Inshore Fishing Report
Inshore fishing has remained quite productive here in Stuart and Jensen Beach, just be sure to grab the sunscreen and have some cold waters to combat the summertime heat. August will provide anglers the opportunity to battle some of the biggest inshore gamefish of the year; Snook, Tarpon and Jack Crevalle as we approach the fall mullet run. Snook fishing has remained steady around the St. Lucie Inlet still, plenty of big breeders are still being caught fishing live Croakers. Docks on the east side of the St. Lucie River in the Sewalls Point area has provided anglers some steady action as well. The causeways in the mornings and evenings have been holding Snook as well. You can fish live Croakers underneath the fenders or if you want to go with artificials, pitching swimbaits such as the No Live Bait Needed paddle tails or artificial shrimp around the shadow lines in low light conditions are some of the best options. Snook season opens up September 1st so be sure to practice safe catch and release practices until then.
We’ve been seeing more Tarpon showing up inshore and should expect that to continue as we get into the fall. Look for them on the edges of deep channels, in the cross roads, around the inlet and around the causeways on outgoing tides. Live mullet or crabs will be your best live bait options for them. For artificials, the Hogy Slowtail swimbait is pretty tough to beat for Tarpon. Plenty of big jacks have been patrolling seawalls and the channels as well if you want to hook into one of the big river tunas.
If you’re looking to find some fish for a meal, there have been a lot of nice sized Mangrove Snapper inshore. Look for them around the structure and you can fish for them with live or dead shrimp on a jighead. We appear to have gotten through the dreaded summertime shrimp drought so you can expect us to have live shrimp consistently throughout August. We’ve also heard reports of Spanish Mackerel still being caught at the Jensen Causeway, some Sheepshead and Sandperch around the bridges and at Indian Riverside Park. Anglers have also been running into a few Cubera Snappers inshore up to 15lbs.
Offshore Fishing Report
The surface bite has remained steady for anglers heading offshore. Mahis, Kingfish, Sails, Wahoo and Blackfin Tuna have all been making the catch list. The majority of anglers have been fishing in the 80’-170’ range to find their fish. Live baiting has been a bit more productive and tends to be this time of year with the warmer water temperatures. Look for warm water edges, color changes as well as weed patches, debris, birds or any sign of life before putting your lines in to increase your chances at hooking into something. We tend to get some cold water upwellings this time of year and at times you will find the fish loaded up in some of the warmer pockets. Fish have still been caught on the troll, but the majority of that bite is going to be early in the morning before the sun gets high. Kite fishing has yielded a lot of results for boats due to the variety of bait presentations you are offering the fish. You can also look for Blackfin Tunas out at Pushbutton Hill. You can fish live bait for them, troll squid chains or feathers or drop jigs to target them. If you are looking for live baits on the water, be sure to reach out to Bryan with Stuart Live Bait at 772-985-0425.
On the bottom, plenty of Mangrove and Mutton Snappers have been caught anywhere from 50’-180’. We’ve had some days with smoking current in certain spots the past month so be sure to bring a variety of leads and don’t be afraid to move around to find more fishable conditions. Good areas to check include the Loran Tower, Six and Eight Mile Reefs and spots offshore of the power plant. If you’re targeting Muttons and Mangroves, live pilchards are going to be one of the best bets. Some Grouper have been around as well, just make sure to up your tackle if you are planning on wrestling one of them up. Live Threadfins, Blue Runners and Croakers are all great baits for targeting Grouper. Plenty of Amberjacks and Rudderfish have been caught as well when bottom fishing.
The cold water upwellings offer a great opportunity to search for Cobia. A great asset to use is the Jensen Beach buoy to read the water temperature on the bottom (https://www.checkthewaves.com/surf-reports/jensen-beach-surf-report). If you see the bottom temperature dip into the 60s, there is a good chance you can sight fish some Cobia running the beaches. Cobia Jigs, live crabs or Pilchards will give you the best shot if you run into some.
Surf Fishing Report
The surf fishing has been quite frustrating for anglers along Martin and St. Lucie County beaches and it isn’t because of a lack of fish, but frustrating conditions. We’ve dealt with a lot of weeds along the shoreline here the past month, both sargassum weed and slime weed. If you are hitting the beach, definitely check it out before getting all set up. There have been Whiting and Croakers around, but at times anglers have had to travel from beach to beach to beach in search of favorable conditions. Pieces of shrimp and either bloodworm or shrimp FishBites in the first trough have produced the action for anglers.
There have still been a lot of Snook on the beaches as well. Fishing live Pilchards and Croakers will do the trick as well as artificials such as Yozuri Crystal Minnows and the 3” No Live Bait Needed white paddle tail in the low light conditions. We have heard some reports of Tarpon cruising the beaches as well. Look for schools of glass minnows this month and there should be some Tarpon close by!
We hope you all have a great month! Feel free to reach out to us with any questions!
