Inshore Fishing Report
Snook: As a reminder, Snook season closes in our area on June 1st and will reopen on September 1st. June provides us with some of the best Snook fishing of the year here on the Treasure Coast. This is the time of year where we will start seeing a lot of our trophy sized Snook caught as these fish are preparing for their annual spawn. If you’re looking to knock a 40” Snook off your bucket list, you’ve got a good shot at it! Please remember to handle these breeder Snook with care as they will be providing us with our Snook population for years to come. Fishing circle hooks, limiting their time out of the water along with reviving them if necessary are all crucial to a strong release of the fish.
For our anglers fishing from boats, the St. Lucie Inlet is generally the hot spot for Snook fishing come summer time. We have begun hearing reports of smaller schools of Snook staging up around the inlet and the numbers should increase as we get into the month of June, This year, there is a dredging project taking place in the inlet which could shake a few things up. The schools of Snook will typically prefer staging up in areas with cleaner water and we will have to see how they react with the water getting all churned up from the dredging project. We can expect the south side detached jetty and Hole in the Wall to still be productive areas to fish. Fish could get pressured a bit more than they already will be in those spots if there are less fishable areas around the Inlet. If that ends up being the case, heading outside the inlet when the water is clear and running the beach either north or south to look for schools up in shallow can be productive and makes for some great sight fishing opportunities. Once the schools start hitting the inlet in numbers, you can expect to find them on some of the nearshore wrecks such as Bullshark barge out to some of the numbers in 60’. If you are planning on Snook fishing during the heat of the day, you will want to focus on areas with deeper water and moving current as they will tend to favor those areas to stay cool. For those fishing the inlet, running the beach or out on the reefs and wrecks, live Croakers are typically one of the best bait choices for those targeting Snook this time of year and we plan to have a steady supply of them through the summer weather permitting. Threadfins and Pilchards can be great choices as well. Don’t be afraid to try fishing dead baits with an egg sinker if you aren’t getting bit on the live bait, you might surprise yourself! As these fish have begun staging for their spawn, they will typically stop at the causeways on their way towards the inlet, fishing the concrete blocks and fenders can be quite productive in June. Bouncing around docks with deeper water and steady current can be good too, try fishing docks with sport fish boats or larger center console boats. Typically they will hold some fish as they will have your deeper water. If you want to head out in the evening or at night, dock light fishing can be really good this time of year as a lot of the fish that stay in the river will be more inclined to feed at night in the lights when it cools down.
For our land based anglers, the Jensen Causeway, Ft. Pierce Inlet, Indian Riverside Park and the beaches are all solid summertime choices. If you’re heading to Jensen Causeway, the night and evening Snook bite will be more productive than during the daytime. During the outgoing tide we have finally started to see a few crabs and shrimp that have been passing through that the fish key in on. You can freeline live shrimp or crabs when they pass through to match what the Snook are feeding on. Focusing on the shadow lines with artificial shrimp or paddle tails can get you some bites too. If you’re heading to Ft. Pierce Inlet, live Croakers once again will be a great option as the Snook will typically be sitting on the bottom. The Croakers naturally will swim down to their zone, you may need to add a little weight for when the current starts picking up such as a larger split shot if you are fishing the river side of the jetty, but if you are fishing the beach side, you should be in good shape just free lining them. Live pilchards will also work if you see some bait schools around. Indian Riverside Park is typically going to be a morning bite this time of year, Pilchards and Croakers around the dock will typically lead to some success when the fish are around. The beach can provide some fun Snook fishing during the summer. You can fish artificials such as white paddle tails, Yozuri Crystal Minnows or Rapala X-Raps or twitch baits in the morning before the sun gets high and in the evenings to cover a lot of water. When the sun gets higher in the sky, they will tend to prefer a live bait. It is always a good idea to bring a rod rigged with a sabiki in case a school of bait comes by. If you are able to catch some live bait, you can simply free line it up in the first trough. If you are Whiting or Croaker fishing and catch a smaller one, you can go ahead and free line them as well to give you a shot at a big one!
Tarpon: Our Tarpon fishing has been on the rise! Look to find them around the bridges on the outgoing tides and along the channel edges in between the Jensen and Stuart Causeways. Live crabs if you are able to get them is a great option when the crabs are flushing through with a small float. Larger live mullet or white baits will give you a shot at them too. We have had some crabs flushing through the bridges on the outgoing tides. You will typically see some Tarpon rolling as the sun is coming up around the Stuart Causeway this time of year. We tend to start seeing more Tarpon making an appearance on the beaches and in the inlet too and there are always typically a few up by the power plant. If you’re fishing for them at the power plant, a DOA TerrorEyz is a strong choice to throw to them. Those walking to the St. Lucie Inlet have had success catching Tarpon at night on the outgoing tides throwing large swimbaits.
