October Islamorada Fishing Report 2014

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We are nearing the end of October and it is starting to feel a little bit like Fall here in the Florida Keys. Last weekend we finally had a minor cold front roll through dropping the temperatures to the low 70s at night and mid 80s during the day. We expect more of this through the next couple months as the temperatures cool and this should really help our backcountry fishing. Earlier this month fishing had been tough for a couple weeks with summer dragging on with the heat as well as a big moon. This weekend however we finally saw some nice redfish push into the deeper moats on low tide and shorelines on the high water with plenty of snook mixed in with them. We landed a dozen of each one day and a nice juvenile goliath grouper as well. Tarpon have still been around and happy to put on a show for the avid angler. Four of the five last trips we targetted tarpon we had success, mostly just a fish or two a trip but we did have a big day the other day landing 5 of 12 hooked tarpon! Some fish have still been very large too, on one day one being 80 lbs and the other over 100 lbs! We have yet to see much of the craziness that is the fall bait run, I was surprised this last front did not seem to push the big schools of bait down towards us and have the tarpon going crazy. It is odd as I've heard up the coast around miami and the west coast they are having big schools of baitfish migrating there. Though it may happen just later in the month or even in November sometime. On half day trips the spanish mackerel fishing should start getting hot, that is perfect for rod bending fun and there are usually plenty of big blacktips out there too if you want to tango with something large and ferocious! If your wanting to come down and fish now is a great time, before it gets too cold there are still shots at everything and it is a slower time of year so you can beat the crowds!

Capt. Rick Stanczyk

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Florida Keys Bonefishing Guide Capt. Rick Stanczyk