March 2025 Fishing Report – Stuart, FL

Inshore Fishing Report 

Snook

• Snook season reopened in our area on February 1st and there have been a good number of slot sized fish that have been caught. The water has warmed up a good bit for us compared to what the water temperatures we had in the beginning of the month were. The warmer water temperatures will lead to these fish becoming more active and feeding more which we have seen over the past few days with the warmer temps. 
• We have started to get some live Croakers back in the tanks here at the shop and they make for a great Snook bait year round. Fishing them around the bridges or docks with deeper water and good moving current will be your best places to use them. Typically you can find a few Snook willing to eat a Croaker on the bridge fenders around all of our main bridges. If you are fishing with Croakers, you can typically just free line them as they will naturally swim to the bottom, but if the current is stronger and you are having trouble holding bottom, you can clip on a split shot which will do the trick. 
• When live Mullet or white baits such as Pilchards or Threadfins are available, they all make for great choices too around docks and seawalls. The white baits have been a bit tough to come by as of late but we typically begin to see more schools of Pilchards and Threadfins start showing up outside the inlet in March. 
• Live shrimp will get the job done too fishing around docks and in the shadow lines either free lined or on a jig head at the causeways. 
• Those fishing artificials at the Jensen Causeway have had success with a variety of lures including Vudu Shrimp, Thumper Shrimp, Windcheaters, First Light Flair Hawks and NLBN paddle tails which have all been some of the top sellers here at the shop. A lot of the anglers will be focusing on the shadow lines to find their bites. 
• Anglers fishing from land have also had success catching Snook from land based locations such as Indian Riverside Park in the mornings, the Roosevelt Bridge the Ft. Pierce Inlet and wading along the east and west side of the river north of the Power Plant.

Sheepshead/Black Drum

• You can expect to still find some Sheepshead around inshore. Live shrimp or fiddler crabs on a jig head will get you the bite when they’re around. You will want to look for them around structure as they will be feeding on the barnacle growth. Typically the more barnacle growth you find, the higher the chance of some Sheepshead being in the area.
• If you are fishing with fiddler crabs, we have jigs available at the shop that will match up with them perfectly. They have a football shaped head with a swinging hook. Take the hook and run it through where the crab’s back two legs are for the best presentation. 
• You can also find some Sheepshead outside of the inlet on some of the nearshore patch reefs such as Peck’s Lake. Shrimp and Fiddler Crabs will do the trick for them there as well. 
• There have still been some Black Drum caught around the bridges on shrimp and chunks of crab. The bite hasn’t been lock and load, but there have been a few around the bridge fenders for those who are putting their time in. 

Pompano

• The inshore Pompano bite at the beginning of the month was pretty good as the cold fronts had pushed down good numbers of fish to our area. The Pompano bite in the second half of the month definitely slowed down a good bit. 
• Those fishing the Jensen Causeway east side relief bridge have been picking away at some fish, but over the past few years, March has provided us some of the best action of the year there. The Chartreuse/Orange and Chartreuse/Pink Gulfstream Pompano jigs have been the most popular choices for those heading to the bridge. Those jigs in either a 3/8oz or 1/2oz depending on wind and current paired with either a Pink, Chartreuse or Gold teaser have been the ticket. 
• Those fishing the Sailfish Flats and in the Inlet have been picking away at a few fish as well. If you’re looking for them on the flats, look around in some of the deeper cuts around the islands as sometimes they will get up in those areas looking to feed. If you are skipping Pompano and not getting bit on the jig, it’s never a bad idea to try bait fishing. Those fishing bait are using a Pompano surf fishing rig with a pyramid sinker baited with either pieces of shrimp, sand fleas, clam or FishBites. There have been some better numbers of fish caught in the inlet over the past few days. 
• Those Pompano fishing are also running into a variety of other species to keep busy including Spanish Mackerel, Bluefish, Jacks, Bonefish & more.

Misc. 

