wind would hold there and keep the waters semi-clean. Unfortunately it swung around from the northwest which it has a way of doing back there this time of year october fishing in the florida keys, and the water in the gulf was a mess plus big swells making the ride a little bouncy but nothing my seacraft couldn't handle. Luckily the water where we fished was semi-protected, we fished some points on the low water as it was just starting in and picked a few nice reds and a snook on pinfish, also our friend Bob Mclure who fished with us hooked and lose a very nice snook on light tackle casting shrimp. Bob was a major league pitcher for 20 years in the MLB, pitching for many teams including the Brewers in the 1982 world series. Great to have him join us on this october islamorada fishing report. He has still coached for many teams in the last couple decades, including our own Miami Marlins! We tried a few other mouths and points however the high water seemed to have the fish scattered further in for our october fishing in islamorada. So went deep into some of the creeks to some very shallow stuff, luckily the in tide and high water I had no problem getting my larger boat around. We found some neat spots, picking half a dozen reds or so in 4 spots, plus a few more snook and a black drum, all in 2 foot of water or less. Redfish in Islamorada is going to be great this winter! Later we headed back towards home and fished east cape. Got into several nice snook here catching another 5 or so, plus losing several on trees and downed debris, plus some more nice reds and a small goliath. Islamorada snook fishing is great in the fall! We also found a few more nice spots with reds in deeper water, and had one tarpon eat and spit a pinfish. Also lost a snook who jumped into a tree that was likely close to 20 lbs! Very fun day didn't get in till almost 5:00! Capt. Rick Stanczyk Fishing Islamorada

Well everything seemed to settle down after the minimal tropical storm we encountered last week. The weather has been been very good, with moderate to light winds in the 5 to 12 knot range for the most part. The Mahi bite has still been fair the past few days. If you find the right piece of debris (which holds bait and keeps the mahi around), your day can be made, which happened on the Catch 22 a few days ago. They found a piece of bamboo and caught 50 mahi off it to 12 lbs! But a few other boats didn't catch any mahi, but all of them found plenty of blackfin tuna up to 10 lbs on the humps. There's also been some decent bottom fishing for tilefish and grouper in the 500' depth range. The Gon Fishin V had a mixed bag with a little bit of every thing a few days ago including a decent wahoo on the way out. The Predator had a very happy couple who caught a bunch of schoolie mahi as well as some blackfin tuna and skipjacks. On the very deep side of fishing, the Daytime Swordfish bite has been as good as ever!!! Capt. Scott on the Catch 22 put original boat owner of the "Catch 22", Charlie, on a 180 lb daytime broadbill a few days ago. Capt. Nick Stanczyk fished with George Poveromo for a couple days shooting an episode for George's TV show, which will air early 2013. The first day we caught 256 lb broadbill, and the next day we caught a few tuna, mahi, and then released an estimated 175 lb broadbill, so keep an eye out early next year for the show. We got out on the BNM today and caught a 300 lb sword on the first drop! George Poveromo went out for fun today on his boat with Carl, who ran the camera boat for two days, and after a 7 hour battle on the stand up tackle they boated a 380 lb sword! Book your Islamorada Fishing Trips for this Fall Soon! Capt. Rick Stanczyk rick@seethefloridakeys.net