Trout & Redfish: Trout fishing has remained steady for both those wading and fishing by boat. With the temperatures getting warmer, your best bite will be first thing in the morning and in the evening especially if you are fishing in shallower water. Those wading have been able to catch them both on the east and west side of the river while those fishing by boat have been focusing more on the flats on the east side of the river. Hot spots have remained to be Little Mud Creek, Middle Cove, Bear Point and the flats around the spoil islands in Ft. Pierce. We are starting to see some larger Trout caught with a good amount of fish over 20”. For those targeting Trout, be aware that the regulations have changed in our area. Trout season is open from January 1st to October 31st, anglers may possess two fish between 15”-19”. You may not possess a fish over 19” going forward. Fishing with top waters before the sun gets high then switching over to small paddle tails or MirrOlure MirrOdines have produced consistent results. Those fishing with live shrimp have also been able to catch them with live shrimp on a popping cork. We have started to see a few more Redfish caught in our area too, the best chances for them will also be north of the power plant along the mangroves. Gulp shrimp or small paddle tails will give you a shot at them if you get the chance. The better shots at a Redfish have still been in Ft. Pierce working the mangrove edges around the spoil islands.
Snapper: We typically get some nice sized Mangrove Snapper inshore during the summer. Look for them around structures like bridges or docks. You will typically need to weed through a lot of the smaller ones if you are fishing with live or dead shrimp, but if you put your time in you should be able to find a few for the cooler. Fishing with a small pilchard, pinfish or mullet with the tail clipped on a jighead or knocker rig can also help you weed through some of the smaller fish and find the bigger ones that are able to eat a bigger bait. We also tend to see some Cubera Snappers caught in the inlet as bycatch by those Snook fishing.
Jacks: Anglers will have plenty of opportunities at big Jacks this time of year as bait becomes more prevalent. Inshore, look to find them cruising the channel edges and looking to blow baits up on the seawalls. Those running the beach have also been able to run into schools of big jacks, toss a popper or topwater into the school and hang on if you find them.
Offshore Fishing Report
Surface Fishing: April provided those fishing the surface out of St. Lucie Inlet plenty of action with Mahi, Sailfish, Kingfish, Blackfin Tuna and a few Wahoo making the catch lists. We’ve had plenty of Mahis around, a lot of them have been on the smaller side but there have been some nice sized gaffers caught recently to go along with the peanuts. Don’t be surprised if that larger bull or cow pops up! The majority of the Mahis have shown up in schools so be sure to have your pitch baits ready in case a school pops up for a little Mahi mayhem on board. The Mahi have been found from 60’ out to 400′ + here lately. Depths can change with the conditions and current though and one day the Mahi fishing can be stellar with the following day being completely lackluster. You will always want to try to find yourself fishing in a good condition to improve your chances. Conditions such as a current rip, color change, temperature change, weedline, floating debris or signs of life such as bait, birds or other marine life are all positive things to look for and will typically hold some fish. Live baiting for your fish definitely becomes more abundant this time of year with kite fishing, bump trolling and drifting all being effective strategies. Bait has been a bit tougher for us to start the summer, live sardines have been plentiful out front, but the pilchards and threadfins have been scarce. We can hope the threadfins and pilchards can become a bit more consistent this month with some consistent light wind conditions. If you don’t want to worry about catching bait and get straight to fishing, reserve your baits from Bryan or Mike with Stuart Live Bait the night before your trip, 772-985-0425.
Our summertime Sailfish bite should be picking up for us here soon! We’ve been seeing some steady numbers of Sails caught with it not being uncommon to get a few shots at them per trip. Live baiting has been most productive for them and they have been caught in the same areas that the Mahi have been caught. Typically once you find a good condition, it will hold more than just one species as there is something in that zone that the fish are liking. Don’t be afraid to look for the Sails in shallow, the bite can be pretty good in the 60’-80’ range here in the summer. If you are struggling to find a good condition and want to target sails, typically offshore of the Loran Tower is good for at least one or two shots at a sail along with fishing live baits over the six mile. We tend to see a few Marlin make an appearance for some lucky anglers surface fishing every summer. While it is an uncommon appearance, it just may happen to you! ‘Off The Chain’ just had a Blue Marlin release from a fish that ate one of their kite baits to close out the month.
