From Todd @ Juno Bait Crew-Juno Beach

 INSHORE-  Inshore conditions have been tough this week again.  The Loxahatchee River and ICW have had a lot of freshwater and the bite has been slow.  A few snook biting at night around the bridges.  Bright colored flair hawks have been the best bet for the snook with the dirty water conditions.  Mullet activity has been slim due to the less than ideal water conditions.  As water and salinity get back to normal we should still see a decent push of fish coming through.  Palm Beach Inlet has had a few jacks and tarpon cruising through, but overall conditions remain less than ideal.  Conditions do look to be somewhat improving towards the end of the weekend. 

SURF/PIER-  Tough weather conditions and very dirty water have kept reports to a bare minimum over the past few weeks....unless you're into catching catfish.  The catfish bite remains very hot!  Sounds like a fair amount of finger mullet have been coming down the beach over the past week.  A few scattered small snook, ribbonfish, and small tarpon have been following behind the schools of finger mullet.  A handful of scattered pompano around.  Not big numbers; but as the weather calms down and water conditions start to improve the pompano fishing should fire off.  No bluefish reports yet, but conditions are lingering up for them to arrive in the near future. 

Decoding the Snook Bite: Testing New Baits in South Florida | NLBN

Beach Fishing With Paul Sperco Palm Beach/Martin County Area

 

Just wanted to give everyone a heads up on today’s bite and our forecast for the weekend. I took a ride up to the other side of Fort Pierce Inlet this morning and looked at a couple of beach accesses to check on the weed situation . The three beaches I looked at were relatively clean of the weeds we have been dealing with the past couple of weeks so I set up on one where I was the only angler . I started with 3 setups all with Fishbites Ez Flea Electric Chicken . One had a couple of frozen sandfleas along with the Fishbites and within 5 minutes the ladyfish and palometas started to chew . I have been down in Florida almost 14 years and I have to say I have never caught and released as many palometa as I did today . Other than 3 sharkoffs the palometa, ladyfish, bonefish , and pompano kept the activity at a level that I started fishing just 2 poles . The pompano total was probably around 15 but just 5 keepers . The palometa count had to be in the 30’s or 40’s with at least 7 or 8 doubleheaders . I do keep the bigger ones as they are great eating but the majority of these were in that 10 inch range . A couple of the bonefish were really nice and pulled some drag . It figutres with all of this life in the water we are going to lose some days to the swells that are going to be coming ashore on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday , and Wednesday according to the forecast . If you are able to fish tomorrow conditions look great . Intel says there were some keeper pompano caught today on the south end of the island also . All of my bites today were from 60 to 90 yards off . The five keepers were all nice fish too and expect the keeper ratio to keep getting better as we head towards October . I am happy to deal with the swells for the next few days as it is a lot better than the system making landfall directly in our area . Hope everyone has a great weekend . I’ll be at Bass Pro from 9-1 tomorrow if anyone has any surf fishing questions they would like help on . Good luck and catch em up .

Fishing BIG LIVE BAIT at Florida Beach | Giant Fish Feeding Frenzy

From Todd @ Juno Bait Crew-Juno Beach

 

INSHORE-  Snook fishing remains good inshore right now.  Some decent pods of mullet around and the snook are tagging close behind. Scattered tarpon and jacks will be mixed in with the snook as well.  The mullet will be most active early in the morning, late in the afternoon, and at night.  At night the snook will also be hanging around the bridges.  Outgoing tide seems to be the best bet on the snook, with a flair hawk jig remaining a top lure choice right now.  If the snook are popping mullet on top; a Yo-Zuri Hydro Pencil or Yo-Zuri Mag Darter is a solid lure choice.  The toadies are biting well inshore this week.  Small pieces of fresh shrimp on a long shank hook is the way to go for the toadies.   

SURF/PIER-  Despite less than ideal looking water along the beach; the fishing has been pretty good.  A good number of mullet pods have been coming down the beach with snook and tarpon still being around in good numbers (When the bluefish show up...the snook go away!).  Some jacks and sharks have been mixed in the mullet schools as well.  A live mullet fished on the edge or under the school is a great way to go.  When you're fishing in a million baits, you have to figure out how to make yours look a little different.  The Juno Beach Pier snook bite is not red hot right now; but still a pretty  good number of fish around.  The bait situation (unless a school of mullet comes by) is a little tough at the pier.  Pompano reports were good last weekend, with a nice number of fish around.  Conditions look good to hopefully se some pompano show up again this weekend as well.  