• Trout – Anglers wade fishing on both the east and west side of the river North of the Power Plant have had success catching steady numbers of Trout. Those fishing on the west side have been getting the majority of their bites at the ends of the docks along Indian River Drive. There have been some Trout caught south of the Power Plant, including around Nettles Island but the better numbers have been north of there. 3” paddle tails such as the DOA Cals, artificial shrimp, live shrimp, MirrOLures and top waters in the morning have all been successful options for those Trout fishing. 
• Tarpon – There have been some Tarpon around the Jensen Causeway on outgoing tides at night that have been feeding on crabs and shrimp that have been flushing through. It hasn’t been an every night thing, but is something to definitely look out for. A few Tarpon have also been caught towards the power plant around Little Mud, if you’re able to find some live Mullet, that will be one of your best choices for live bait. If you’re looking to throw artificials, larger paddle tails or straight tails such as the NLBNs or JYG Pro Swyms will do the job. 

Offshore Fishing Report 

Surface Bite   

• We’ve had some steady action for those trolling and fishing live baits out of our inlet as of late. Catch lists have included Sailfish, Mahi, Blackfin Tuna and Kingfish. The fish are typically scattered out this time of year, but when you find the right condition such as temperature changes, color changes, debris or signs of life, those areas are typically holding a few fish. Also look to find fish over reefs and wrecks, you may have to pick through some Kingfish if you are looking to find Sails or Mahis around the reefs and wrecks, but if you put your time in, the right bite will typically come along. 
• Sailfish – We’ve had some steady numbers of Sails caught by those trolling and fishing live baits by either kite fishing or bump trolling live baits. White baits such as Pilchards and Threadfins have been a bit tougher to come by over the past few weeks if you’re looking to go out and catch bait. Bryan and Mike with Stuart Live Bait have been covering some ground up and down the coast to find bait at times. When they haven’t been able to come up with the white baits, they typically also have Goggle Eyes available, if you’re looking to reserve some baits before you head offshore, give them a call at 772-985-0425. The Sails that have been caught from boats heading out of our inlet have been scattered from Jupiter Inlet to Ft. Pierce Inlet. If you’re out trolling, fishing a dredge or some sort of teaser can definitely make a difference. The Fish Razr Stripz dredges provide a lot of flash in the water and can be rigged with a lead to troll or can be used without a lead to either use when drifting live baits or kite fishing. Squid dredges can cause a lot of commotion in the water to raise a fish as well. We got new dredge heads available at the shop that are perfect for smaller bay boats and center console boats that are tight on space. It has 20” collapsible dredge bars that fit nicely in a bag that it comes with and its head weighs 1.5lbs. It can be rigged with a 6 pack of Fish Razr Stripz or squid chains for a great presentation and easy clean up. Last March provided us with some good Sailfishing so we hope that trend will continue for this year. 
• Mahi – The Mahi fishing seems to be improving which can be expected as we get into the spring. March through May typically provides us with some of our best surface action of the year for Mahis so we hope to see some more fish making their way to us. We’ve been seeing a few gaffers making it back to the dock and several boats have been able to pick away at a nice haul. We should begin seeing some better numbers and larger fish soon as we typically will see some of our biggest Mahis of the year in the spring. Some of the better Mahi reports have been coming from 180-200′ slightly north of the inlet. Anglers have had success both trolling Ballyhoos and fishing live baits. If you do hook one, be on the lookout for more fish with it as a lot of the fish have been caught in packs. We had the opportunity to throw a drone up while we had a Mahi on and were able to see a lot of fish in the area and were able to pick up a few more.
• Blackfin Tuna – The Blackfin Tuna bite out at Pushbutton Hill has still been hot. If you are going out first thing, you can troll to find your bites as the Tunas will start pushing down as more boats start trolling over them and as the sun gets higher. Trolling feathers or small squid chains should get you a bite. When the fish start pushing down, you can send out some live baits with a lead and stagger them at different depths and wait for a Tuna to find your bait. You can also mark the schools of Tunas on your machine and drop jigs to the depths you are marking them at. Kite fishing for the Tunas can be a very effective strategy as your kite will hold your baits over water that you haven’t gone over yet so the fish haven’t had the chance to see your boat and get spooked. If you see them feeding on the surface, throwing a popper at them always makes for a really cool bite and a fun fight.
• Kingfish – Look to find the Kings over the reefs and wrecks in the 60’-90’ range, you can find some out deeper as well. There have been solid numbers to the south around the Loran Tower as well as some caught on the six and eight mile reefs. 

