tiger shark – Islamorada Shark Fishing

5/15/14 Tiger Shark for the UK guys!

Well I finally got out on another monster shark fishing charter here in Mid May in Islamorada Florida Keys. I had a pair of friends from the UK aboard the Bn’M II and they wanted to catch something big. In the morning we trolled for a little while and caught a couple wahoo, a big mahi, and then went and did a little vertical jigging. We caught a handful of almaco jacks and 1 amberjack. From there it was time to find a shark! We ran out to my favorite shark area and set up on our first drift. It didn’t take too long and we had a bite. The rod bent over slowly and the fish started walking off line. But the excitement was short lived, the whole jack came back with full of teeth marks. We reset and put down another live jack. After about 10 minutes of drifting the rod loaded up. The tip lowered towards the water and we were tight! I had a feeling it was tiger, because it didn’t panic when hooked. The guys took turns on the shark, and after 3o minutes we had a 400 lb tiger shark boat side! We took a few pictures before releasing the shark to fight another day. The guys were happy and it was high fives and back towards Islamorada to celebrate!

Capt. Nick Stanczyk

bnmcharters@gmail.com

4/15/14 Big Tiger Shark on the Bn’M II

I had Nick and Caroline from London out fishing in Islamorada on the 15th, and Nick said he wanted to catch something big. Well the old saying goes, “be careful what you wish for”. And the old saying is true many times, but I like to change it up just a little, so I told him “be careful what you fish for”. We caught some live minnows in the morning, and started heading offshore to try to catch a monster shark. On the way out we caught a few mahi, and we finally reached the spot I wanted to fish. We set out two bonitos, which I had caught a few days before. We made our first drift, but no bites. I was a little discouraged because there wasn’t hardly any current, so I wasn’t sure if we’d get a bite. We reset and put out the two rods again. Bam! We got a bite on the deep line, but pulled the hook immediately. We wound it up to check it and it was just an empty hook. But then we saw the float on the shallow rod lay side ways. Usually it’s up and down vertical with the weight of the bait and sinker on it. We started cranked and the rod slowly bent over. Nick got in the chair and went to work.

The shark didn’t do much at first, so I thought we might have had a small dusky or bull shark on. But then he woke up and the battle was on. It was an hour tug of war, and when Nick finally got the giant shark up on the leader he couldn’t believe his eyes! It was a 10′ , 500 + lb tiger shark! He was literally speechless. We got a little under water video of the beast boat side, and after a few minutes we broke the leader and the fish swam away healthy.

It was an awesome fight and an awesome fish. Fishing for big sharks takes patience, but if you get the right bite you’ll have a memory to last a lifetime! Congrats Nick! email me if you’re serious about trying to catch a big shark at bnmcharters@gmail.com

Capt. Nick Stanczyk

3/25/14 Monster Shark Season has begun in Islamorada!

Well Monster shark season is here folks! I did two shark fishing charters the past week and we were successful on both of them! We fished on the Bn’M II. Just catching bait was a blast. We had amberjack on vertical jigging outfits from 10 – 50 lbs!

The first trip we caught a big tiger shark about 450 lbs. The next trip we had a 15 year old kid from Minnesota who said he wanted a shark. And boy did he get a shark. Two actually, and his dad got one to finish up. We caught amberjack in the morning, and then ran to the shark grounds. We fished one bait on a buoy, and one deep line. We put the baits out and within 5 minutes we hooked up!

Young Charles got in the fighting chair and after a 15 minute fight had an 8′ hammerhead, about 200 lbs boatside! We took a few pics and released the shark to fight another day.

We then made a couple more drifts with no action. We didn’t give up though. I wanted Charles to get that monster! We put on some fresh bait and sent the baits back out. Within 10 minutes we had a bite. A big bite. Charles got harnessed up in the chair. The Shark smoked the reel, pulling drag at will. He then raced to the surface, and headed west. I knew it was a big one. Then the shark went deep. Charles fought the beast for an hour. Then we had a visual.

It was a monster tiger shark. Over 500 lbs! We got the fish next to the boat and took some pics before releasing it to fight another day.

