Tarpon Are In The Mix

Tarpon are in the mix. Even though a couple vigorous cold fronts have pushed through the Keys fishing remains in the Spring phase.

Martin Chambers, a keen fly fisherman visiting from Colorado, fished with me this past Monday. We spent the morning poling edges of banks near Man-O -War key in the backcountry of Everglades National Park. We spotted numerous Sharks and a few Tarpon. No luck feeding any the fly though. At mid-morning we had solid cloud cover and opted to do a little blind casting along the edge of a channel. Martin was casting with a Fox Sport Fishing 12 weight fly rod. He came tight to a fish after 20 minutes of casting and the battle was on. Two quick jumps in the beginning so we knew for sure it was a huge Tarpon. After an hour fight with wild changes of direction and greyhound rolling and some great jumps Martin had his fish of a lifetime alongside my boat. congrats Martin.

Martin Chambers doing battle with the
12 weight Fox sport fishing Fly rod

end game

catch of a lifetime for Martin Chambers
using a Fox Sport Fishing Fly rod

back at the dock Martin with his
  Fox Sport Fishing Fly rod and a replica Tarpon
that is much smaller than the one he released

During my next few trips this week we did not do any more fishing for Tarpon but had some pretty great light tackle catches.

Jim Magidson was using an ultralight Fox Rage rod fitted with a Diablo 350 spin reel when he did a great job of landing and releasing a large Red Grouper. Lance Schillizi used a Permit Trek 4 piece rod with a Diablo 550 spin reel with 20lb Horizon braid to catch and release a 150lb Sawfish. He was targeting a big Snook and fishing with a live pilchard for bait when the prehistoric fish took. These mud marlin are getting more and more numerous thanks to the outlawing of inshore gill netting in Florida state waters. We have one of the best inshore fisheries  in the world if not the best thanks to the voters of Florida.

A little while later Lance , using the same outfit, caught and released a 30 lb Goliath Grouper.  And then a nice Cobia. What a day for Lance.

Lance Schillizi and  George Witts released
Goliath groupers and Sawfish while pursuing Snook

a quick release boatside

a big Red Grouper for Jim Magidson on a
Fox sport fishing Diablo 350 spinning reel

Friday David Curtis and friend Nate joined me. It was a mixed bag kind of day. Using Fox Sport Fishing Bonefish Trek rods and the invincible Diablo 350 spinning reels we caught Snook , Seatrout, Barracudas, Lemon Sharks and Crevalle Jacks for lots of action.

Nate's first Snook

Nate's first fishing trip to Islamorada
was a great experience

Nate with a Lemon Shark in the crystal clear
backcountry waters using a Permit Trek Diablo 550 combo

Dave Curtis with a really nice Snook on the
Bonefish Trek Diablo 350 combo

a fat Seatrout for Dave Curtis using the
BonefishTrek Diablo 350 combo

catching Barracuda on the flats was great
action for my anglers Dave and Nate

Some really great news here in Islamorada is that Rick Berry of Key Largo Rod Shop is now a dealer of Fox Sport Fishing Diablo spinning reels and has all three models in stock at his store at mile marker 82.5.
Go try one out for yourself. He is offering some great prices.I will be glad to show you the reels that I have been using for 4 years now. I have never had a gear or a handle break. And there is no anti-reverse springs to replace like in so many spinning reels. Stop on by Bud 'n' Marys marina in Islamorada and ask for me. I'll be glad to show you all my Fox Sport Fishing tackle and how I have it rigged.

Captain Skip Nielsen

Warmer Waters Bring the Tarpon

The water temp is back up and the Tarpon have swarmed back in. On April Fools day Debbie and Rich Riolo wanted to catch Tarpon. Rich scored first with a 140lber. He had a very tough down and dirty fish. Only jumped twice and he spent a solid hour battling it. After lunch it was Debbie's turn. She caught 2 Tarpon back to back. Great day. Sailfish Trek rod and Diablo 750 spinning reel along with EOS 30 Trolling reel and Tarpon Spincast Trek rod were used on this day.

Rich Riolo spent over an hour battling this 140lb Tarpon
within sight of Bud n Marys

Debbie and Rich Riolo with one of Debbie's Tarpon's

Debbie Riolo caught 2 Tarpon today on Fox Sport Fishing tackle

Day 2 was slick calm and got hot. We found some Permit early on and Debbie, using a Fox Sport Fishing Permit Trek rod fitted with a Diablo 550 spinning reel, hooked on to a beauty. After a half hour battle Debbie landed her first ever Permit. 25lbs of pure fight. We used Horizon braid line made by Fox Sport Fishing. Having the braid line saved Deb's fish as it got around several submerged pilings but came off and did not fray. Great line.