Fishing The Mullet Run: Yo-Zuri Hydro Pencil

Sebastian Inlet Report With The Snookman

 

Warm, messy water keeps the fish away 

“Snookman” Wayne Landry, our fishing guide, offers a brief report due to lackluster conditions:

“Good morning, my Sebastian Inlet fans, I hope everyone enjoyed the nice weekend. The ENE breeze kept the temperatures down to a bearable level. This report is another short one, unfortunately, because the water is still messy, dirty, silty, and receiving too much fresh water on the outgoing tide. In addtion, water temperatures remain a bit warm for this time of year — 84 degrees as of this writing when it should be in the upper to mid-70s for the fish to turn on.

The finger mullet are still around, but there are no predators after them. About the only fish I heard being caught were Spanish mackerel, lookdowns, blue runners and jacks on the north jetty; no snook, and only a couple of redfish at the tip on the incoming tide. That’s pretty much it. I heard from some of my hardcore fishing acquaintances, and they said the same of their trips to the inlet.

On the south side on the incoming tide there were a few snook caught on live pinfish, but just a few. The outgoing tide at the tip was the usual: catfish, puffers, blue runners and a couple of bluefish. The rest of the inlet was quiet as well due to the poor water quality and seaweed still around.

I don't like writing these kinds of reports, but like I always said, I tell it like it is! No fluff. Expect a nice week, though. Hurricane Gabrielle should stay away, but we might see a resulting surf swell, and the constant ENE winds persist. I wish everyone a great week!” — Snookman. 

The Mullet Run | Keep Casting Podcast #6

HOW TO FISH THE MULLET RUN USING BRIDGE SHADOW LINES 🎣🐟🐟🐟🐟🎣

Sebastian Inlet Report With The Snookman

 “Good morning, Sebastian Inlet fans; I hope everyone enjoyed the ‘cooler’ weather last weekend. It wasn't so sweltering as it had been. Breezy and nice. With that said, this report is unfortunately brief due to uncooperative water conditions: high king tides and the 3 to 4-foot swells with an occasional rogue five-footer, making it pretty tough to fish. Waves washed over the jetty, the water was rough and dirty, and sargassum weed showed up as well. The only good thing I can say is that there were a ton of finger mullet and greenies around the entire inlet, but nothing messing with them. All I saw over the weekend were Spanish mackerel mixed with blue fish and jacks. Here’s a brief summary of the action spots:

North jetty: Most of the action was on the incoming tide with the Spanish mackerel being the topic of the weekend. Many fish were caught on live greenies fished on a float rig or freelined, also on tiny white jigs and gotcha lures. Most fish were in the 12 to 15-inch range, with Sunday being the better day. A lot of fish were caught. Other species I saw caught: undersized pompano, palmettos, and a few decent whiting, all on cut shrimp. Beachside of the jetty. No action on the snook or the redfish. I saw only one redfish caught over the weekend. The outgoing tide at the tip was just as slow — catfish, jacks and a few bluefish were caught on cut baits. That wraps up this side. It was really slow.

South Jetty: Same thing here. Dirty water and an exceedingly high tide making it tough to fish because the waves were smashing on the rocks where anglers usually like to stand and fish. The only fish I saw worth mentioning over the weekend were a few decent snook I saw caught at the tip of jetty, incoming tide on live pinfish and pigfish. Not much else except for puffers and catfish on the outgoing on dead shrimp. 

 T-dock area: Back here, the water was also dirty and few fishing it. Plenty of baitfish, but no predators in pursuit. 

Surf area, both sides: The surf on both sides was an absolute mess, with the high dirty water and the sargassum around. The rip tides just made it unfishable everywhere! Nothing to report here. 

From Todd @ Juno Bait Crew-Juno Beach

 INSHORE-  Snook fishing remains the best bet inshore right now.  The snook will be following mullet schools and seem to be feeding best at first light or as the sun is going down.  A lot of freshwater in the Loxahatchee River and parts of the ICW right now, so look for the fishing to be a little better closer to the inlets.  A handful of tarpon and jacks will be mixed in with the snook as well.  A noisy topwater like a Yo-Zuri Hydro Pencil is a good choice during lowlight periods of the day.  

At night the snook have been hanging around the bridges in decent numbers.  A flair hawk style jig remains a top lure choice for the snook.  

SURF/PIER:  Despite rather gross looking conditions and a fair amount of scattered seaweed, fishing along the beach and at the Juno Beach Pier has been fair this week.  The mullet run has been a bit sporadic this week, but still some decent pods coming by.  The snook, tarpon, and jacks have been following close behind the pods.  Early morning and late afternoon tends to produce the most action around the mullet schools.   The Juno Beach Pier has been producing a good number of small pompano, along with a decent number of ladyfish.  A bright colored Doc's Goofy Jig will work well for both.  

