Inshore Fishing Report
January was definitely a chilly one for us Floridians. It was even a cold month for some of our out of state guests! While the cooler weather was a bit refreshing for some of us, it definitely can play a role in the bite. Capt. Justin Rieger saw water temperatures drop into the 50s several days aboard the Snook Nook Charters boat. When the water temps drop that low it can definitely make fishing a bit more of a struggle as the fish are typically not as active.
Despite the cooler weather, anglers fishing inshore have been able to put together catch lists consisting of Snook, Trout, Redfish, Pompano, Spanish Mackerel, Sheepshead, Black Drum, Tripletail, Croakers, Bonefish, Bluefish & more.
Snook: Snook season reopens again in our area on February 1st for those looking to harvest a slot sized fish. There have been a lot of smaller Snook caught, but those putting their time in have been able to find some more quality sized fish. Those targeting Snook have been fishing dock lights early in the morning and after the sun goes down, along the mangrove lines north of the Jensen Causeway, underneath both the Stuart and Jensen Causeways, around docks, and on the seawalls when the sun gets a bit higher. Those fishing the dock lights have been using artificials such as Thumper Shrimp, 3” paddle tails and lipped plugs such as Yo-Zuri fingerlings and smaller Rapala X-Raps. Those fishing along the mangrove lines have done well with DOA Cals and MirrOlures. At the bridges, anglers have been slow rolling paddle tails, using flairhawk jigs and dragging shrimp on a jighead across the bottom to find their fish. The bridge bite tends to be better at night and in the morning as they will use the shadow lines as an ambush point to feed. Those fishing docks will typically fish live shrimp on a jighead or live pilchards this time of year. We also tend to see more of our sub species of Snook caught this time of year. Aside from the standard common Snook, anglers have been catching some Fat Snook & Tarpon Snook which will generally be smaller than the standard common Snook. Live bait is typically tough to come by for us this time of year, but when our bait guys are able to catch some Croakers in between the cold fronts, the Snook have been feeding on them around the fenders of the Jensen, Stuart & 10 cent bridges. You can either free line them or add a larger split shot to your line to hold them on the bottom.
Trout: Trout fishing has been steady for anglers fishing north of the Jensen Causeway and up into Ft. Pierce. Popular areas have been Little Mud Creek, Middle Cove, Bear Point and the flats around the spoil islands in Ft. Pierce. Anglers have also picked off a few Trout in the dock lights. Go to baits have been top water plugs first thing in the morning such as the Heddon Super Spook & Super Spook Jrs, DOA Paddle Tails & Jerk Baits & MirrOlures. The majority of the Trout will be out in the open on the east side of the river on the flats. Look for good patches of grass or schools of glass minnows if you are looking to target them. Some Redfish have been caught in the mix too, they will tend to be up along the mangroves and not in the open as much as the Trout. More Redfish have been caught along the spoil islands in Ft. Pierce.
Pompano: Pompano fishing was pretty hit or miss for us inshore in January. There have definitely been fish around, but they have been on the move and found throughout the river. They have been caught in the inlet, on the Sailfish Flats, at the Jensen Causeway mosquito bridge, on the flats by the power plant as well as on the flats in Ft. Pierce. Anglers fishing by boat have been skipping a lot of Pompano, but have had trouble getting them to bite at times. When they do get tricky and don’t want to bite the jig, fishing a Pompano rig with Fishbites, clams or pieces of shrimp can get the job done. Look to find the Pompano in the cleaner water on the Sailfish Flats and in the inlet if you are fishing from a boat. You will often see the Pompano sticking with the tideline and moving with the clean water as it comes into the inlet and up through the crossroads and onto the sailfish flats. By following the tideline you may at times be able to stay in the fish a bit longer. There is plenty of bycatch to be had when jigging for Pompano, you’ll get Spanish Mackerel, Jacks, Snappers, Croakers, Bonefish, Bluefish and more. For those Pompano fishing inshore from land, those jigging at the Jensen Causeway and Stuart Causeway east side relief bridges have been picking away at some fish. They haven’t been caught in huge numbers, but there have definitely been some fish around. We have been seeing our better Pompano jigging from the bridges later in the season over the past few years so don’t get too discouraged!
Sheepshead: Sheepshead fishing has been pretty good around the inlet as well as around the bridges. Look for structure such as rock piles as well as pilings or seawalls with heavy barnacle growth and typically there should be some Sheepshead around. February typically provides us with one of our best months of Sheepshead fishing. Fish either shrimp on a jig head, fiddler crabs or chunks of crabs to get the bite. On calmer days, you can also head outside the inlet and find Sheepshead on the reef at Pecks Lake with shrimp on a jighead.