Bottom Fishing

• Mutton Snapper – There have been a few Mutton Snapper around, mainly caught in the 60’-90’ range. Fishing bottom to the south around the Loran Tower has produced a few nice fish. For your Mutton rig, we typically will fish an “improvised three way swivel”. We will take a regular barrel swivel and have that free on your main line, take another barrel swivel, tie your main line to one end and your leader which should typically be 30-40’ in length to the other end and add your preference of hook to the end of the leader. With the free swivel on your main line, take a foot or two of mono, tie it to the end of the swivel that isn’t on your main line and tie a loop at the end to hold a bank sinker of enough weight to hold the bottom. We like to have the lead free like that so when the fish picks your bait up, it doesn’t immediately feel the weight and spit the bait out. For bait, we typically prefer grunt plugs, to make a grunt plug, catch a grunt, cut the head off along with all the fins and tail and put your hook where the tail would be. The grunt plug is a nice hearty bait that will stay on your hook for a while even after all the smaller ‘picker’ fish start picking away at it. Those smaller ‘picker’ fish will create some commotion and kick up some sand which will get the attention of the Muttons and then they will come in to investigate and typically pick the bait up. Fishing live bait on the bottom can get you the bite as well. Be ready to start cranking when you get bit as the sharks and Goliath Groupers will be first in line to steal your fish. 
• Mangrove Snapper – There have been some Mangrove Snapper down off the Loran Tower too along with other reefs in the 70’-90’ range. You can catch them on cut sardines, threadfins or live pilchards. Our better Mangrove fishing tends to be later in the spring and into the summer. 
• Lane Snapper – The Lane Snapper fishing has still been pretty good on reefs in the 50-60’ range. Fishing Chicken rigs with pieces of sardines or shrimp should get you the bite when they are around. 
• Vermillion Snapper – The Vermillions have been caught pretty consistently out at Pushbutton Hill on chicken rigs with squid. 

Cobia/Permit

• March and April also bring Cobia and Permit to our area. If you are looking to get into the Permit, fishing live crabs will be your best bet either on a jig head or free lined. Areas to look for them include the boils off the Power Plant and the nearshore reefs in the 60’ range. Our Cobia fishing can also be excellent this time of year. You will see them caught on a lot of the reefs and wrecks as they are cruising through. If you are bottom fishing, it is always a good idea to have a rod rigged with a Cobia jig in case one swims by.  Many boats will be anchored up on some of the nearshore reefs such as the Sandpile looking to find them. You will be able to catch them on pretty much any live baits (pilchards, threadfins, blue runners, grunts, etc), crabs, select shrimp or Cobia jigs. Always be on the lookout for sharks, turtles and rays as you may see them swimming on the back of them as well. If you are planning on targeting Permits or Cobia, be prepared with some heavy tackle as the sharks will most likely be in pursuit of your fish. If a shark is in pursuit of your fish, you can either open the bail or free spool your reel to give the fish the chance to get away from the shark and chase it down to continue the fight once the shark comes off of it. If you notice a cold water upwelling and see the bottom temperature start dipping into the 60s, running the beach to look for Cobia is always a solid option.

Surf Fishing Report

Pompano 

• Over the past few years, the March through April stretch has provided us with our best Pompano bite of the year off our beaches. Over the past week, beaches to the north end of Hutchinson Island have produced the most fish, beaches such as Blue Heron and Middle Cove. Pompano have been scattered from beaches south of there down to the St. Lucie Inlet, but that northern end has been producing the best numbers, but that can change! There have been reports of a lot of fish to the north of us in Brevard County and those fish will need to work their way south eventually. The Pompano that have been caught have been caught 70-100yds off the beach so the longer rods will definitely make a difference in getting your baits to where they need to be. The Pompano also tend to prefer the cleaner water so if you see a clean water/dirty water line you will want to cast your bait on the cleaner side for better results. There will be days where you will have to hit the 100+ yard mark depending on if that is where the good water is or if it is a beach with shallow troughs. Varying the distances of your casts when you get to the beach can be an effective strategy to locate where the schools of fish are feeding too.  The hot Fishbites flavors for the Pompano have been the Electric Chicken Sand Flea, EZ Flea and Flesh/Pink Crab. Anglers have been pairing the Fishbites up with sand fleas as well for some extra scent on the hook. As we get into the spring Pompano bite and past daylight savings, sometimes the afternoon bite can be more productive than the morning bite. So don’t be afraid to hit the beach in the afternoon if you can’t get out in the morning.

