Inshore Fishing Report
April is a prime time for inshore fishing in Stuart, Florida! As we get greeted with warmer water temperatures, we begin to see an abundance of baitfish and migratory species. Expect a variety of species to be active and hungry as water temperatures rise, making for some great action in both the St. Lucie & Indian Rivers.
Snook: As temperatures rise, the Snook fishing heats up! We are beginning to see the number of fish caught increase by the week along with some more quality sized over slot fish making an appearance. As the water temperatures rise, we are seeing that they are more willing to feed on live baits such as Croakers, Pilchards, Threadfins and Mullet. For those fishing from a boat, seawalls in both the Indian and St. Lucie River have been very productive. Those fishing around the bridge fenders of the causeways have had some luck too. If you are fishing the fenders with live bait, don’t be afraid to snap on a heavier split shot to hold your bait down there when the current is strong. The live Croakers around the bridges are pretty tough to beat. You will also occasionally run into some Grouper mixed in with them. We haven’t seen too many Snook show up in the St. Lucie inlet yet, we should start seeing a few more of them push that way towards the end of the month and going into May. Those fishing dock lights at night have also been able to pick off some good numbers of fish. For those fishing from land, the Jensen Causeway has provided some action for anglers in the evenings fishing artificial shrimp such as Thumper Shrimp and Vudu Shrimp, paddle tails and live shrimp focusing on the shadow lines. Indian Riverside Park, Joe’s Point and the Ft. Pierce Inlet are also typically productive for those looking to target Snook this time of year. The Snook fishing will continue to improve as we get into the spring and approach their summertime spawn.
Tarpon: While tarpon are still a little early to be widespread inshore, some early arrivals can be found. If you’re looking for Tarpon, focusing on the channels around the Stuart and Jensen Causeways will be one of your best bets. We typically have a better flow of crabs flowing through the bridges on the outgoing tide this time of year, but we really haven’t seen a lot yet. If you can get your hands on some crabs, that will be your best bait option, larger live mullet will work as well. There have been a lot of big jacks cruising the channels and hitting the seawalls if you’re looking for some screaming drag action as well. There have been some smaller Tarpon caught around the power plant, live baits or DOA Terror Eyz will get the job done on them.
Pompano: Over the past few years, April has provided us our best inshore Pompano action of the year, especially on the Jensen Causeway east side relief bridge. There have been some flurries of Pompano caught there over the past few weeks, but not really any big numbers of fish. We have been seeing a trend of things being a little bit later this year, partially due to the fact that we actually had a winter this year with some consistent cold temperatures. We hope to see that Pompano bite pick up at the bridge here in the coming days! The chartreuse/orange and chartreuse/pink jigs with a pink or gold teaser have been a favorite for anglers jigging the bridge over the past few weeks. There have been a good amount of Pompano caught on the Sailfish flats with some bigger schools around, anglers have even been catching them fly fishing. We’ve heard about a lot of fish that are still to the south of us that will be migrating back north over the next few weeks.
Trout: The Trout fishing has remained productive for those targeting them. The better numbers of fish have been caught north of the power plant on both the east and west sides of the river. There have been Trout caught as far south as Joe’s Point just south of the Jensen Causeway as well. Targeting them with soft plastics such as DOA Cals, artificial shrimp, top waters or twitch baits will get the job done when you find yourself around them. For those looking to fish live baits, live shrimp on a popping cork is an effective strategy too.
Misc: There have been some Triple Tail around, you can look for them on the crab trap floats as well as channel markers. You can typically spot the fish as you are cruising down the line of crab trap buoys and turn back around when you spot one and pitch them a live shrimp. Anglers have still been able to pick away at some Black Drum and Sheepshead around the bridges using live shrimp or fiddler crabs. We’ve had some bigger Bluefish and a few Spanish Mackerel still around, look for them around the inlet as well as around both the Jensen and Stuart Causeways.
Offshore Fishing Report
April marks the beginning of some fantastic offshore fishing opportunities out of the St. Lucie Inlet!
