Author: Capt. Rick Stanczyk

The big blacktips are on the feed now here in the backcountry of Islamorada.  We’ve had action with them especially on the falling tides in the gulf.  It’s been a very warm winter so other sharks such as lemons and bulls can be caught in the backcountry channels and bays too.  Today we were out mackerel fishing in the gulf and we hooked up this big tiger shark!  It was definitely a treat for my angler who really wanted to catch a shark.  We were lucky as we only had one other shark bite on our half day trip, and that was a large blacktip that broke us off instantly.  But the tiger we got up to the boat and got some nice pictures.  We also caught plenty of mackerel.  Anyways if the weather patterns hold we should have good shark action throughout the winter and Spring is always a great time for shark fishing.  Plus you get plenty of tarpon around then too!

Capt. Rick Stanczyk

Big sharks are around.  We caught some big boys out in the gulf today.  We’ve been getting plenty of blacktips and lemons in the backcountry fishing for tarpon as well.  But today we had big 300 lbers on the line.  They were ferocious!  Here’s a picture of one that actually ate a smaller shark.  We were fighting it and the bigger bull shark grabbed it and took us for a ride.  We landed the shark only to notice that it wasn’t even hooked – it was just holding on to the smaller shark in its jaws and would not let go.  As soon as we snapped a few pictures, it ate the rest of the shark!  Big monsters like these are caught regularly on the ‘gulf wrecks’ along with plenty of other great sharks in the backcountry of the florida keys.  This time of year there are plenty of tarpon around too, plus big giant ‘sawfish’ and goliath groupers on the wrecks as well.  It’s the time of year to catch something BIG!

We’ve had a streak of warm weather here in the Florida Keys.  Since a bit before christmas we’ve been enjoying highs in the 80s and lows in the 70s.  Sharks in the backcountry have been prevalent.  This time of year, big bruiser black tips are normal out in the gulf and in the channels of the everglades.  Today we caught about 15 of them and it was very fun.  These massive ‘spinner sharks’ can jump and put on a show similar to that of a tarpon.  They can give you a good 30-45 minute fight sometimes.  There have even been a handful of tarpon around speaking of them, we jumped a few off the other day and saw some today but did not get any bites.  We’ve also been catching some lemon and bull sharks since it’s been warm.  The bulls have been back near the mainland areas and canals, and lemons are commonly fround cruising the flats when the water is warm as this.  Give me a call if your interested in pulling on JAWS!  Islamorada shark fishing is fun for the whole family.  Especially on our trips we often catch small ‘rod bending’ stuff such as mackerel, ladyfish, etc… that we save for bait for the big boys.  It’s great for kids and adults.

Capt. Rick Stanczyk