Beach Fishing With Paul Sperco Palm Beach/Martin County Area

 

I only had a short window time wise to throw them out this morning . Picked a beach up in the Fort Pierce area based on some intel from yesterday and although the quantity did not work out , the quality did . I looked at a couple of beaches in Jensen Beach but they were pretty weeded up and the water was streaky and off color . The positive fact about the beaches from Stuart to Normandy was that the bait seemed to be everywhere. When I got to my spot there were pelicans and terns on some bait schools also but not like there was locally. My catch list included blue runners, sand perch, catfish, and about a dozen pompano . Unfortunately out of the dozen pompano there was only 2 keepers . As it turned out I got lucky with the 2 keepers as their combined weight at NewEngland Seafood was almost exactly 5 lbs on the nose . EZFLEA Electric Chicken did it again and the pompano bites all came in that 50 yard range . The weeds were starting to become an issue but they never got bad enough to make conditions unfishable . Bottom line is these fish are on the way and they can appear on any beach access on any given day. Hopefully we can put a few days back to back with clean water and diminished weeds . This fall surf fishing is going to get good.

HOW TO FISH A BRIDGE FOR SNOOK AT NIGHT

Snook-Nook Fishing Report

 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 reopened 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. 

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!

MULLET RUN BEACH SNOOK

Beach Fishing With Paul Sperco Palm Beach/Martin County Area

  Hope everyone is had a great Labor Day Holiday weekend and if you have spent anytime on the beach the past couple of days the word “hydration” has hopefully been in your vocabulary. . The westerly breezes have not given much relief and the hours from 11 to 3 have been brutal on the beach . The winds are forecast to change to a northerly direction the next couple of days and the surf is predicted to pick up a bit . That should help anyone who is trying to catch a few of the early season pompano as these calm 1 foot seas actually make things a bit difficult. My friend and fellow pompano angler Jimbo Shipes always says “First day of the west is always the best “. A series of calm flat days makes me change tactics a bit and although I did not have a banner day today with the pompano , I made my first drop off to New England Seafood this season with 5 nice pompano . The fish that we caught the week before the swell from Hurricane Erin started all ended up in my freezer . When the surf calms down and cleans up during the spring the removal of the “bling”, floats and beads , will increase your catch rate . If you are fishing a rig with a double dropper loop , you can actually remove the hook and take the floats and beads off and just thread the loop back through the eye of the hook . Keep the beads and floats to switch back to a standard rig set up when conditions call for that . That is how I fished today, bare hooks with plain Electric Chicken Ez Flea bait . . Im not really complaining about only dropping off 5 today . It’s September 1 and just catching some keepers at this time of year is great . The intel from the Daytona- Melbourne area is positive also as that area is producing keeper pompano along with lots of throwbacks. Hopefully with the predicted wind shift some of those fish to the north of us will start making their way south . I hope everyone has a great week. Good luck and catch em up .

SNOOKZILLA! Random Florida Beach Loaded with Live Bait

From Todd @ Juno Bait Crew-Juno Beach

  

The mullet have started to trickle inshore (moving around better at night) and the snook have taken notice.  Now is a great time for throwing bigger topwater plugs and swimbaits.  mixed in with the snook should be some bruiser jacks and tarpon.  Look for the snook to be staged up on ambush points with good current flow.  At night the snook have been hanging around bridge shadow lines and docklights.  As the mullet start to flow in better and better expect the fishing to really heat up.  

SURF/PIER-  This week saw a little more action along the beach and at the Juno Beach Pier.  Following the big swell last week a few pompano, including some keepers, showed up.  Along the beach a few pompano were biting sand fleas, while the Juno Beach Pier had some pomps coming over the rails on Doc's Goofy Jigs.  The snook fishing has  been good along the beach and at the Juno Beach as well this week.  The snook have been biting small swimbaits and swimming plugs along the beach; with the best bite coming early in the morning.  The Juno Beach Pier has had a good number of pilchards around, and the snook have been floating up top and biting free lined baits on the surface.  A few scattered tarpon along the beach over the past week.  Everything looks good for the mullet run to really ramp up anytime.  No big mullet schools yet; but it can't be far off! 

