We’ve been quite busy here at the shop ordering and diving in on all the new 2024 product launches! We will have a full slate of new products coming in from some of the top brands in the industry. Here’s a little breakdown of some of the new items that we will be stocking this year by brand. These are just some of the bigger ticket items, there will be a lot of new smaller items like lures, terminal tackle, tools, etc to come as well. Stop in and take advantage of the savings on current stock of previous models!
Quantum: Quantum has completely reworked their brand from the ground up including putting together a full new behind the scenes team of experts along with new pro staffers on the water. Capt. Justin has been fishing the new Quantum lineup all year and has been extremely pleased with the products. Quantum will be debuting two new reels, the Strive and Benchmark. They will be available as either reels by themselves or on factory combos and come at a great price point. They will also be debuting the Myth rod series which will be available in ten different sizes.
Penn: The Penn Fathom Electric reels were one of the most talked about and most anticipated releases for the year. They will be available in three different sizes and you have the option to fish the reels completely cordless. If you prefer using a cord they have a standard cord and a Hubbell plug available for the reels as well. Penn has also revamped the Battle series, we will be stocking the silver and black Battle IV DX (select dealer exclusive model) and will also have the standard black and gold Battle’s available on combos. For rods, the Ally II boat rod series has been expanded.
Daiwa: Daiwa has come out with a wide range of new products, some of which have already arrived. New products that have already hit the shop include the Seaborg 1800, Saltiga 15 slow pitch reel, 24 TD SOL Inshore rods, Proteus Inshore rods, Saltiga Power Slow slow pitch rods and the Outrage slow pitch rods. Still to come include the new Seaborg 1200, Seaborg 300, Tanacom 500, new Certate SWs and the SOL MQ.
Dominion E-Rods: The Dominion rods have been out for a little bit now and we are jumping on board with them, they are also based right in Stuart. The Dominion rods are rods with a built in power supply for Daiwa and Shimano electric reels. You simply just plug the reel into the rod and have power to the reel without any cords getting in the way. We will have the bent butt rods, slow pitch rods as well as just the butt section with the built in battery available for both bent butt rods and slow pitch rods.
Shimano: We will have the new Shimano Talica 20IIA & 25IIAs available along with the new Vanford spinning reels.
Tsunami: The new Tsunami SaltX IIs have started to hit the shelves, we will be stocking them in the 3000, 4000 and 6000 models. Tsunami will also be launching the new Carbon Shield III inshore rods which should be available by December.
Van Staal: Van Staal has added the 50 VSX2 in a bail-less model to the lineup and is also introducing VSX2s with a faster gear ratio, we will be stocking the 50VSX2s as well as the higher retrieve models in the 150 and 200 sizes.
Inshore Fishing Report
It sure was a hot July for us, but luckily the fishing has been pretty hot as well! If you’re fishing in the river, you will want to capitalize on fishing mornings and evenings when the water isn’t as hot, you will typically find your best action then. If you are fishing in the afternoon, you will want to focus on areas with cooler water such as areas with solid current flow or deeper areas around docks as well as up underneath sportfish boats. Capt. Justin has been guiding his clients to a lot of good Snook fishing with plenty of over slot sized fish making it to the boat along with some in the 40” class. The majority of the action is still taking place around the inlet and as we get into the month, you can expect to find more fish moving back up the Indian and St. Lucie Rivers. Live baits have been producing the most bites, Croakers, Threadfins and Pilchards have been getting the job done for anglers fishing the inlet. We’ve still been receiving a steady flow of Croakers if you’re looking to grab some! There has been some good Snook fishing around the causeways as well. As these fish leave the inlet from their summer spawn, the bridges are always a good area to look as they work their way back into the river, docks around Sewalls Point in the St. Lucie River are also a hot spot this time of year. As we get closer to the end of the month, we will be approaching our annual fall mullet run. We typically begin seeing a few schools of mullet pushing through towards the end of August with the majority of the schools arriving in September. When the mullet do arrive, it is important to ‘match the hatch’ by fishing a bait that has a similar size and profile to the size of the mullet that are around whether you are fishing with live mullet or artificials. If you love fishing top water baits, the mullet run is the best time of the year for some epic blowups. If you find schools of mullet, there should be some fish on them here in the next few weeks.
