Inshore Fishing Report
Our annual fall mullet run has brought along some great fishing inshore over the past few weeks. Snook, Tarpon, Jacks, Sharks and a variety of predators have been putting on a show feeding on the schools of bait. We should continue to see some schools of mullet continuing to push our way as we get into October as there have still been reports of schools north of us. Mullet schools have been prevalent throughout the day, but it seems the best of the action has been at night and early in the morning. The daytime bite as the sun gets higher has been a bit more difficult over the past week or so as the water temperatures have been on the hotter side for this time of year. The rain storms that we have been finally getting should hopefully start to cool the water temperatures down a bit and will hopefully make the fish a bit more active during the daytime.
Snook
- Snook season reopened on September 1st for our area, one fish per person per day in the 28”-32” slot size.
- The majority of the Snook have left the inlet, you will find some residential fish around the inlet, but the majority of the schools are working their way around the river. For those that are targeting Snook, the low light conditions will play to your advantage as the Snook will use the shadow lines from dock lights and bridges to ambush the mullet or whatever bait is pushing through. Making your bait stand out in the school is key to getting the bite when the bait is prevalent, many anglers will prefer artificials such as paddle tails, jerk baits and top waters depending on the situation that you are fishing. Don’t be afraid to use bigger profiles as well as surface baits that make commotion on the surface to make your presentation stand out. Fishing your lure on the edge of the bait pods can result in more bites as well. Some of the most popular artificials we have been selling this month have included; NLBNs, JYG Pro Swym & Y-Tail, Hogy Pro Tail Paddle Tails, Yozuri Crystal Minnows, Fingerlings, Top Knocks & Hydro Pencils, Rapala Xraps & Skitterwalks. If you do prefer fishing a live mullet, adding a small cork to slow the bait down or trimming the tail fins will give your bait a more injured presentation making an easier snack for the fish. For those Snook fishing inshore during the day, there has still been action. Locating schools of bait in areas such as canals, on seawalls, along mangrove lines or near any ambush point or structure will be keys to your success. This is one of the best times of year to fish the sea walls even if you aren’t seeing any bait around. Larger mullet in the 6-10” range are one of the best bait choices if you’re hunting for big Snook. You will want to keep that mullet tight to the seawall for the Snook as when the bait comes off the wall a few feet you will start running into more Jacks.
Tarpon
- Tarpon fishing has been pretty good for us here lately with a lot of bigger fish around, some even reaching the triple digit class. You can find Tarpon in several different areas this time of year including up by the power plant, around the bridges, in the crossroads, in the inlet as well as up in the North Fork. Fishing the larger live mullet in any of those areas can be effective, using mullet heads on the bottom for some of the lazier fish will get you some bites, you may just have to go through a little bit of bycatch. Those fishing live crabs on a cork around the bridges on the outgoing tides have put a few Tarpon in the air as well. The Tarpon fishing around the bridges has been more productive at night, but if there are some crabs steadily flowing on the outgoing you can expect to see a few feeding on them. Those targeting them with artificials have had success throwing larger swim baits, straight tails and y-tails in the 7-9” range, purple colors have been some of the hottest colors going out of the shop. It is still tough to beat a Rootbeer DOA TerrorEyz too, easily one of the most productive lures on the market for those Tarpon fishing.
Jacks
- For those just looking for some action, there have been and will be plenty of Jacks cruising the river ready to feed on mullet. Look for them cruising the channel edges and sea walls as well as up on the flats. Pretty much this time of year, if you find a good school of mullet around, there’s a good chance that there will be some jacks nearby and they won’t be too picky.
Trout
- The Trout fishing to the north has remained pretty consistent, largely due to the amount of seagrass we are seeing again. Typically if you find one Trout, you will start finding more bites as they have been found in schools. They have been caught along the mangrove edges on the east side of the river and the grass flats on both the east and west side. Top waters in the morning and evening, then switching over to MirrOlures as well as soft plastics such as 3” paddle tails and artificial shrimp have all produced for those searching for Trout. If you find glass minnows up there, you will typically want to take a few casts around them to see if there are any Trout around them. Snook have been caught in the mix with the Trout too.
Misc.
- Redfish: We haven’t seen a lot of reds mixed in with the Trout to the north, a few have been found, but we can hope to see more of them up that way with the grass continuing to grow. You will find a better shot at finding Redfish in Fort Pierce north of the inlet fishing the islands and mangrove lines up there. Pitching lures like DOA Cals or Thumper Shrimp into the pockets of the mangroves is an effective strategy to locate some reds in that area. You can also catch them on chunks of mullet or ladyfish along some of the cuts with deeper water next to the mangroves. Locally, we typically see them quite often around the Stuart Causeway in October. They can be caught with shrimp on a jig head, cut mullet and live Croakers. You may run into some Black Drum as well fishing shrimp on a jig head around the bridges this time of year as our Black Drum fishing will start to pick up as we get into the fall.
- Tripletail: If you are heading to the north, stone crab season opens up in October and that means everyone will be putting out their traps. All those crab trap buoys are great areas to look for Triple Tail. We typically see better numbers of Triple Tail caught after stone crab season opens up, due to them having more structure to hang around. You can free line a shrimp or fish one on a jig head and pitch it to them if you see one.