SHNOOK ON! | These GIANT FISH Live Right Where the Tourists Swim

Beach Fishing With Paul Sperco Palm Beach/Martin County Area

Well it’s Wednesday evening and I thought yesterday’s pompano bite was pretty good for August . I headed back out this morning and it was better .I put my catch together and my son Randy went home with some nice pompano up to 2 1/2 pounds also . The bite was best from 730 to 930 this morning but we did pick away at them until we left around 1130 . There seems to be a pretty nice spread of fish in the area . EZ Flea Electric Chicken was the only scent and color I used today after yesterday’s success and I checked with Woody and Alec at the Snook Nook and they have a great inventory of this bait . One little tip I would like to share is these early season fish are not pulling the rods down on their bites . A small wiggle on the tip is what a good number of them showed today and yesterday when they bit so pay attention to your rods . It may be because of the warm water but they are not biting like they do in the fall and winter . Taking the day off tomorrow to work my shift at the Snook Nook in the morning but I’ll be back out on Friday . So far Erin looks she is going to stay east of us but expect some swells next Tuesday and Wednesday as per the National Weather Service . Let’s hope she stays on that track . Good luck this week and catch em up .

It’s Tuesday afternoon and I decided this morning to take a break from chasing the whiting and croaker and attempt to throw my long rods in search of a couple of pompano bites . I haven’t thrown a bait out for the pompano in months due to the rotator cuff issue and subsequent rehab sessions on my shoulder . I am happy to report that the shoulder held up and my EZFlea Electric Chicken baits managed to put some nice pompano in the cooler and also catch a beautiful permit just before I left the beach . All in all a great day . There were plenty of bites from 10 inch pompano, ladyfish, and a few catfish also during the morning . It’s nice to see some of these summer pompano and permit on our beaches . All of the pompano were in that 60 to 70 yard range from the beach . I started with EZFlea Orange and white , EX Flea Electric Chicken, and Ghost Shrimp . As the morning wore on I switched all of my rods over to the EZFlea Electric Chicken as that one rod continued to produce . The permit hit on that bait also as i was getting to leave . The rods with just Fishbites out produced the ones with the sand fleas and Fishbites. These summertime pompano have been showing the past couple of weeks from Hobe Sound to Fort Pierce . It looks like there is enough of them around to bring a couple of the long rods and put them in your sandspikes even if you are fishing some short rods for the whiting and croaker . I hope everyone has a good week . Good luck and catch em up .

Snook-Nook Fishing Report

 Inshore Fishing Report 

With these super hot summertime afternoons that we have been experiencing, for those fishing inshore, you will want to capitalize on fishing mornings and evenings when the water isn’t as hot, you will typically find your best action then. If you are fishing in the afternoon, you will want to focus on areas with cooler water such as areas with solid current flow or deeper areas around docks as well as up underneath sportfish boats. Capt. Justin has been bouncing back and forth from summertime Bahamas trips to fishing locally, on his inshore trips, he has been guiding his clients to a lot of good Snook fishing with plenty of over slot sized fish making it to the boat. 

The majority of the action is still taking place around the inlet and as we get into the month, you can expect to find more fish moving back up the Indian and St. Lucie Rivers. Live baits have been producing the most bites, Croakers, Threadfins and Pilchards have been getting the job done for anglers fishing the inlet. We’ve still been receiving a steady flow of Croakers if you’re looking to grab some! 

Those fishing the beaches have found steady action using both Croakers, Whiting and white baits, it has been one of our better summers fishing for Snook from the beaches. The most productive beaches have been the ones that have been holding bait which can change on a day to day basis. It doesn’t hurt to look for birds diving or bait flicking on the surface before picking the beach that you are going to fish. Those who have been working swimbaits such as NLBNs, JYG Pros & Hogys have found success in the mornings and evenings too. There has been some good Snook fishing around the causeways too. As these fish leave the inlet from their summer spawn, the bridges are always a good area to look at as they work their way back into the river. Docks around Sewalls Point in the St. Lucie River are also a hot spot this time of year. As we get closer to the end of the month, we will be approaching our annual fall mullet run which we all look forward to. We typically begin seeing a few schools of mullet pushing through towards the end of August with the majority of the schools arriving in September. When the mullet do arrive, it is important to ‘match the hatch’ by fishing a bait that has a similar size and profile to the size of the mullet that are around whether you are fishing with live mullet or artificials. If you love fishing top water baits, the mullet run is the best time of the year for some epic blowups. If you find schools of mullet, there should be some fish on them here in the next few weeks.The Tarpon bite for us has been pretty up and down for us so far this year. We had much better numbers of fish caught inshore last July, there have certainly been some fish around, but you definitely had to put your time in. The majority of the bites have been coming on the outgoing tides for those fishing inshore. Look to find them around the Jensen Causeway, Stuart Causeway, in the inlet, in the crossroads, around the power plant and some up in the North Fork. Live crabs or larger mullet will typically be your best options if you are fishing live baits, DOA Teror Eyz, DOA Bait Busters, Hogys, NLBNs or JYG Pros are all great options on the artificial side. Those running the beaches have come across a few schools of them and have caught them on live pilchards and threadfins. Some guys have been making the walk to the inlet from Bathtub Beach at night and have done pretty well from the shoreline. The JYG Pro Y-Tails in both 7” & 9” have been the favorite for those making that walk. With the fall mullet run approaching, expect the Tarpon fishing to get even better. There have been plenty of big jacks mixed in as well, if you’re looking for some drag screaming fun, leave a rod with a top water rigged up in case you see them feeding.

