Inshore Fishing Report
August was sure a hot one for us, both the temperature and the fishing here inshore. Anglers have found success in recent weeks catching Snook, Tarpon, plenty of Jacks, Trout, Redfish, Permit, Pompano & more. September is one of the best months to fish inshore here in our area! Our mullet run seems to be getting ready to start as we have already begun to see schools of both finger mullet and large mullet throughout the river. The run isn’t in full swing yet and it will only continue to get better as the month goes on. Fishing the mullet run can be a bit frustrating at times due to the amount of bait around, you really need to make your bait stand out to increase your chances of getting bit. If you are fishing with artificials, 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 too. You will have plenty of opportunities for an artificial bite throughout the day if you are able to stay with the bait pods. If you are fishing with live mullet, one of the best techniques you can try out to make your bait stand out while maintaining a natural presentation would be to use a small float on your line. The float will provide enough resistance for your bait to slow it down and give it more of an injured presentation making it a much easier target to get hit. You can also fish a bait on the bottom with a lead or even a dead bait underneath a pod of mullet as a lot of times you will see lazier Snook and Tarpon cleaning up on the bottom.
Snook
- Snook season reopens on September 1st for our area, one fish per person per day in the 28”-32” slot size. The Snook fishing has been pretty steady too!
- There have still been a few schools of Snook in the inlet, around the detached jetty, on some of the local inshore wrecks and reefs, on the beaches and at Hole in the Wall. A good bit of the schools have started to push out of those areas and move back up river as their annual summer spawn is coming to a close. Look to find them staging up on docks in both the St. Lucie & Indian River as well as around the bridges. Sea walls and canals can also be excellent areas to fish during the mullet run as the predators will push the mullet up against the seawalls to ambush them. Fishing top waters as well as swimbaits along the seawalls can both be very effective this time of year for those who are looking to throw artificials. If you are fishing the seawalls and are getting a lot of Jack bites, sometimes you will either have to get your baits up closer to the wall or go through a few Jacks before you start getting your Snook bites. For those looking to fish with live baits, mullet, croakers, threadfins and pilchards can all be effective. You will see that the bigger Snook will tend to key in a bit more on the larger mullet, typically 6” and larger. There has also been a good showing of Snook north of the power plant along the mangroves on the east side of the river as well as on the grass flats. Casting topwaters in the morning and transitioning to soft plastics when the sun gets higher such as DOA Cals, or 3” paddle tails should do the trick.
Tarpon
- The mullet run typically provides us with some of our best Tarpon fishing of the year and they can be a great show to watch when feeding on schools of mullet. Over the past week, some of the best Tarpon reports have come from those fishing around the Roosevelt bridge with live mullet. As we start seeing more and more mullet in the river, you can look to find Tarpon in a number of areas, hot spots include all the bridges when the mullet are in the area, the crossroads, the inlet, cruising the beaches, as well as around Bear Point and Little Mud in the mornings and evenings. You should be able to see them rolling or airing out on mullet. You will see that sometimes your window of opportunity with the Tarpon can be short at times with their feeding on a school lasting only 15 minutes, but sometimes you can also stick with them and get on a really good Tarpon bite. Timing the tides can also be the key as one day, you might find that the mullet push through at a spot at a certain point in the tide, if you go back and fish the same window of the tide the next day, there’s a good chance that the action will be there again. The larger live mullet will be one of your best baits to use, if you are seeing a good flush of crabs on an outgoing tide, you can switch over to crabs. You can either free line the crab or mullet or fish it with a float. There have been plenty of the big triple digit fish around so be ready for a battle!
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
- Surprisingly the Trout bite north of the power plant and around the power plant on the east side of the river has been really good. We’ve been seeing consistent Trout fishing in the cooler months, but with the amount of sea grass we are starting to see come back, it has really started to revive the Trout fishing. 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 as well as on the grass flats. Top waters in the morning and evening, MirrOlures as well as soft plastics such as 3” paddle tails and artificial shrimp have all produced for those searching for Trout.