- Pompano: Anglers have been picking away at some Pompano on the east side relief bridge of the Jensen Causeway as well as a few up at the Ft. Pierce Inlet. The majority of them have been caught on Pompano jigs, a few anglers have had success with the 2” Thumper Shrimp too.
Offshore Fishing Report
Surface Fishing
- The surface bite was pretty good for us to close out the month, we had a few rough patches with some dirty water where the fishing wasn’t that great, but it is definitely on the uptick again as we’ve gotten some cleaner water offshore. The Mahi fishing has been the highlight of the surface action. There haven’t been many giants, but plenty of 8-12lb gaffers around and the majority of the fish were in schools meaning a little Mahi Mayhem for those that ran into them. Along with the Mahis; Blackfin Tuna, Sailfish, Kingfish and a Wahoo here and there have made the catchlists. We’ve had some nice edges and color changes and the majority of the boats who have done well were fishing around those conditions. If you aren’t getting bites on the clean side of the change, don’t be afraid to try on the dirty side as sometimes the fish will hold up in there. The majority of the Blackfins have come from those fishing out at Pushbutton Hill, with a few in shallower than that. It has been a mix of boats fishing live baits and trolling ballyhoo to find their bites. Finding live baits can get tricky at times this time of year, if you are looking to reserve baits and get straight to fishing, reach out to Bryan or Mike with Stuart Live Bait the night before, 772-985-0425. For those trolling ballyhoo, we are now carrying Baitmasters unrigged ballyhoos along with the Bionics.
Bottom Fishing
- The Snapper fishing has remained productive with mainly Muttons, Lanes and Vermillions making their way back to the docks. The Muttons have been around the six and eight mile as well as to the south at the Loran Tower in 60’-90’. Your best strategy for them will be fishing a long leader with either a live bait or a grunt plug, some nice sized Muttons have been caught, you may just have to pick through a few shorts. The Lanes have been caught on reefs in the 60’ range and the Lane Snapper fishing should continue to pick up as we get into the fall. You can target your Lanes on chicken rigs with cut sardines, they typically aren’t too picky. The Vermillion fishing really picked up at Pushbutton with some really nice sized fish in the mix. You can target them on chicken rigs with pieces of squid, similar to the Lanes, they typically aren’t very picky. Plenty of Amberjacks on the bottom out at Pushbutton too, you can drop down a live bait or a jig to sign yourself up for a battle with them.
Surf Fishing Report
- Surf angler’s biggest challenge over the past few days has been finding fishable beaches that aren’t loaded up with seaweed in the water. When conditions have permitted, the Pompano fishing has actually been really good! A lot of short Pompano have been caught, but the majority of the keepers that have made it to the sand have been really nice sized fish. Fishbites Electric Chicken EZ Flea has been the hottest bait for the Pompanos and they have not been too far off the beach with the majority being caught in the 50yd range. Capt. Paul has been stocking us up with his Pompano rigs too, if you see them on the pegs you will definitely want to grab a few because they don’t last long! Catch lists have included Pompano, Blue Runners, Bonefish, Sandperch, Jacks along with a few Whiting and Croakers. The early showing of these Pompano means they are definitely on the way and can pop up on any beach any given day, the fall surf fishing should be good!
Lake Okeechobee Fishing Report – Capt. Angie Douthit
Lake Okeechobee’s water level has been slowly rising and is currently just over the 14 ft. mark.
Mid October is typically the start of the Bass and crappie spawn season which typically runs all
the way through the month of April. I’m anticipating a very active catching season with both
quantity/quality size bass and many, many, crappie limits caught. If you’ve always wanted to
fish Okeechobee for big bass or to catch a limit(s) of great eating Crappie (Specks) now is the
time to book your-fun filled day(s) on the water. Don’t want to fish with minnows for crappie?
Then “jigging” for Specks is a fun way to catch them. Don’t know how to jig? No problem,
anyone can learn in 5 minutes and once you feel that first “thump bite” you will be hooked.
This technique is very popular, it gets you up close and personal seeing/fishing various parts of
the lake; watching all the wildlife, gain inside knowledge as to the various vegetation you are
fishing in/around and etc. It’s truly a fun experience and you’ll leave with crappie in the cooler
for many delicious meals for the entire family to enjoy. My Caymas CX21 bass boat is rigged
with the latest electronics, provides very ample space which can accommodate 1-4 people, I
provide all tackle for bass and crappie trips, bottled water, sunscreen and even Gill raingear.
For those who not Anglers, you have options such as shopping in Okeechobee or nearby Ft.
Pierce/Stuart area; skeet/trap shooting; an airboat ride or just lounging by the hotel pool. A
trip to fish/experience Okeechobee is truly a fun time for the entire Family to enjoy and make
lasting wonderful memories. Bass and crappie are being caught around the Kissimmee River
area; Tin house; Dyess ditch parts of Kings Bar and Observation shoal. Plastic colors for bass
are: redbug; white; crawdad; Junebug and black/blue. For crappie lures try chartreuse; pink
hues; orange and white. A big thank you to my Sponsors: Mercury Marine; Bullet Weights; Real
Magic/TTI-Blakemore; Toho Marine; Gill; Gene Larew; Mid-South Tackle; BnM Poles; Lews and
G-Loomis. Thank you to all my Customers since 2004, I’m truly Blessed to help you and your
Family make lasting memories and put smiles on faces !!