Fishing structure with shrimp has been producing Mangrove Snapper, Sheepshead, a few Flounder as well as a few Black Drum. If you’re looking for Mangrove Snapper, fishing a smaller live bait like a small pilchard as opposed to shrimp will typically help you weed through the smaller fish and catch more of the nicer sized Snapper here inshore.

Surf Fishing Report 

Whiting fishing off the beach has been decent, the quantity has gone down over the past week, but the ones that have been caught have all been good sized. Croakers on the other hand are the opposite, the Croakers have been plentiful off the beaches, but they have all been on the smaller size, more like bait sized Croakers. Those fishing the first trough for the Whiting and Croakers have been using pieces of shrimp and either bloodworm or shrimp Fishbites. The majority of the fish have been caught up close so you don’t want to over cast. The Snook fishing on the other hand, as mentioned earlier has been on fire off the beaches. Schools of a variety of bait fish such as glass minnows, small croakers, pilchards, threadfins and mullet have been making their way down the beaches which has really turned the Snook bite on. Expect to see more predatory fish such as Snook, Tarpon, Jacks, Sharks and more putting on a show as we approach our annual fall mullet run.

Sebastian Inlet Report With The Snookman

 "Snookman" Wayne Landry says the mangrove snapper bite is ON: "Good morning, Sebastian Inlet fishing fans and sightseers. I hope everyone had a great weekend despite the hot temperatures and afternoon thunder boomers! Here we go with this week’s installment of ‘What's happening at the inlet.’ I'd like to start with a reminder that the area between the railings and the yellow lines around the north jetty are to be KEPT CLEAR of  fishing carts and all equipment you brought out with you. Please place your equipment in the CENTER of the jetty. The walkway around the perimeter of the jetty is to be kept clear for medical emergencies — the EMTs will be able to safely access the inlet walkway. Thank you for your attention to this matter. Now on to the fishing. As I expected, THEYE'RE HERE! And they are everywhere. The mangrove snapper that is; I knew they would show up. It was just a matter of timing with the water temperatures.  The baitfish were here, now the water is good. It has leveled out to the mid-80s — 86 as of this writing and 85 for the past week at the inlet. Here we go with the action spots. 

North jetty: All the mangrove action is during the early morning incoming tide around the tip, the beach side around the pilings, and rock pile. Live bait, shrimp, greenies, and cut mojarra are the baits of choice. Fish them on a Carolina rig, or split-shot rig with a short leader of 30 lb or less as they are kind of leader-shy at times. Most of the fish being caught are in the 11 to 14-inch range, with many averaging 13 inches. Nice sized snappers, and fat ones. Many anglers over the last four days have reported reaching their bag limits — five per day per person, minimum size 10 inches. The other species biting quite well also are the lookdowns on the clean incoming water. Small live baits, shrimp and greenies, and tiny jigs are catching fish. There's not much to them as they are so thin, but if you get a few, they are very tasty fish to eat! Not to be left out, black margates are biting as well, same tide. The snook and redfish bite has slowed considerable mostly due to all the goliath groupers harassing them all the time. They know better than to bite. Outgoing tide at the tip they are also catching the mangroves, just not as well as the incoming, same baits. For those fishing jigs and spoons on the outgoing, there are some big jack crevalle to play with. Along the rock shoreline between the jetty and bridge, the mangroves have moved in there as well, incoming tide is better as the water is higher, and the current is slower, but some can be caught on the outgoing. Same baits as on the jetty. 

South jetty: Mangroves are all over the place! Same baits as the north side, and on the incoming tide as well, all along the jetty from the tip to the bridge. What's different about this side is that the SSE winds, and three to four-foot surf has dirtied up the water again, so the bite hasn't been as good, but still productive for the mangroves. The catch-and-release snook bite has also slowed up here as well due to the dirty water, but live croakers, mojarra are catching some. The outgoing tide at the tip is producing black margates, mangroves, and a few nice whiting and some big jack crevalle for those fishing live and cut shrimp. The big jacks are also hitting silver spoons and jigs fished in the channel area. 

T-Dock: Back here the fishing has been rather good for the mangroves, better than a week ago. Both tides are producing nice fish around the dock pilings and rocks around the cleaning station on small live shrimp, greenies and small mojarra cut bait. Also, back here there have been some of the big jack crevalle around for those fishing spoons and jigs. The snook bite back here has slowed a bit, mostly due to the water being so warm, and they are in spawn mode. They don't want to play. They spawn on the full and new moons in the summer, and we just had a full moon on the 9th, so they are in limbo so to speak. 