- We haven’t started seeing many Redfish on the flats yet, the best reports have come from the Ft. Pierce area, but there are typically a few to be found up that way. We do tend to see some Reds show up scattered around the river with the mullet run and occasionally we can find a good bite for them at the Stuart Causeway this time of year.
Permit
- We know it sounds crazy, but there was a really good Permit bite on the east side Mosquito bridge at the Jensen Causeway for a few days to close out the month. They weren’t massive Permit, but definitely something cool to see. As of now, it seems the Permit bite has shut down, but we definitely hope these fish come back! Those who were able to get in on the action were catching them on shrimp with either a 1/8oz or 1/4oz pink jig head depending on the current. A few Pompano were caught mixed in with them and all the jacks you could want.
Offshore Fishing Report
The swell from Hurricane Erin definitely made it tough for boats to get offshore for a few days, but those who were able to get out right before it and during it, produced some solid days fishing the surface. The steady surface bite has still been happening with Mahi, Sailfish, Wahoo, Blackfin Tunas and Kingfish all making an appearance.
Surface Fishing
- We actually had some really good Mahi fishing for August, not only the number of fish, but the size too. Plenty of solid gaffers and heavy lifters made it in the boat. It seems like trolling ballyhoo produced more numbers, but those fishing live baits were able to pick away at them too. An artificial that has really produced for those trolling has been the Islamorada Flyers, if you haven’t checked them out, we have the full lineup available here at the shop. Live bait has been a bit difficult to find, if you don’t want to spend the time trying to find it, be sure to reserve your bait with Stuart Live Bait the night before, 772-985-0425. The majority of the action for those fishing the surface has come on the color changes, the swell churned up the water a good bit and created some hard color changes, the best action has come on the cleaner side. Anglers have found the Sailfish in the same area as the Mahis, the live bait has been a bit more productive for those targeting Sails. Typically when you find the right condition, your pelagics will all be together and you can find a mix of them in the same zone. Those who have been trolling with planers have also been able to find a few Wahoos around. Trolling skirted ballyoo or bonito strips on the planer rod should get you a bite if you come across a Wahoo. Speaking of bonitos, there hasn’t been any shortage of them around. Those fishing out at the hill have had some success catching Blackfin Tunas by either trolling feathers in the morning as well as on live baits. The Blackfins out at the hill have been on the smaller side lately, but the bigger ones may pop back up soon. If you start marking them down deeper, put a lead on your line to get your baits down to their depth. There have been some of the bigger Blackfins caught in the mix of the Mahis and Sails by those trolling and fishing live baits too.
Bottom Fishing
- Bottom fishing for Snapper and Grouper has been on the slower side, mainly due to the swell from Hurricane Erin. The swell has caused the water on the bottom to be very dirty making for tough bottom fishing conditions. The water has started to clean up on the bottom and the Mutton Snapper fishing has been pretty good! Target them around the Six Mile and Loran Tower with long leader rigs with grunt plugs or live bait. There have been some Mangrove Snappers caught ranging from 70′-110′ both on artificial and natural bottom. Target them with live pilchards or small live sardines or on chicken rigs with cut sardines. We typically see some pretty good Red Grouper fishing going into September. Look to target them in 90’-140’ on either live bait or chicken rigs with squid. They aren’t too picky so they won’t be afraid to hit a chicken rig, but you may have to go through some smaller ones along with some bycatch. Plenty of Amberjacks on the bottom out at Pushbutton Hill too. Plenty of Vermillion Snapper out at Pushbutton too, target them with chicken rigs rigged with pieces of squid.
Surf Fishing Report
Whiting/Croaker/Pompano
- The swell from Hurricane Erin definitely made it tough for those looking to fish the beach with the high surf and dirty water, but it appears the ground swell is finally going away. Those who have been hitting the beach have been able to pick away at some nice sized Whiting past the breaks so we can hope for some good Whiting fishing once the surf calms down. Target your Whiting on pieces of shrimp paired with either shrimp or bloodworm Fishbites. You may expect to see some Croakers mixed in with the Whiting. Prior to the swell, Capt. Paul Sperco actually was able to pick away at some nice Pompano and even Permit from the beach. The majority of his action was 60-70yds from the shoreline and his hot bait was the Fishbites EZ Flea Electric Chicken. Surf fishing should start heating back up with nicer conditions ahead of us.
