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. The full moon and higher king tides made things a little more difficult to close out the month, but those capitalizing on fishing early in the morning and in the evenings have been able to remain a bit more productive. Fishing should continue picking back up in October here inshore as we get away from the full moon. 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.
Snook: Snook season reopened for us on September 1st and remains open until December 15th. The majority of the Snook have left the inlet, you will find some residential fish around the inlet, but the bulk of the fish 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. 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. Fishing bridges and dock lights in the low light conditions can be extremely effective as well. If you are struggling to get bites on presentations resembling a mullet or baitfish, try switching over to a shrimp lure as they have been very effective around the bridges, dock lights, flats and mangroves.
Tarpon: Tarpon fishing has been pretty good for us lately. The full moon slowed the bite down a bit but those fishing for them in the lower light conditions were able to put some fish in the air. We can expect the Tarpon fishing to pick back up to start off the month. Tarpon can be found in many different areas this time of year including around the bridges, in the crossroads, in the inlet, out on the beach, up in the North Fork and feeding on schools of mullet on the east side of the river up by the power plant. The Roosevelt bridge has provided anglers some consistent Tarpon fishing as of late with a mixture of smaller fish and the occasional triple digit fish. Outgoing tides seem to be preferred for those targeting Tarpon around the bridges. Larger live mullet have been the key for those targeting them. We haven’t had many crabs flushing out on the outgoing tides so we really haven’t had a great crab bite. Using mullet heads on the bottom can be effective for some of the lazier fish too. 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 or Baitbuster too!
Trout & Redfish: Trout fishing has remained steady for anglers fishing both the east and west side of the river north of the power plant. You should be able to find some Trout south of the power plant as well, but the stronger numbers have remained north of it. For those fishing the east side of the river, you’ll find more Trout on the grass flats away from the mangroves. The mangroves have been holding more Snook and the occasional Redfish. Typically if you find one Trout, you will start finding more bites as they have been found in schools. Top waters in the morning and evening, then switching over to MirrOlures as well as soft plastics such as paddle tails or jerk baits and artificial shrimp have all produced for those Trout fishing. Fishing a larger profile such as a 4” DOA shrimp can occasionally weed out some of the smaller fish in the school. For those looking for Reds, you will have a better shot at finding them 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 and steady current flow next to the mangroves.
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.
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.
Misc.: As we get into the fall, we will begin to see more of a showing from some of our seasonal migratory species here inshore as we begin to start getting some fronts from the north. Expect to see a better showing of Pompano, Spanish Mackerel, Black Drum, Sheepshead, Bluefish and more in the coming weeks.
Offshore Fishing Report
Surface Fishing: We had a good swell and some wind to close out the month but as that passes, we should be back on the uptick for those looking to fish the surface offshore. It also appears the grass is clearing up allowing for more fishable conditions. Sailfish, Mahi, Blackfin Tuna and Kingfish have all made the catch list for boats heading out of the St. Lucie Inlet here lately. Boats that have been the most productive have focused on fishing nice edges and color changes. 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. We are getting to the time of year where bait becomes a bit more scarce and trolling starts to become more effective. The fish have been a bit spread out so finding the right condition before putting your lines in will definitely play to your advantage. Mahis have been scattered from 70’ to out past Push Button, Sails have been caught both to the north and south of the inlet, Kingfish have remained in the 60’-90’ range around the reefs and wrecks, Blackfins have been caught out at Pushbutton with a few nicer fish caught in the 120’-150’ range.
Bottom Fishing: Let’s try the Red Snapper season again after the fiasco earlier this year. The 2026 recreational Red Snapper season will now be October 9th to the 22nd. Anglers will need to declare their intent before going out to target Red Snapper. For those going out, please visit https://myfwc.com/fishing/saltwater/recreational/atlantic-red-snapper/ for more details and to declare.
Vermillion Snapper fishing has been steady and anglers have been able to catch their Snapper limits with ease. Vermillions have been caught out at Pushbutton as well as a few spots inshore of there. The Muttons have been caught 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. We should begin to see our Lane Snapper fishing start to pick up as we get into the fall on reefs in the 60’ range. We generally see some good Red Grouper fishing going into the fall in the 120’ range both on live baits along with chicken rigs with full squids.
Surf Fishing Report
Pompano have already begun making a strong appearance off of our beaches and it should only continue to pick up! There have been a good amount of undersized fish that have had to go back, but there have been plenty of keepers mixed in. The better bite has been first thing in the morning and during high tide. The bite has been slowing down approaching the bottom of the tide. The majority of the action has been coming from 50-80yds off the beach. Staggering your casting distance to locate the fish when you get to the beach and adjusting your rods to the distance where you find them is always a great strategy. Sandfleas tipped with EZ Flea Electric Chicken Fishbites has been the winning combo for Capt. Paul Sperco here lately. He will generally start out with a different color Fishbites on his rods and adjust to which one that they are keying in on. A few Whiting and Croaker have been picked off by those fishing the first trough with pieces of shrimp as well. We have still had some schools of mullet working down the beach with Tarpon, Snook, Jacks and Sharks ready to feed on them. It is a great time of the year to fish the beach when conditions permit!