Black Drum: We’ve had a few Black Drum around, the Roosevelt Bridge and 10 cent bridge tend to produce the most fish, but you can also find them around the Stuart Causeway and on docks and channel markers. You can target the Drum with the same baits as the Sheepshead as they share a very similar diet.
Croaker: There has been some decent Croaker fishing around the bridges, primarily the 10 cent bridge along with up in the North Fork. You can also find them scattered throughout the river this time of year on docks and channel markers. Typically when you find one, there will be a few around as they are generally in schools. You can target them with either live shrimp or pieces of shrimp.
Triple Tail: Those running the crab trap buoys and channel markers north of the Jensen Causeway have been able to pick away at some Tripletail. A lot of smaller fish have been caught, but those who have put their time in have been greeted with a few keepers. Pitching a live shrimp on a jighead or freelined will be your best bet if you run across one.
Spanish Mackerel: They have still been catching the Spanish Mackerel at Pecks Lake here to close out the month of January. Some solid jumbos have been in the mix too! You may even find schools of them on your way out to Pecks around the inlet. Fishing Gulf Stream Flash Minnows, Gotcha Plugs, Clarkspoon Mackerel Tree Rigs and spoons will be your best options to throw at them. Bring a box of glass minnows out with you to get them chummed up!
Offshore Fishing Report
Surface Fishing: When conditions have permitted, anglers that have made it outside the inlet have been greeted with a pretty good surface bite. Mahi, Sails, Blackfin Tuna and the occasional Wahoo have been on the catch lists. The majority of boats are still catching their Mahis and Sails trolling ballyhoo as live bait has still been a bit tricky, still not much bait to be found out in front of our inlet but we can hope that will change soon. Bryan and Mike with Stuart Live Bait have been coming up with some baits to sell when the conditions have permitted, shoot them a text or give them a call at 772-985-0425 to reserve your baits when they have them. Typically 90-130’ is a good range to start if you are looking for Mahis and Sails this time of year. If you find a good condition to fish in that range, you should have a good shot at getting a few bites. We’ve had some pretty good winter Mahi fishing and it should only improve as we get closer to the spring. Running a rod with a planer in your spread is always a good idea to cover more water and increase your chances at potentially picking off a Wahoo. The Blackfin Tuna bite has remained productive out at Pushbutton Hill. Fishing live baits is generally more productive for those looking for the Tunas out at the Hill. You can typically see them feeding on the surface if they are around in the mornings. If you aren’t seeing much surface activity, adding weights to your line to vary the depths of your baits is always a good idea to cover different zones in the water column. Some anglers have been loading up their wells with small chummer sized baits to get the Tunas fired up and have been pitching artificials along with hooked live baits in the spread when they start firing on the chummers. Anglers have also been able to catch the Tunas early in the morning trolling feathers and Cedar Plugs as well as on jigs when they get down a bit deeper when the sun gets higher.
Bottom Fishing: Those bottom fishing here lately have brought Golden Tilefish, Mutton Snapper, Lane Snapper, Vermillion Snapper, Triggerfish and a variety of other species back to the fillet table. The Tilefishing has been pretty good for those headed out deep fishing with electrics. Golden Tilefish is a quota based fishery and will close for both recreational and commercial fishermen once the quota has been met, be sure to check the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council page before heading out for them to ensure they are still legal for you to harvest, https://safmc.net/species/tilefish-golden/. The Tilefish bury in the mud, some anglers will set their rig up the standard way with your deep drop lead on the bottom and an additional smaller lead at the top of the rig to make an improvised laydown rig to keep your rig in the strike zone longer. We also have “L-Bars” available here at the shop. You can bait your rig with full squids to target them. The Vermillion Snapper have still been out at Pushbutton Hill, you can catch them with chunks of squid on chicken rigs. The Lane Snapper bite has been really good on the nearshore reefs in the 50’-70’ range. You can catch them on chicken rigs baited with squid or sardines as well as with live shrimp on a jig head or knocker rig. We’ve had a few Mutton Snappers and Mangrove Snappers around as well. Bigger baits such as grunt plugs, whole ballyhoo or live baits typically produce a few more quality Mutton bites. As we start nearing toward the late winter/early spring, we should begin to start seeing some Cobia start showing up around some of the nearshore reefs like the Sandpile. When you’re fishing these areas, you can fish live baits, you will typically want to spread them out and have one as a surface bait, and put a few down deeper at various depths ready for one to swim by. You will also want to look for sharks as you will typically see them following close to the sharks on their backs, typically pitching a Cobia jig to them when you see them in those situations is the most effective option. It’s not a bad idea to always have a rod rigged with a Cobia jig this time of year incase you see one when you’re catching bait, run across a turtle, shark or ray with Cobia on them, or even reeling up a fish as sometimes the Cobia will follow your hooked Snapper to the surface. Be prepared with heavier tackle to be able to get the fish away from the sharks, if the shark is about to get your fish you can also free spool your reel to allow the Cobia to swim away from the shark and resume your battle after the shark pulls away. Our Cobia fishing was definitely on the slower side last year, but fingers crossed for that to change this year!