Mullet Run
- The beach can turn into a National Geographic like scene during the mullet run and it is truly a sight to see. Tarpon, Snook, Sharks, Jacks and a variety of other predators will be feeding on schools of mullet as they work their way down the beaches. It is always wise to check the beach before hauling all your equipment because a half a mile of distance can be the difference from a lifeless beach to that National Geographic feeding frenzy. If you are able to locate the schools of mullet you will typically find the fish. Live mullet, NLBN paddle tails and straight tails, JYG Pro SWYM and Y-Tails, Hogy swimbaits, Rapala X-Raps, Yozuri Crystal Minnows and spoons are all some of the top choices for those looking to get in on the surf mullet run action. We have started to see some schools on the beaches already so it will only continue to pick up!
Lake Okeechobee Fishing Report – Capt. Angie Douthit
The current lake level is 12.44 ft offering more boating and fishing accessibility especially for
those who are not real familiar with the layout/contour of the lake. It is wise to still come off
plain way out from the grass edges then idle in and do the same when getting on plain. Better
be safe than sorry, lower units can be expensive to replace. A lot of Anglers are fishing the lake
and some are fishing the deeper water areas such as the Kissimmee River and Canal systems.
Deep diving crank baits and Carolina Rig with big worms/senkos/lizards are producing bites as
well as early morning top water lures worked slowly close to the edges/drop-offs. Bream are
still being caught in the River and some out on the lake; the areas I’ve heard and seen bream
activity on the lake are located in the thick pencil reed areas which can make for some
challenges fishing these thicker areas where boat mobility is very minimal. The lake
temperature has lowered some since last month but still in the mid 80’s but noticing somewhat
a cooling trend in the evening timeframe. The month of October is normally when you’ll notice
a good change in water temperature cooling down and a good time to book you’re next fun-
filled day fishing the lake for bass and crappie as we get closer and closer to the 1 st wave of
spawning fish. I offer both live-bait and lure trips, all depends on customer preference and
what the fish are biting “best” at that time. I also offer solo and vet discounted trips, can
accommodate group/multi-trips so be sure in inquire when calling me to reserve your date(s) at
863-228-7263. As a Customer, you do not have to bring a thing, I provide all rods/reels, tackle,
bottled water, ice, sunscreen and even rain gear if needed. Some customers do bring their own
tackle and gear and some a small cooler for their preferred snacks and drinks. My boat is just a
few years old and can accommodate 3 adults or 2 small Children and 2 Parents and is rigged
with all the latest tech and provides ample room/storage. If you have any questions please feel
free to 863-228-7263 or check out my website at www.southfloridabassfishing.com where
you’ll find info on booking a trip; toll free number to purchase fishing licenses; hotel
accommodations (discounts available) for the newest hotel in Okeechobee; customer pics with
their catches and etc. What’s happening now for the bass bite? For lures I recommend
throwing worms/senkos some top water early in the mornings such as devils horse and popping
frogs then as the morning continues to heat up keep some deeper water lures on hand such as
Carolina Rigs and Deep diving crank baits for the River and Canal system and spinner
baits/shallow crank baits for the lake fishing and always keep a flipping/pitching stick rigged
and ready to go for isolated grass clumps/reed patches. Plastic colors are: Junebug; red shad;
white; bluegill/tilapia patterned; watermelon/red flake/purple flake and shad pattern colors. A
big thank you to my Sponsors are: Caymas boats; Mercury; Gene Larew; BnM Poles; Mid-South
Tackle; Gill; Lews; G-Loomis; Bullet Weights; Real Magic; Rapala and Mega Strike.