Debbie Riolo caught this Permit this morning on a
Fox Sport Fishing Permit Trek rod and Diablo 550 spin reel.

Debbie Riolo landed this Permit using Fox Sport Fishing
Permit Trek rod fitted with a Diablo 550 spin reel and Horizon 15lb braid

along with the Permit Debbie also released this Tarpon today

We looked at a few spots and went a ways out into Florida Bay where we found a big herd of 'Layed Up' Tarpon just floating around. Being that it was slick calm we had a tough time getting them to bite but at the last minute Debbie's good Karma paid off again and she finished the day with a 100lb Tarpon. It was a beautiful sight to see these giant fish all around the boat just lazing about. Until our next weather change the Tarpon game is on.

This is the best

Captain Skip Nielsen

The Liverpool Invasion

Bernard and Paul Pielow spent 5 days on the water with me this past week. Lots of great fishing was had. On day one we spent the morning using Fox Bonefish Trek rods fitted with Diablo 350 spinning reels to warm up. Ladyfish, Seatrout, Spanish Mackerel, Mangrove Snapper and a 40lb Blacknose Shark were caught on the light tackle. I knew we had a good tide so we quit the light tackle action and went looking for live mullet, We scored with the castnet and headed to the bridge channels with 2 dozen livies.

Plenty of Seatrout were caught on the Bonefish Trek Diablo 350 combos

Bernard caught this world class Ladyfish aka Poor Man's Tarpon

Launching

Paul Pielow had a great time battling Tarpon on the Fox sport fishing tackle

Bernard getting some nice jumps from this Tarpon. custom sunhat

Bernard got his Tarpon after a tough hour long battle.
We ended up 3 miles away from where the battle started

Bernard Pielow uses the Fox sport fishing Sailfish Trek rod fitted
with the Diablo 750 spinning reel on this Tarpon

We ended up fishing til 6pm. The bite was on. Paul and Bernard each released 2 Tarpon. Both Sailfish Trek rods fitted with Diablo 750 spinning reels and Tarpon Trek rods fitted with EOS Trolling reels were used. The live mullet were getting blasted out of the water. This is very exciting fishing indeed!

Day 2 we went for the "Big Stuff". Five Goliath Grouper, 8 Sharks and a couple of big Stingrays. We used the Fox Sport Fishing Boat rod XT fitted with EOS 50 Trolling reels. This boat rod is super tough and travels very well being a 5 piece rod.

the boys doubled up on the Goliath Groupers.

Bring em on! The bigger the better. Fox sport fishing Boat rod XT can take them all!

Fishing for Big Stuff with the Fox sport fishing Boat rod XT fitted with the EOS 30's and 50's

On day 3 we went Snook fishing way back around Cape Sable. We saw 5 crocs laying up on the beaches and fresh turtle nesting activity. Snook fishing was great. Snook catching was a little tough. I got caught off guard and started out using too light of gear. The Snook are very strong and were taking us into the trees and cutting our leaders. Well we put an end to that, Using the Fox Sport Fishing Permit Trek rods fitted with Diablo 550 spinning reels and Horizon 30lb braid we started catching. The fish averaged 10lbs. We spent the afternoon battling big Lemon Sharks in a river mouth.

Paul muscled this Snook out of the trees with the 8 foot Sailfish Trek rod

Some really big Snook were released using the Permit Trek rod fitted with the Diablo 550 spinning reels

Day 4 we just had to go Tarpon fishing again. To hit the tide right we left the dock at 1 pm. Spent quite a bit of time locating live mullet for bait but as I always say "Its all about the BAIT", Anyway we found plenty of mullet and headed back in to Channel 2.

It was a repeat performance. Fishing in late June at the bridges is so different. There is nobody else Tarpon fishing! We had it all to ourselves and the bite was wide open. The Pielows each released 2 more Tarpon and had numerous "cheap shots". That is Tarpon blasting the live mullet 3 or 4 times and missing the bait. That gets the heart pumping for sure. At sunset we headed home with a very happy crew.

is there anything better than being bowed up with a big Tarpon

The 5 piece Tarpon Spincast rod fitted with an EOS reel in action

boatside release

The boys took the weekend off and resumed fishing on Monday. Now we had Tropical Storm Debbie churning the water up. Winds were blowing 25 plus out of the south and squalls were numerous. Bernard and Paul said this was pretty normal conditions (the wet anyway) and at least it was warm rain. Well we spent the morning in the backcountry of Everglades National Park tucked behind mangrove islands. We used the Bonefish Trek rods and 350 Diablo spinning reels and put together a nice catch of Mangrove Snapper for a meal on the last night before heading home. We also caught ladyfish and pinfish which I put in the livewell. We looked for mullet and with the frothy water and wind none were to be had. 