Surf Fishing Report
Those fishing the surf over the past few weeks have been greeted with some very good Whiting and Croaker fishing. The majority of these fish are all going to be caught in the first trough on pieces of shrimp along with either shrimp or sandflea flavored Fishbites. If you find a beach with a well defined first trough, you should have a good chance at catching them. Typically the better fishing for them will be around the high tide mark. Pompano fishing has definitely been on the slow side this year so far. We hope that this front we are getting to close out the month of January will push some numbers of fish our way. We generally start to see some of our better Pompano fishing from February to April so we can hope that trend will stick and more rods get bent off the beaches here soon. When the Pompano do turn up, they 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. EZ Flea Fishbites in both the Electric Chicken & the standard orange colorways along with Flesh/Pink Crab have been the most popular Fishbites when the Pompano have been around this year. You can pair the Fishbites up with either sand fleas or clams as well. We also tend to start seeing more Permit caught off our beaches as we get into February. You will need clean water if you want to catch a Permit, they don’t like the churned up water. Those catching the Permit will catch them as bycatch Pompano fishing, you don’t really need to change anything up from your standard Pompano setups. Those casting spoons have had success catching Bluefish, Jacks and a few Spanish Mackerel. Those targeting Bluefish can also cast out chunks of mullet or sardines on wire rigs. The Blacktip Sharks are starting to make a strong appearance which is common this time of year. Anglers can target them by throwing poppers or casting out chunks of dead bait.
Lake Okeechobee Fishing Report – Capt. Angie Douthit
Lake O’s water level has been around the 13.4 ft mark which makes for safe boating a priority especially if you are unsure where you are as you navigate Okeechobee’s expansive fishery. Bass and crappie
fishing has been somewhat consistent with quality and quantity size bass and limits being caught for the crappie. If you haven’t booked your fun time fishing on beautiful Lake Okeechobee now is a great time to get your trip of a lifetime booked for bass and/or crappie before the spawn season ends. Bass are
being caught on a few major areas on the lake such as: Observation Shoal; Dyess Ditch/Horse Island areas; Indian Praire/Tin House; Buckhead Ridge area; Kings Bar and a few areas on the East side around Nub N Slough and some small areas around J & S. Some areas of the lake have lots of eel grass and
other vegetation that is taking hold and growing back and both crappie and bass love those areas. Lures
for bass are: senkos; popping frogs; swim jigs/baits; cut tail worms; spinner baits; shallow crank baits
and some top water. A good color pattern for this time of year is Junebug; Redbug; White; Crawdad;
Tilapia; Green-Pumpkin/Gold flake. For the crappie bite, both drifting/pushing/pulling with live-
minnows are working in the deeper water areas such as Canals and the Kissimmee River. Lure colors for
crappie for jigging are: chartreuse; white; orange; pink and green…water color/clarity can depict color to
use and well as color for the jig head but I prefer simple black with chartreuse/white eye. Areas for
crappie are pretty much the same as for the bass. Some crappie are being caught in mixtures of various
vegetation clumps. To book you’re fun and educational day on the water call 863-633-0034 or 863-228-
7263 to find out more information on booking a trip and what all is included check out my website
www.southfloridabassfishing.com hotel discounts available at the time of booking with a top hotel in
Okeechobee as well as Veteran/One-person discounted trips. My Sponsors include: Toho Marine;
Mercury; Lews; Bullet Weights; G-Loomis; Gill; Real Magic; BnM Poles; Mid-South Tackle; Tru-Turn hooks
and Road Runner crappie lures.
