The tarpon fishing in the Florida Keys, particularly in Islamorada is second to none. People come from all over the world to experience this incredible fishery. While there are resident fish that can be caught all year round, the annual migration that occurs in the late spring and summer is what really draws crowds. I hadn’t done any big tarpon fishing in years, naturally, after so long, I had the itch once again.
The History of Tarpon Fishing in the Keys
The names that have chased tarpon in the Keys are as storied as the islands themselves. Zane Grey loved tarpon fishing, the great Ted Williams was a tarpon fanatic, they were the favorite quarry of former President George W. Bush Sr. – all came to the Keys to chase the king. The anglers and captains are legendary. If you only include names such as Huff, Spear, Fordyce, Murphy, Mill, Mahaffey, Apte, Pate – you aren’t even scratching the surface. IGFA Hall of Famers, authors, athletes, Presidents and so many more. The allure of tarpon in the Keys has spanned generations.
The tarpon is a fish that symbolizes the Keys perhaps better than any other fish. It is so important to the culture and the economy of this island chain, that the local Islamorada government has used it in official signage for the town.
Tarpon Time
Once you start to see the lovebugs, you know that it is tarpon time and they know it too. Schools migrate up and down the Keys as they have for a millennium, the fish in Boca Grande start to move, the resident Tampa fish know that something is up; it’s tarpon time.
I’ve written about this on numerous occasions, I have been to Boca Grande, the Keys many times, and, of course, the Everglades. You can read these stories here:
Flyfishing the Everglades for Tarpon and Snook
Silver Kings at Sunset in the Glades
The Great Tarpon Fishing Conundrum
What is so interesting about tarpon is that depending on where you are and what the calendar says, they may want to eat something completely out of the box that you never planned for! Sometimes it’s mullet (live or dead – you will have to figure it out), they might want crabs – you can dip net them in the late afternoons of the summer, perhaps they want greenbacks or pinfish. To cork or not cork – yet another separate issue in the book that is tarpon. There are so many variables; and if you’re flyfishing, that is another animal entirely – fly color, sink rate, leader length, size, then, of course, can you strip it right?
Tarpon are endlessly complicated, yet surprisingly simple. Feeding wise, they seem to turn off and on according to their own internal clocks. What do they want to eat? An apt question. Where do they live? Another great question. While they can be patterned out for the most part, there is still a large contingent that for no explicable reason shows up in disgusting backwaters and on pristine flats in the same day. Sometimes they judge an offering with extreme prejudice and sometimes they suck it down gluttonously with reckless abandon. Sure, match the hatch, but on this particular afternoon, they want dead mullet, not live – good luck. Yesterday, purple was the color – is that because they liked the color of that fly, or was it the sink rate that triggered the strike – do they want chartreuse today?
One thing is certain. Hook one and you will never forget it.
Bud n’ Mary’s Marina
To put it simply, there is no institution in all of the Florida Keys that comes close to the famed marina. According to Marlin Magazine, of the 100 people, places and things that epitomize sportfishing, Bud n’ Mary’s ranked number 12. Run by the Stanczyk family since 1978, this marina has played host to some incredibly accomplished guides, including IGFA Hall of Famers! Jimmy Albrite, the Adlers, the Rosses, the legendary Bouncer Smith and just to name a few.
At this marina I have experienced the happiest days of my life. From it you can access the Gulf, Atlantic and Florida Bay. Everything from snook to swordfish, bonefish to bluefish and redfish to giant reef donkeys can be caught in the same day. It provides access to three unique and special fisheries that offer so many different opportunities and scenarios, it’s almost limitless.
I recommend reading Pat Mansell’s book, “Bud n’ Mary’s Marina: Islamorada, Florida Keys” for a deeper look at the famed marina. To book your charter or stay at one of the marina’s many houseboats, click here.
Our Trip
After a nearly eight-hour drive thanks to traffic, we arrived at my favorite waterfront Keys restaurant, Lazy Days. Here you will find great vibes, views and food; be sure to order your fish Lazy Days Style!