Dad wanted a shot too, so I said lets make one more drift, but I don’t know if we would get lucky again. Well we were letting out the baits and the deep line got a bite. Mark went to work in the chair. After a 30 minute fight he had a 400 lb dusky shark under the boat on the leader. We didn’t get any good pics of it because the hook pulled on the leader, but he still got to see it and experience the brute strength of a giant shark! April is my favorite month for big sharks, so send me an email at bnmcharters@gmail.com when you want to try your luck at a monster shark!

Capt. Nick Stanczyk

4-18-13 Week of the Tiger SHARKS off Islamorada!

It’s been a red hot shark bite off Islamorada the past 10 days. I have done three florida keys shark trips and have had great luck and success on each adventure! Yesterday on the 17th we started out the day by catching a few amberjack in the 25 – 40 lb range. These fish alone fight really hard, but we just wanted them for bait for the monster sharks we were going to chase afterwards. After catching our bait we ran out a little further offshore, and started drifting. On the very first drift we hooked about a 400 lb tiger shark. Jon was fighting that fish in the chair for about 20 minutes when all of a sudden an 8 foot 250 lb hammerhead shark swam up to the boat. We hooked on another bait and threw it in the water. In mere seconds the hammerhead gobbled up the bait and we had a double header of big sharks on! Jon released his tiger after about a 45 minute fight, and then his 12 year old son Reef got in the chair with his hammerhead shark. After about 30 minutes he released the hammerhead! The day was still early so we set back up and drifted again. This time we missed a shark bite. We continued to drift and sure enough we had two rods out and they both got slammed! Jon caught and released about a 200 lb brown shark and Reef was hooked up to a giant. After an hour he had an estimated 700 lb tiger shark boat side! What a day of Islamorada Shark Fishing! We finished up the day by catching a couple more amberjacks. A few days before that we had a couple down and Ray always wanted to catch a shark. We did the usual routine and caught a few amberjack first for bait and then started shark fishing. After an hour of fishing we hooked up and Ray caught and released the biggest fish of his life! An estimated 500 lb tiger shark! His wife was in the chair next, and I told them I wasn’t sure if we would have another shot, but sure enough the lady luck worked and within 45 minutes she was hooked up! After about a 40 minute fight she brought a 500 lb tiger shark boat side for a few pics before being released as well. I had one other shark trip a few days before that with a couple guys down from New York. We managed a tiger shark release for each of them, about 400 and 500 lbs, as well as a handful of amberjack. April Shark fishing in Islamorada is some of the most exciting stuff we have to offer here! There’s no guarantee you’ll catch a monster, but you have a really good shot with us aboard the Bn’M! Email me if interested in a shark charter!

Capt. Nick Stanczyk

bnmcharters@gmail.com

islslamorada hammerhead shark — islamorada hammerhead shark

4-1-13 Big Tiger Shark on April Fool’s Day!

Spring time shark fishing is probably the best time for sharks in Islamorada. We catch them both far offshore as well as on the reef. Yesterday aboard the Bn’M we fished a wreck near the reef and wound up catching a bunch of mackerel and using a couple for bait. We had a young girl catch and release a nice bull shark that we estimated at 225 lbs. Her brother then wanted a turn and caught and released a massive 200 lb nurse shark. Today aboard the Bn’M we went to the deep blue sea in search of “jaws”. I had our good friends from Kentucky out, big Jimmy and Little Jimmy. Since Little Jimmy was down on spring break I wanted him to have a shot at catching something he would always remember. We went about 15 miles off the coast of Islamorada and caught a big 55 lb amberjack to start. We then fought another amberjack up to the boat but lost it boat side as a massive tiger shark chased it around. After that happened we filleted up the big amberjack we had and did a drift. Within 10 minutes we had a bite and Little Jimmy went in the chair. I wasn’t sure what type of shark it was since we didn’t see it eat the bait, but after a 30 minute tug of war we had a big 500 lb tiger shark boat side! We took some video and then released the shark to fight another day. Let me know when you want to get out for a florida keys shark fishing charter and we’ll set something up! Send me an email!

Capt. Nick Stanczyk

bnmcharters@gmail.com