Islamorada fishing in July has been action packed, but it has been hot! Most of the time leaving early has helped, as often mid-day things kind of slow down due to the heat. We've had a little bit of everything going on in the everglades backcountry fishing. There has been a good bite of redfish and a handful of snook, mostly found in the shallows this time of year site fishing. However, you can often stake up and fish channel run-offs on the end of the falling tide and blind cast to catch these fish, or get up around the islands on the in tide and find them feeding as the flats get covered up. Pinfish are a good live bait to try, as well as cut ladyfish or mullet, or shrimp on jigs will work too. Eric pictured below caught this nice 12 lb red blind casting GULPs with me a few days ago! Trout, ladyfish, mangrove snapper, and jacks have been plentiful in the bays, and are a good bet for taking home some good dinner fish as well as using for bait for larger prey. We had some folks out yesterday and it was almost a bite every cast, and some good slot size trout as well as legal mangrove snappers. Shrimp or GULP artificials are a good bet here, often it's tough to get decent size live shrimp but the fake stuff will work. We had been still catching some of the giant 'sea monsters' a.k.a. sawfish while fishing for sharks, tarpon, goliaths, etc... though they are mostly gone now until the spring again. The goliath grouper bite in the gulf has been good, as well as some tarpon deep in the everglades and around the local islamorada bridges in the early morning and evenings. We had some good evening tarpon trips recently, with several mutli-fish trips and fish up to 120 lbs. Yesterday we got into some nice permit out in the gulf, catching about 8 in total which was lots of fun! Into August some of this fishing will hopefully hold up, and it's a good time of year to come as there are many less boats on the water! Capt. Rick Stanczyk rick@seethefloridakeys.net Islamorada Fishing Trip

Capt. Rick Stanczyk fished two half days today on 11/3/11. This morning had Keith Krunk down with a group also fishing Capt. Jack Backus and Capt. Ed Cale. We fished out west trying for spanish mackerels since a few have been showing up since the temperatures have dropped. Today the wind fell down to 5-10 mph, from blowing over 25 mph yesterday out of the north! Lots of cool air, but at least not so rough today! The macks did not bite great this morning with the in tide, though we caught a handful and pulled some off. Lots of big ladyfish as well as some jacks and snappers. Kept us busy! This afternoon when the tide starting falling into the gulf with the wind behind it, it was game on with the spanish mackerel fishing! Had Jeremy and his dad out who fished with my monday AM, we had caught some trout, snapper, ladyfish, and a few macks that day, plus an 80 lb goliath. Though got drenched on the way in and caught in a nasty storm. They braved it again and had a beautiful afternoon. Caught probably 30 mackerels along with plenty of jacks too, some nice size mackerel too. The big blacktips were also chewing and going crazy, we got one to the boat and broke off probably 4 or 5 as they jumped and twisted, straightening hooks and breaking #9 wire! Lots of fun to watch! At the end we hooked something big on the bottom, not a black tip this time... We chased after it, too big to stop anchored. Thought it was a big nurse shark, but no - big 400 lb goliath grouper! Got him up to the surface and he soaked us with a splash of his tail. Got him up again and he calmed down for some pictures, close to 7 feet long! Great way to end the day for these guys on their florida keys fishing trip! Capt. Rick Stanczyk rick@seethefloridakeys.net

Islamorada fishing has been pretty good this October with ideal conditions for several different species! A few of the days we've had some rain and overcast skies which has been great for bonefishing on the ocean side flats. Big schools of fish pushing through, and some large ones. Sight fishing is not very easy, but stake-up fishing is something you can do with the high water and glare to catch them! We got this nice 10 lb fish the one day we went. The fall mullet run is happening in the everglades and close to home here in Islamorada - big schools of mullet in lots of places! We netted quite a few one day and went in the back and the tarpon were everywhere! Caught a nice snook on one, and a large tarpon as well, plus had a few more chase the baits and miss them. These tarpon should stick around till are first legit cold front and the water temps drop significantly. Redfishing has been pretty good around the flats and islands near flamingo and the cape. Look for these fish to get in the deeper ditches when it cools down too, along with the black drum, trout, ladyfish, pompano, etc... The spanish mackerel have been showing up here and there, and with a good push of cold air should be getting red hot - remember the big ones come early often in November along with the big black tip sharks! We had one flat calm gorgeous day and caught a nice permit on the edge of the gulf on some dead shrimp since we had no crabs, a lucky catch on light tackle! The gulf fishing will be a good option in November here too before it gets too cold, cobias, permit, goliaths, etc... Finally the patch reefs should light up too when the water temps do get close to 70, mangrove snappers, mackerel, yellowtail, groupers, hogfish, all very good eating fish! Come on down for some florida keys fishing charters, remember you can pick and choose your days now while business is slow, giving you the ideal conditions to catch what you want! Capt. Rick Stanczyk rick@seethefloridakeys.net