After a predictably awesome lunch, we headed next door to Bud n’ Mary’s to meet our guide, Max Gaspeny. Max is the nephew of the famous Islamorada guide, Vic Gaspeny.
Vic Gaspeny was a guide at Bud n’ Mary’s before it was even owned by the Stanczyk’s and has been fishing there for over 40 years (although he is mostly retired now). He fished alongside Bud n’ Mary’s legends such as Jimmy Albright and Cecil Keith during the halcyon days of the Keys (although it is still great!). Vic owned eight total IGFA World Records, seven of which have been retired, including a 14-pound, six-ounce bonefish on 12-pound tippet. His 1988 record for blackfin tuna caught on four-pound tippet still stands today. In addition to the world records, he was part of Richard Stanczyk’s team that pioneered daytime swordfishing in Islamorada in the early 2000’s, something that was considered to be practically impossible.
Captain Max has been fishing out of Bud n’ Mary’s for over a decade and is one of the most respected names around. I knew he would be the man to put us on some tarpon. We ran all the way down to Marathon and immediately were in fish, tarpon were rolling all around us, we even saw a free jumper! The electronics revealed the situation under the water as well, marking a ton of fish on side and down scans. It was going to happen.
Tarpon On!
There was a ton of sargassum and so our cut baits were simply getting knotted up with weeds, we had to rely on live mullet for our fish. If you have never seen a tarpon blast a live mullet, it’s a sight to behold. These great leviathans charge down baits and eat as if on some sort of murderous rampage. Once hooked, the tarpon takes to the skies and furiously shake their enormous heads in an effort to throw your hook.
I put four tarpon in the air this day; one, roughly a 50-poudner, I leadered and popped off boatside before we could get a photo, one regrettably got into the bridge pilings, never to be seen again, another simply pulled the hook, but one fish did come to hand after a roughly 20-minute battle. It was about an 80-pound class fish.
After soaking a few more baits, we pulled up the anchor and set a course back to Bud n’ Mary’s, with a backdrop of the incredible Islamorada sunset.
I would highly recommend Captain Max Gaspeny to anyone coming down to Islamorada. He is knowledgeable, professional and a pleasure to spend a day in a skiff with. For more information or to book your trip, click here. After settling up, we headed over to our hotel, the illustrious Cheeca Lodge.
The Cheeca Lodge
I have fished in every single corner of Florida. Done a lot, seen a whole lot more (granted, there are still some slots to fill on my bucket list), but the Cheeca Lodge is one of the most unbelievable places that I have ever stayed. I would put it right up there against the Gasparilla Inn and Club; however, I suspect that The Breakers will ultimately win out in the end.
Cheeca Lodge & Spa stands as one of the Florida Keys’ most storied and prestigious resorts, dating back to 1946 when it helped define Islamorada as a destination for refined, oceanfront escape. Over decades, it has cultivated a reputation for “barefoot luxury,” hosting high-profile guests such as Curt Gowdy, who filmed numerous episodes of his television show, “The American Sportsman” out of the lodge, Ted Williams, Bing Crosby, Andy Mill, Stu Apt, Jack Nicklaus and former President George H. W. Bush who was a frequent guest and founded numerous tournaments at the lodge.
It boasts five restaurants, four bars, a spa, three tennis/pickleball courts, three beautiful pools, a nine-hole golf course, a 110-foot lighted fishing pier, white-glove service, top-tier fishing tournaments like the Presidential Sailfish Tournament and so much more. For anglers and travelers alike, the lodge represents more than a resort, it is where world-class sport meets timeless Keys elegance.
The champagne flows, the staff treat you like royalty and the food is spectacular. In this day and age, it is rare to experience something where people emphatically go the extra mile to help others; Cheeca sets the standard for what hospitality should be.
More Than Tarpon Fishing
I could write about Cheeca for hours, and indeed, I just might, another time. This trip was billed as a trip to go catch a tarpon, but it was much more than that. The real purpose of this trip was to go to the place where I’ve had the happiest memories of my life, and to add one more; to ask my girlfriend to marry me. She said yes.
Until next time, tight lines.