There have been a ton of Kingfish caught over the past few weeks with them becoming a nuisance for those who aren’t targeting them. The majority of the action has been over reefs and wrecks in 60’-90’. With all the Sardines that have been around, that will be one of your best bets if you can catch a few because they haven’t been lasting long once they get put on a hook.
Anglers have been able to still pick away at the Blackfin Tunas out at Pushbutton Hill. 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. Don’t be surprised if you have to drop a bait down 200-300’ to get bit. 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. There have also been some Blackfins caught in shallower with reports from 110’-160’. Typically the fish that are caught in shallower are going to be the bigger Tunas in the 20lb+ class.
The June and July full moons have been productive for those Wahoo fishing over the past couple years and we can hope that trend sticks again this year. With all the smaller Mahis around, it’s never a bad idea to pull a planer in your spread if you are trolling. Bonito strips, artificial Bonito strips, split tail mullet and Nomad lures are all solid options to have in your spread if you have Wahoo on your mind.
Bottom Fishing: We can start out with the total mess regarding our Red Snapper season. Red Snapper remains closed in Federal Waters until further notice. Some are optimistic that we may still get some sort of a Red Snapper season while others aren’t holding their breath. Stay tuned in to announcements from NOAA and the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council for official updates and announcements. On a brighter note, the bottom fishing has been really good here lately. A lot of anglers have been focusing on Grouper season since the season opened on May 1st and have had plenty of success. Grouper fishing can definitely be tiring and wear you down with the combination of sharks, by catch from species like Amberjacks and losing fish to the rocks. You definitely don’t want to get caught bringing a knife to a gun fight. Target depths range from 50 to 180 feet, with 120 to 160 feet being particularly productive for those looking to target Gags, Scamps & Reds. Fishing big cut baits, whole squids and larger live baits will weed out a lot of the smaller fish and isolate your catches to mainly Grouper and Amberjacks. You will want to fish heavy tackle to get these fish off the bottom and past the sharks, 80-125lb leader, heavy line, plenty of drag and leads heavy enough to keep your bait pinned to the bottom will help find the result that you are looking for. If you are drifting, don’t be afraid to let your drift slide a little bit longer as your bites may come off the back side of the structure. Those looking to target Snowy Grouper will find their fish typically starting in 300’ with larger ones coming out deeper. On the regulations side, Gag Grouper remains open until August 2nd, Snowy Grouper is open from May 1st-June 7th. Red Grouper, Black Grouper and Scamp Grouper are all open until December 31st. Remember to have a descending device along with a venting tool if you are planning on bottom fishing as they are required. If you need either of these tools we have them available at the shop.
Those targeting Mutton Snapper on reefs in the 70’-90’ range have had success. You will want to fish a long leader, typically about 40’ of 40lb as they do get line shy. Live baits along with larger dead baits such as grunt plugs, butterflied Ballyhoo and Bonito strips are some of the go to choices. Fishing a larger dead bait is very effective because it allows you to keep bait on your hook while the “pickers” such as grunts and smaller reef fish pick away at your bait. Those fish picking at the bait will also get the Mutton’s attention and they will come over to check out what they are feeding on and will eat the bait. One of the easiest and most effective Mutton rigs would be a three way swivel that you will tie your main line to, a short piece piece of mono tied off the branch swivel to connect your weight to and then the 40’ of leader, and a hook of your choice to the bottom part of the swivel. You will want to make sure that your bait is holding to the bottom so don’t be afraid to use a heavy lead. We do tend to get some cold water on the bottom during the summer and when this does happen, it really can shut the bite down.
Expect the Mangrove Snapper bite to pick up this month through July. Typically you will find your nicer Mangroves on structure in 80’-120’. Live sardines, live pilchards and dead sardines are all effective bait choices with the live sardines being a favorite. Vermillions have been picked off at Pushbutton on chicken rigs with squid too.
Surf Fishing Report
Those looking to hit the beach have unfortunately been met with some difficult conditions to fish with a lot of weeds in the surf. Once we get a bit of west wind or more consistent days of light winds, we should see some more fishable conditions. The Whiting fishing was pretty good prior to the weeds making their appearance. Typically our Whiting fishing is on fire come June so we can expect them to cooperate once these weeds go away. Red bloodworm Fishbites along with pieces of shrimp on a double hook whiting/croaker rig has been the ticket to getting the bite. Fishing two hours before the high tide and the first two hours of the outcoming tide is typically the most productive window. You will find these fish up close to the beach, typically in the 10yd range so be sure not to overcast them. Expect to see some Croakers mixed in with them as well.