Misc.

• We’ve had some scattered Whiting that have been caught, some smaller ones have been caught in the first trough along with some nicer ones in the deeper troughs caught as bycatch by those Pompano fishing. The new Fishbites Ghost Shrimp has been a very good option for the Whiting along with pieces of shrimp. 
• There were some steady numbers of Permit caught off the beaches at the beginning of the month, but that action has slowed down as the month went on. When we get some really good clean water off the beaches, you will definitely have a chance to hook into one in the same range you are Pompano fishing. 
• Anglers casting artificials such as spoons and poppers have stayed busy catching plenty of Bluefish, jacks and a few Spanish Mackerel. Those targeting Bluefish can also cast out chunks of mullet or sardines on wire rigs.
• We’ve still had a lot of Blacktip Sharks off the beaches, anglers have been casting big poppers in the mornings to target them along with casting out chunks of dead bait. 

5th Annual Sand Spike Shootout 

• The 5th Annual Sand Spike Shootout is scheduled for March 29th & 30th and the headquarters and weigh station for the event will be right here at the Snook Nook again this year. The Sand Spike Shootout is a two day Pompano and Whiting tournament benefiting the Indian Riverkeeper and presents opportunities to win some great prizes. If you’re interested in signing up you can visit the following link to get registered, https://www.theindianriverkeeper.org/sand-spike-shootout/

Lake Okeechobee Fishing Report – Capt. Angie Douthit

Lake Okeechobee has been fishing great for both bass and crappie and the bream are heading
into the shallows to start their annual spawn season that typically last through the summer
months. This is also a great time to fish for bass throwing lures in/around bluegill beds with
swim baits; top water; frogs; swim jigs and worms. May is a great time to fish the lake with less
boat traffic; steady weather temps; cold-fronts over and not into the hot summer temps yet
and is peaceful. Want to book a trip but never booked with a guide before? Well, here are
some typical questions people ask when we discuss their trip. Do I, as the guide, provide all
tackle needed, whether we fish for bass, crappie or bream? The answer is yes, I provide top of
the line tackle and gear. Does the customer pay for the live-bait for a bass trip? Yes, the
customer is responsible for all live-bait cost. Is it possible to fish for several different species in
one trip such as live-bait for bass and then jig for crappie? Yes, it can be done but I have found
that through my 20+ years of guiding a full-day of fishing is best, anything less, you’ll feel
rushed. Do I offer a fish cleaning service? Yes, I will clean and bag your catch for a fee. Do I
offer any discounts? Yes, I offer Veteran and one-person discounts. Do I work with a local
hotel that offers my customers a discount? Yes, my customers can receive a deep discount with
a top hotel in Okeechobee. The areas on the lake that have been producing both bass and
crappie starting on the North-end are: parts of Kings Bar; Buckhead Ridge area; parts of Tin
House and Indian Praire and on down towards Dyess Ditch. On the West-end; parts in the
Monkey box; north/west side of Dupree Bar; some areas on the Shoal and on down to the blue
hole area. Lures for bass are: worms; swim baits; flipping/pitching; flukes; spinner baits (windier
days); shallow crank baits along grass edges/pockets; and some top water. Staple colors are:
Junebug; red shad; white; tilapia and bluegill patterns; green-pumpkin/purple flake. I hope this
information helps you to have a better productive day fishing on the big O. To book a fun-filled,
productive day on the water give me a call at 863-228-7263. Check out my website for more
information at www.southfloridabassfishing.com Thank you to my Sponsors: Mercury; Toho
Marine; Bullet Weights; Gill; BnM Poles; Real Magic; Navionics; Rapala; Lews; G-Loomis; Gene
Larew and Pradco Brands.