Surf Area, both sides: North side surf fishing has been slow, largely due to the beach being full of beachgoers, the surf having increased to three to four feet, and brisk SSE winds that have dirtied the water. On the South side, same thing; fewer beachgoers, just anglers; but poor water conditions have limited the bite to catfish, puffers, and an occasional bonnethead shark. The tides were good, just the water quality was off.

From Todd @ Juno Bait Crew-Juno Beach

 INSHORE-  The inshore summer mangrove snapper fishing has finally seemed to get going over the past week or so.  The mangrove snapper generally bite best at night around bridges and deeper boat docks with some current.  Small live pilchards and live shrimp will be the best bet for the mangrove snapper.  It's always a fine line in bait choice with mangrove snapper.  Fishing smaller baits for the snapper gets a lot more bites, but leaves you picking through a lot of 8 and 9" fish before finding a few keepers.  A bigger pilchard or good size chunk of sardine will catch the bigger snapper, but the bites come a lot slower.  Snook fishing remains pretty good inshore, with fish both around the inlets and pushing into the ICW and Loxahatchee in decent numbers.  A few early season mullet (mostly bigger mullet, not much in finger mullet) have pushed inshore, and the snook and occasional tarpon have taken notice of the early arrivers.  The snook fishing remains better at night, with bridges and docklights being the best bet still.  The dock light fish are still (and generally always will) eating smaller lure better, with the bridge fish being pretty tuned in on flair hawks these days.   

SURF/PIER-  For the most part fishing has been rather tough this week along the beach and at the Juno Beach Pier.  Catch and release snook fishing has been the most consistent thing going on this week; but slightly off colored water and a fair amount of seaweed has made even that tough.  Live bait has been around the Juno Beach Pier in decent numbers this week, but it does seem to be thinning out a bit:  This is a very common late summer deal that  generally indicates a slow turn to fall patterns, and likely the start of the mullet run before too much longer.  A few early season pods of mullet have already come down the beach, but we are still a week or two away from seeing real start of the mullet run.  If Tropical Storm (and later on Major Hurricane) Erin's probable track holds true it should help get a big push of mullet headed our way late next week.  (Right at about time of publishing...it does sound like water conditions have started to improve)

HOW TO FISH A BRIDGE FOR SNOOK AT NIGHT

Deep Dive Into Summer Snookin' | Flats Class YouTube

From Todd @ Juno Bait Crew-Juno Beach

 INSHORE-  Catch and release snook fishing remains the best bet inshore right now.  A fair number of snook in the Loxahatchee right now, but a bulk of the snook have pushed towards the inlets to spawn.  Bridges closer to the inlets have been holding a decent number of snook at night.  Fish outgoing tide with flair hawk jigs and bigger swimbaits for a good chance at a bigger bite from a full grown snook.  The snook have also been hanging around docklights.  The dock light fish tend to be a bit smaller size wise; but make up for it with better numbers a lot of times.  Shrimp lures (DOA, Vudu, Savage) tend to be a great choice for the snook around docklights.  A decent number of jacks and the occasional tarpon will be mixed in with the snook in the lights as well.  A few mangrove snapper hanging around the bridges as well, with the best bite on them coming at night.  Live shrimp and small live pilchards are great bait choices for the mangrove snapper.  

SURF/PIER-  The surf fishing remains a bit quite overall, not uncommon for this time of year.  Catch and release snook fishing has picked up a bit, and should only improve as we move into the heart of summer.  The snook fishing remains good on the Juno Beach Pier.  Best bite on the pier snook will be early in the morning and then again at closing time.  If the snook are fired up and floating in the bait schools then a flatlined live bait is the way to go.  If the snook aren't as active; try fishing the bait on the bottom under the pier.  A handful of jacks still cruising the beach, along with some schools of tarpon.  A handful of croaker and sand perch biting in the first trough.  Small pieces of fresh shrimp is the top bait choice for them.    