The Tarpon bite was pretty good for us as well in July and there are definitely still plenty of Tarpon around. The majority of the bites have been coming on the outgoing tides for those fishing inshore. They have been around the Stuart Causeway, Jensen Causeway, in the inlet, the crossroads as well as some up in the North Fork. Live crabs or larger mullet have been producing the action on the Tarpon inshore. If you’re looking to throw artificial baits, the DOA Terror Eyz, Hogy, NLBN or JYG Pro swimbait are all great options. Outside of the inlet, they have been scattered between Stuart Beach and Bathtub Beach, live pilchards or threadfins will work for them there as they have been feeding on the schools of bait. With the fall mullet run approaching, expect the Tarpon fishing to get even better. There have been plenty of big jacks mixed in as well, if you’re looking for some drag screaming fun, leave a rod with a top water rigged up in case you see them feeding.
We’ve had a good amount of Bonefish that have been caught on the Sailfish Flats fishing jigs tipped with shrimp as well as on fly, a few of them have actually been pretty nice sized as well if you’re looking for some light tackle fun. Fishing structure with shrimp has been producing Mangrove Snapper, Sheepshead, a few Flounder as well as a few Black Drum. If you’re looking for Mangrove Snapper, fishing a smaller live bait like a small pilchard as opposed to shrimp will typically help you weed through the smaller fish and catch more of the nicer sized Snapper here inshore. If you see the crabs flowing through at the Jensen Causeway, Snook and Tarpon aren’t the only fish feeding on them, the Sheepshead will take advantage of it as well. Capt. Justin’s little brother Dave crushed the Sheepshead from the catwalk fishing with live crabs when he saw them pushing through. Capt. Justin and Alec did a little inshore diving for Lobster mini season and were very surprised with the amount of life that they came across. They reported back seeing some quality sized Mangrove Snapper, a lot of nice sized Sheepshead, Mutton Snappers, Grouper, Spadefish and schools of Snook so there is plenty of life around!
Offshore Fishing Report
July provided us with plenty of chances to get offshore for boats of all sizes. We’ve had a pretty consistent Sailfish bite pretty much all summer and it continued in July with solid numbers of Sails around. The majority of the Sails are being caught by those fishing live baits. If you’re looking to purchase live bait on the water and get straight to fishing, call Stuart Live Bait the day before you are heading out to reserve your baits, 772-985-0425. We haven’t had much wind offshore so it has been tough to get a kite up for those kite fishing without helium, but those drifting and bump trolling live baits have still had plenty of action with the Sails. The Sailfish bite has ranged from as shallow as 60’ out to Pushbutton Hill on certain days. The Mahi fishing was very hit or miss for us here in July which is typical this time of year. The majority of them have been the smaller peanuts, but there have been a few of what we call the lost bigger springtime Mahis that have been caught. If you end up getting in a school of them, it is always a good idea to have pitch rods ready to go with either a bucktail jig or a hook that you can toss out a live bait or piece of squid to them to capitalize on the opportunity. Looking for signs of life or the right condition will really make a difference when the fish get spread out. We had a really good Wahoo bite around the July full moon with fish up to the 80lb class that made it back to the dock. Anglers found success on the Wahoo by just fishing a normal live bait spread while some others were picked off trolling. Capt. Justin got lucky with one that was caught on 40lb Fluorocarbon and no wire leader, the circle hook did its job and pinned the fish right in the corner of the mouth! The full moon for August is on the 19th so we can hope that it gets those Wahoo chewing again. We’ve still had some Blackfin Tunas caught out at Pushbutton with a few really nice ones up to 30lbs that have been in the mix. If you are fishing for Blackfins and the sun gets up higher, those Tunas will tend to go a little deeper so putting leads on a few rods to cover different areas of the water column can definitely make a difference. You can also try fishing jigs if you are marking them down deeper.
The bottom fishing has had its highs and lows for us this summer. We’ve had days with no current and days with way too much current which can really affect the fishing. If you’re going for Mutton Snapper, you will definitely want some current as the Muttons will tend to bite a lot better when you’ve got some current. Fishing reefs in 70’-90’ has been the most productive. You will definitely want to fish a long leader in the 40’ range to get the bite along with enough lead to keep your bait on the bottom. Capt. Nick Cremasco’s clients on the DayMaker got into a really good Mutton bite here on the 28th which is pictured below. Grunt plugs are typically one of the favorite bait choices for those targeting Muttons, but live Threadfins or Pilchards will get the job done too. The Mangrove Snapper bite has slowed down a bit, but there have still been some nice ones typically caught on concrete structure. Fishing live pilchards as well as chicken rigs with squid or sardines should get you a bite. While Gag Grouper and Snowy Grouper season has closed, you’re still allowed to keep Red, Black and Scamp Grouper. Capt. Justin ran the DayMaker a few times in July and was able to find success on Red and Scamp Grouper fishing chicken rigs with squid. We’ve seen some really good Red Grouper fishing the past few years in August going into September so we can hope that trend continues. We’ve had plenty of Amberjacks on the reefs if you’re looking to hook into some reef donkeys.