Mahi: Spring is upon us and we are beginning to see a decent showing of Mahi in our area. We anticipate an increase in both numbers and size through April and into May. April and May typically provide us with our biggest Mahis of the year. These fish will pop up in groups so be sure to have your pitch baits ready! Trolling to find a school of them can be extremely effective, be sure to keep one fish in the water to keep the school around when you do find them. You will see a mixture of boats trolling and fishing live baits by either kite fishing, bump trolling or just drifting this time of year. Look to start your fishing in an area with a condition such as a current rip, color change, temperature change, weedline, floating debris or signs of life such as bait, birds or other marine life. These fish will move around a good bit and can be found as shallow as 60’ out to 400’+ this time of year.
Sailfish: We see a good amount of Sailfish caught this time of year. Look for them in the same areas as you would be looking for your Mahi. Fish will congregate in those areas with a good condition. Fishing live baits such as Goggle Eyes or Threadfins on kites will be one of your most effective strategies this time of year for those looking to target Sails. Bump trolling live baits will get you some bites too. If you’re looking for live baits, reserve your baits with Stuart Live Bait! Call or text them at 772-985-0425, they sell live Threadfins and Goggle Eyes on the water in the Manatee Pocket in the mornings.
Blackfin Tuna: The Blackfin Tuna bite has remained productive out at Push Button Hill with a lot of Tunas making it in the boat. 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: Kingfish continue to be a staple in the April offshore scene. They are often found near the reefs and wrecks with better numbers of fish between 60’-90’, as well as around areas with strong current. Trolling with large spoons, live bait, or dead bait all works, and you may also catch them while targeting other species.
Cobia: The Cobia fishing is typically red hot this time of year, but this year the bite has been pretty nonexistent compared to years past. We will typically find them on the nearshore numbers such as the Sandpile and Pipe Barge, but they just have not shown up yet. Typically you will find them on the backs of the Bull Sharks. There have been plenty of sharks around but they just haven’t had any Cobias with them. If you want to try to see if they have arrived, it is typically best to set a drift and have a spread of live baits with one on the surface, one mid-water column and one towards the bottom. Always have a rod with a Cobia jig ready as well in the event one swims by the boat. The Cobias that have been caught have been caught by those running the beach looking for them as well as on the tide lines around the inlet. Also be on the lookout for them when you see Manta Rays or Leatherback Turtles.
Permit: The Permit fishing has been pretty good at the boils offshore of the power plant. If you are able to get your hands on some crabs, they will be your best option to throw at them either free lined or on a jig head. Only problem is that the crabs have been tough to find.
Bottom Fishing
Mutton Snapper: The Mutton Snapper fishing is starting to pick up! The majority of them have been caught in the 60’-90’ range. Fishing bottom to the south around the Loran Tower has produced a few nice fish. If you are targeting Muttons, you will need some current, they really don’t bite well when there is little to no current. If you have a south tide, you will also notice that the Mutton fishing will be very slow. 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: Anglers are still picking away at Lane Snapper on the reefs in the 50’-60’ range, but it is starting to slow down a bit. 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.
Surf Fishing Report:
Anglers fishing from the beach have been able to pick off a few Pompano, but it certainly has not been red hot. Similar to inshore, April is generally one of the best months of the year for Pompano fishing from the surf. We hope to see the numbers of Pompano increase here soon as there are reports of fish still to the south of us that will need to migrate back north. Water temperatures have been cooler than usual due to the winter we had which may be holding them where they are. The majority of Pompano caught have been caught averaging 70yds off the beach. It isn’t a bad idea to stagger your casting distances to locate where the fish are feeding. When the Pompano do arrive, we typically start seeing more fish push in closer so don’t be surprised if you end up finding them on your short casts. Historically the afternoon high tides this time of year have produced some of the best numbers of fish. Pompano still are caught in the mornings, but for whatever reason after we get past daylight savings the fishing really starts to heat up in the afternoons. 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. There have been plenty of sandfleas on the beach so don’t forget your sandflea rake.
The Whiting and Croaker fishing has been pretty good. You will want to focus your fishing around the high tide mark if you are targeting them. Be sure to not over cast, the majority of the fish will be caught 10-20yds off the beach. Bloodworm Fishbites as well as Shrimp Fishbites tipped with a small piece of shrimp will get you your bites. Expect the Whiting and Croaker fishing to get better as we approach the summer.