Snook-Nook Fishing Report

 

Inshore Fishing Report

Our summertime Snook fishing is in full swing here on the Treasure Coast. If you’re looking to try to catch a trophy sized Snook, this is a great time of the year to give it a shot! There have still been good numbers of Snook schooled up in the inlet. Look for the schools around the south detached jetty, along the beach by the Hole in the Wall, in the Crossroads as well as on the beaches to the north and south of the inlet. Fishing live baits such as Croakers, Pilchards and Threadfins have been the most effective baits in the inlet. It doesn’t hurt to try fishing dead baits around the inlet such as a dead Threadfin when the fish aren’t eating the live baits as some of the lazier fish tend to be more inclined to eat those. Some of the schools haven’t been as cooperative when it comes to getting bites from them, but if you find yourself in that situation, it is best to move onto trying to find the next school. We’ve been getting a steady supply of Croakers here at the shop and should have a steady supply throughout the summer weather permitting. Don’t be afraid to shoot out the inlet to fish some of the nearshore wrecks and reefs this time of year as they will commonly be found out there. Fishing bridges and docks in both the St. Lucie and the Indian River should result in a few fish as well. The concrete blocks underneath the causeways have been holding some big Snook, be sure to have some heavy tackle if you plan on going to battle there! When we get the high afternoon temperatures, the water will heat up a good bit as well. When that water heats up you will want to focus on areas with deeper water and moving current as the fish will tend to move to those areas. If you’re looking to fish in the evening into the night, the dock light fishing has been pretty good. You will see that the fish may feed more at night in the lights due to the water temperatures cooling down after the sun sets. Anglers fishing from shore can look to get in on some Snook action on the beaches, at the Jensen Causeway, at Indian Riverside Park, the Ft. Pierce jetty and wading north of the power plant in the mornings and evenings. At the causeway they have been feeding pretty consistently on shrimp and crabs that have been flowing through on the outgoing tides in the evenings. Free lining crabs or shrimp as well as fishing a shrimp on a jighead will give you a good shot at hooking up. If you are looking to fish artificials; NLBN paddle tails, Vudu or Thumper Shrimp and Yozuri Crystal Minnows have all been solid choices.

Anglers fishing live shrimp have been able to pick away at Mangrove Snappers around structure here inshore. If you’re looking to weed through some of the smaller ones, fishing a small pilchard or pinfish on a jighead is a great strategy to catch some of the bigger ones mixed in when they’re around. We typically see our biggest Snapper here inshore during the summer months. Those fishing live shrimp have also run into Flounder, Sheepshead, Black Drum and a variety of other species. Keep in mind that July is typically the toughest time of the year to get live shrimp. The water heats up in the gulf and the shrimp will bury themselves in the mud to stay cool, when that happens our shrimpers aren’t able to catch them. The few shrimp that are caught are very small and face higher chances of die off on the ride over due to the warm water. Please be patient with us when it comes to the live shrimp as we are at the shrimper’s mercy, feel free to call the shop for updates when the shrimp supply becomes difficult.

We typically will begin to see more opportunities for catching a Tarpon as we get into July. We are starting to see some crabs flowing through the bridges on the outgoing tide, it hasn’t been nearly as many crabs as last year or years past, but definitely a good sign. If you are fishing around the bridges, you will want to focus on that outgoing tide, free line a crab or free line a larger live mullet to give you the best chance at hooking up. Adding a float on your line isn’t a bad idea either to keep your bait up on the surface where the Tarpon have been feeding. We also usually start seeing more Tarpon showing up in the inlet and cruising the beaches in the mornings and evenings in July. Fishing live Threadfins or mullet will give you a good shot at them if you see them around. 

Surf Fishing Report 

Whiting fishing has been pretty good for anglers fishing from the surf all month, the main issue anglers have had to deal with is some slime weed. If there is slime weed or an abundance of weeds in the water at the beach you choose, it is best to try a different beach as there may not be any weed at the next beach access and the fish have been spread out along the island. Over the past week, the best of the Whiting fishing has come from beach accesses north of Jensen public beach. The majority of your bites will come close to the shoreline in the 5 to 15 yard range. There have been some nice sized Croakers caught from the surf too. Pieces of shrimp and either bloodworm or shrimp Fish Bites have been the ticket to putting these fish in the cooler. You will also want to focus your fishing around the high tide for both the Whiting and Croakers. 

The Snook are starting to show up in better numbers on the beaches for those looking to get in on that action. Typically your better fishing for them will be around the high tides too and in the morning or evening. The morning and evening windows will give you a better chance to get a bite using artificials. White paddle tails, Yozuri Crystal Minnows and twitch baits are all solid choices if you’re going the artificial route. It’s always a good idea to have a rod with a sabiki tied on in the event of some bait moving down the beach. You can catch the threadfins or pilchards with the sabiki and free line them right in the first trough, live Croakers are also a great choice to free line. There have been some Tarpon cruising the beaches, but the majority of them have been out of casting range. We do tend to start seeing them come a little closer when the bait schools get up close to the beach.

