We have been hooking up to a steady number of tarpon in the area as well as filling up the coolers with mangrove snapper. In Everglades National Park we have found some juvienile tarpon 10 to 30lbs, snook tucked under the mangroves and snook also on the flats in sand beds. Redfish and trout bite has been excellent.

-Capt. Ron Howell

Our tarpon friends here at the marina dock.

Book a trip for an opportunity to catch a tarpon in Islamorada! They put on an awesome fight.

Happy Mothers Day! Tarpon fishing has been great in the backcountry as well as around the ocean side flats and bridges. Live mullet have been the most successful bait of choice for tarpon right now. You can also catch a variety of fish such as grouper, sharks and snapper by having a bottom rig set up with a chunk of dead mullet/bait. The migratory tarpon are 75 to 100+ lbs. Permit are stacked up on the rock piles and wrecks ocean side, they put on an excellent fight for my clients once hooked up. Tripletail are still around until the middle of the month. The mangrove snapper and seatrout are biting great. Along the mangrove edges in Everglades National Park we are catching some decent sized snook as well using live bait and softplastic jerk baits.

Captain Ron Howell
Robbie's Marina
www.captronhowellfishing.com

Tarpon fishing has been ok with the most consistent bite coming on live mullet around the bridges and channels near Islamorada, but live pilchards are the ticket in Flamingo and the Cape area of Everglades National Park. We have had several front move through which causes the water and air temperature to cool down. It also creates a very low atmospheric pressure. Snook fishing is really good in the backcountry and the trout and snapper bite is also strong. Yesterday I fished a private boat for dolphin offshore, we found some nice school and also got into some slammers! Those are dolphin over 25 lbs.

Capt Ron Howell
Give me a call 305-896-1507
www.captronhowell.com

Fishing report for this week: The FL Keys offers such a variety of fish to be found between fishing the Everglades National Park and the Gulf! The snook bite remains strong in the creek mouths, tarpon are in those same creeks and can also be found around the bridges and channels. The snapper and trout bite is excellent and the tripletail are continuing to stay around in the past couple weeks around the Gulf. Cobia should be showing up in the Gulf soon again too! www.captronhowellfishing.com

We are still continuing to catch plenty of big Spanish mackerel in the Gulf along with a ton of mangrove snapper, jacks and grouper! The grouper are not in season but make a great fight! In Cape Sabal, located in Everglades National Park we are catching black drum, trout and snook. We caught a really nice snook in East Cape, also in the park using live pilchards and pinfish. In Flamingo, we caught a nice snook too.

There have been large schools of sheepshead in the flats along with tailing redfish. For the sheepshead we are using a live shrimp, they usually will not eat a soft plastic jerk bait. A lot of sharks around, make for a fun fight with clients.

It's still early for tarpon season but that doesn't mean they aren't around - we can find them at a falling tide in the channels with live mullet or by resting a dead ladyfish at the bottom.

Book a trip by calling: 305-896-1507.

Captain Ron Howell

While Everglades National Park has remained closed, we are still catching plenty of fish here in Islamorada, FL. We anticipate the park re-opening by this Friday. This week on one trip we easily caught over 100 fish just outside of the park boundaries in the Gulf. Species included huge Spanish mackerel, mangrove snapper, cobia, tripletail, jack crevalle, and blue runners. We also caught several sharks in the 10 to 25 lb range. There have been big schools of mullet traveling down this way during the fall mullet run. Morning, depending on the tide will be the best time to target tarpon.

Some of the best fishing to be had in the Florida Keys no matter what season we are in lies within swimming distance of the shore, it's what we call Patch Reef fishing. In minutes you'll be on top of mutton snapper, yellowtail, grouper, mackerel and other fun fighting, good tasting fish.

Once the park opens back up, I am looking forward to getting clients hooked up to the redfish, snook and trout action in the backcountry.

Give me a call to book your next fishing trip!

Captain Ron Howell
305-896-1507

The bait runs have started down the east coast, lots of pilchard and finger mullet are showing up in Florida Bay and with them the snook, redfish and tarpon are right behind! Being that snook season has finally opened for us,  we've been focusing are attention on them. They are rascally rabbits! Hard strikes followed by hard lunges toward the cover they're usually found in. Tight casts along the deadfall and mangrove roots in the creeks and passes are usually the ticket. A keeper snook, one between 28 and 32 inches is highly prized for its tasty fillets. I've been catching lots of medium size tarpon too! They are unbelievably fun the acrobatic fight is the best and these size fish can be caught on light tackle, and don't wear you out like the bigger version! Redfish are showing in the sloughs in snake bite back in Flamingo. Out on the reef snapper and various jacks have been plentiful. Next month the stone crab traps will get dunked and tripletail fishing will be in full swing, We've all ready started catching fish floating the tides in the passes! Hope to see you soon, don't hesitate to call. I'm happy to answer any questions. 305-896-1507.