Paul Pielow gets a farewell jump with the last fish of the trip

The Tarpon rolls and the battle is far from over

This Tarpon thought he could clear the bridge

On the way back in I saw a rolling Tarpon and almost stopped to fish. We went down to Channel 2 where we had such great action and nothing was happening. So we went back to the channel where I saw the roller and set out baits. One on the bottom and 1 a live ladyfish on the surface. Paul went 2 for 2 on 100lb Tarpon in the next hour. What a great finish for my crew from Liverpool ,England.

Captain Skip Nielsen

Easter Week

We started off last with a slick calm day, I had tough duty. Taking Cathy Scott and Libby Adamson out for an afternoon of fishing. We were hoping to catch enough Mangrove Snapper for a fish fry that evening. Moving around and fishing a few of the "Bomb Holes" we were able to put together our limit of Snapper. Also released were Grouper and Spanish Mackerels. We used Fox Diablo 350 reels and Rage Ultralight rods for this fun.

Cathy Scott and Libby Adamson had a blast fishing with the
 Fox Rage Ultalight rods and Diablo 360 reels

Libby and Cathy with dinner

Being that it was slick calm it was like wearing a mask and snorkle. Everything on the bottom was very visible. All of a sudden the girls spotted not 1 but 2 very large Hammerhead Sharks behind the boat. This was a rare sight. I kept them around for 20 minutes by feeding them cut up mullet and snapper. What a sight. I video'd and hopefully it will show up on u-tube. After a while of watching this incredible nature show Libbey asked if she could catch one. I had a Fox Sailfish Trek rod with a Diablo 750 reel ready to go with 100lb mono trace and a circle hook. The shark took a bait right at the stern and it was game on for Libby. After an hour battle Libby used the eight foot Sailfish Trek to tire the Hammerhead out and we released it. Great catch for Libby Adamson.

rare slick calm condions in April. All of a sudden a pair of big
Hammerhead Sharks showed in the chumslick

Hammerhead feeding behind the boat

Libby Adamson uses the 8 foot Sailfish Trek rod fitted
with a Diablo 750 reel to catch an estimated 9 foot Hammerhead Shark

On another afternoon I had Debbie and Rich Riolo out fishing with me. They love their Tarpon fishing. We had fun with Rich driving the boat while I threw the castnet to load up on mullet for bait. April is the best time of the year to fish Tarpon with live mullet. So exciting to watch the bites. Well anyway this was a special trip. Rich released 3 Tarpon and Debbie released 2 Tarpon. All this action was at a spot called Monster Alley. These were all fish well over 100lbs. A lot of splashing going on behind the boat as these Tarpon chased the mullet. All of the Riolos' Tarpon were caught on Fox Tarpon Spincast rods fitted with EOS 30 conventional reels. I had 2 families down this week and on one trip took all the kids fishing. Lots of fun as they all caught some sharks.

Debbie caught this Gag Grouper while waiting for a Tarpon bite

after the sunset Debbie Riolo hooked and landed her 2nd Tarpon

Debbie Riolo caught both of her Tarpon using the
Fox Trek Tarpon Spincast rod fitted with a Fox EOS 30 reel

Monster Alley Tarpon

Rich Riolo used the Fox EOS 30 Tarpon Spincast combo
 to release 3 Tarpon this eve

On Thursday the whole crew went with me on First Growth. Our 28' boat. Cathy,Hammond,Parker and Garrett Scott along with Libby,Emily, Walker and David Adamson. We headed over to the legendary Spring Hole to see who and what was living there. We were busy from the time we arrived to when we left. Lemon Sharks,Bull Sharks, Goliath Grouper were caught. The last fish of the day was an estimated 300lb Sawfish caught by 13 year old Hammond Scott. One tough little girl! On this day we did not fool around with light tackle. We used the Fox EOS 50 reels spooled with 65lb Horizon Braid on Fox Trek XT Boat rods.

David Adamson released this Goliath Grouper

Emily Adamson pulling on a big Lemon Shark
with the Fox Trek Boatrod XT EOS 50 combo

Emily worked hard on this Lemon Shark now she is a happy angler

the Lemon Shark smile

thirteen year old Hammond Scott caught the most poundage by far

thirteen year old Hammond Scott is one tough angler. She released a
250lb Sawfish and  5 other Sharks using the Fox Trek Boatrod XT
fitted with the EOS 50 reel

Walker Adamson and Parker Scott fighting a double of Shark
while dad Garrett adds moral support

Of note here in Islamorada this week the offshore fishing has been spectacular. Swordfish of 520 and 787 lbs were caught daytime fishing in the depths and at least 4 Blue Marlin were released this past week. Springtime fishing is in high gear.

Captain Skip Nielsen