Sebastian Inlet Report With The Snookman

 

 A fabulous day of fishing at the newly-reopened north jetty 

“Good morning, all my AWESOME Sebastian Inlet fishing friends and jetty visitors. Yesterday (June 30) was a grand day for the reopening of the north jetty! It was a fantastic turnout, to say the least! The weather was great, the water was clean and clear, and the fish were there in abundance. There were about 150 people or more that showed up to fish or just sightsee; it was fantastic! It was reminiscent of opening day of the fall snook season when the fish were biting well… and they stayed all day, too! I have to say, though, it is really nice to have the jetty back open because that is where we get the most fishing action. The north jetty offers  deeper water, and access farther out into the ocean, not to mention the abundance of more and better structure for the fish. Thank you to EVERYONE involved in the rebuilding of the jetty walkway area and the surrounding dunes and foliage. It was a job well done by all. So, without further delay, here is your HOT fishing report!! 

North jetty:  As I mentioned, the jetty was PACKED on Monday, and the fish were everywhere! On the walk out to the jetty with everyone, there were some small schools of large jack crevalle, 15 to 20-pounders chasing mullet and mojarra along the seawall and making quite the commotion. A couple of the ‘young  guns, I call them, were tossing large swim baits at them and hooking up, but none were landed as the hooks pulled out. That got everyone excited right off the bat! Once everyone claimed their spots, the tide came in nicely, and the fish started being hooked up, and come over the rails. Most of the fish were caught on live shrimp, black drum, redfish, black margates, sheepshead, and spadefish. For those fishing with live greenies and small crappie jigs and tiny swimbaits, the lookdowns were on fire! There were quite a lot of them caught! Not much to them, but they are VERY tasty to eat, and there are no limits or restrictions on them. For those fishing silver spoons out far, and vertical jigs, there were also quite a few nice bluefish in the 15 to 16-inch range caught. The snook were non-existent due to the abundance of all the huge goliath groupers harassing the schools and chasing them around. Only two were hooked and the groupers ate both of them, and one redfish. The groupers were trying to eat EVERYTHING being netted. My suggestion: Please DON'T target the snook during the summer so the groupers don't eat them all! Let them do their spawning thing; there are other species to catch that you CAN keep. That's pretty much all for this side. 

South side: Over here the water was pretty dirty, but not as dirty as it had been; it cleaned up some. At the tip they were catching black margates, spot tails, some sand perch, and a couple small whiting, and of course the pesky puffers and ever-present catfish. Once the tide started coming in, people on the south jetty moved to the north jetty. The water over there got pretty dirty, so they left. 

T-dock area: Back here the fishing has picked up, especially during the high tide phases. Small mangrove snapper are starting to show more as the water keeps warming up. I had some reports of a few keepers being caught on live greenies, and cut mojarra, and shrimp around the dock pilings. And as always, when the water gets a tad dirty, the puffers are abundant for the bait fishermen. On the outgoing tide when the greenies show up, there have some nice Spanish mackerel being caught on the live greenies, and small week of June 30 2025

swim baits. Other than that, it is still a bit slow. 

Surf area, both sides: On the north side, the water was silted up and there weren't any anglers fishing; just swimmers having fun. The south side remained a bit silted as well, but there were a few pockets of clean water around. For those fishing cut shrimp and live sandfleas, there were a couple nice pompano caught that I know of, along with some whiting. And again, the pesky catfish and once in a while bonnet head sharks to keep it interesting, along with a few bluefish. 

That's it in a nutshell! It is awesome to have the north jetty back open while fishing is hot. It is a blessing. This week is supposed to be riddled with afternoon thunderstorms, so get there early and catch some dinner. The high tides will be in the afternoons, but the fish are there to be caught. I wish everyone a safe and wonderful week!” — Snookman.

Beach Fishing With Paul Sperco Palm Beach/Martin County Area

 

A calm surf , clean water , no weeds, an incoming tide , and some Saharan Dust was just the right formula for a pretty good whiting bite here in Jensen Beach this morning. Randy and I fished for a couple of hours and managed a nice cooler of nice whiting . We got to the beach a couple of hours before high tide and as is the case when the beach you are fishing does not have a pronounced near shore trough, the key was to cast your bait 20 to 25 yards to the slightly deeper water where the whiting were sitting . As the tide continued to rise we shortened our casts with the change in the water depth . When we decided to leave the fish were right at our feet. Pilchards and glass minnows made their appearance today also and the anglers that were targeting catch and release snook had bent rods all morning. Bloodworm Fishbites tipped with a small piece of shrimp continues to produce. Talked to a couple of friends that were north and south of me and it seems like the bite was good up and down Hutchinson Island . The forecast for the week looks pretty good up until the holiday weekend when the “weather “ folks are suggesting we may have a system off of our coast that wiil bring us some wind and rain . . We will see what happens but let’s hope our conditions stay with us .