Surf Fishing Report
Fishing the first trough with pieces of shrimp and FishBites has produced a variety of fish here in July. The Chartreuse Shine/Flesh Shrimp and Bloodworm FishBites have been some of the hotter flavors. Whiting and Croaker have been the most common followed up with Glassnoses and some Mangrove Snapper. The keys to success when fishing the first trough this time of year include finding a beach with a defined drop off in the first trough, having good clean water on the beach and fishing the incoming tide. If you have that clean water and are fishing a beach with a defined drop off in the first trough on an incoming tide, you’ve got a pretty good chance at getting some bites. The majority of the action has been 5-10 yards off the beach so you don’t want to over cast. We should continue to see this action throughout August when the proper conditions permit. There have still been plenty of Snook on the beaches. If you’re looking to fish with artificials, white paddle tails, twitch baits or Yozuri Crystal Minnows are all tried and true options for Snook on the beaches. If you are throwing artificials, your best bet will be first thing in the morning or in the evenings before sunset. Those fishing with live Croakers and Pilchards have had a lot of success on the beaches. With the fall mullet run approaching, be on the lookout for schools of mullet that will be fed on by Snook, Tarpon, Jacks, Sharks and more!
Lake Okeechobee Fishing Report – Capt. Angie Douthit
Fishing on Okeechobee has been best early in the mornings then again late afternoons after the
temperatures cool off a bit and t-storms pass. The bass and bluegill fishing is what’s biting now
so if you’re heading out fishing for bass you’ll want a top water lure; swim jig/swim bait; senkos
or 8-10 inch worms; spinner bait; flukes; popping frogs. Color patterns that have been
producing bites are: white; june bug; red bug; tilapia; Okeechobee craw and black on cloudier
days. Areas to pinpoint lately have been around any good-size blue gill beds; transitional
spots/areas that the bream are moving in/out as the spawning continues throughout the
summer months. If you are seeking to catch a few crappie get a very early start in the morning,
fish deep water areas like the Kissimmee River and Canals around bridge pilings; drop-offs;
ledges, etc.. the bite can be slow at times but remember this is summer and really not crappie
time of year until the fall months when water temperature starts cooling off. For bluegill
fishing, an ultra-light spinning outfit works best with 4-6 lb mono line, small split shot weight for
some added distance to your cast, small bobber if you prefer and either red wrigglers or
crickets works best. Bluegill are being caught in very shallow water and closer to the outer
edge grass lines. Bluegills like a little harder bottom, with/without vegetation, what matters
the most is the “right type of bottom”. Shell crackers on the other hand like a little more
sandier bottom and prefer some type of vegetation. A lot of times you’ll catch shellies and
bluegills in the same area. Around bream beds you’ll also catch Mayan cichlid’s which is
everywhere and they are aggressive and harass the bream when they are on the beds. I keep
the cichlid’s and give them away at the boat ramp. We need to cut the cichlid population down
and I hear they’re great to eat. Areas to fish for bass are: Tin house; 2 nd and 3 rd points; parts of
Kings Bar and Grassy; Taylor and J&S canals, especially J & S this time of year can be great, the
canal has lots of humps, rock piles, etc. Parts of Indian Praire; Horse/Dyess Ditch; parts of the
Monkey box and Observation Shoal and North/West side of Dupree Bar. Please use extreme
caution when boating, the water level is low and lots of areas of the lake are a hard cap coral
rock bottom which is not lower unit friendly. Want to get in on the early bass and crappie bite,
now is the time to book your fun filled and productive day fishing Lake Okeechobee. You can
call me at 863-228-7263 and be sure to check out my webpage where you’ll find rates; hotel
recommendations; purchase fishing licenses; what to bring; current customer pictures with
their catches and etc. A big shout out to my sponsors: Mercury Marine; Toho Marine; Lews;
Real Magic; Mid-South Tackle; BnM Poles; G-Loomis; Bullet Weights; Gill; Navionics and Rapala.
