Snook-Nook Fishing Report

 June is here along with our hot summertime temperatures. Luckily for us, the fishing can be just as hot! June provides anglers shots at not only good numbers of fish but opportunities at some bigger fish too. With the warmer temperatures comes warmer water temperatures too and you will find that your better fishing can come early in the morning and in the evenings for those fishing inshore. 

Inshore Fishing Report 

Snook: As a reminder, Snook season closed in our area on June 1st and will reopen again on September 1st. June provides us with some of the best Snook fishing of the year. Not only do we see a lot of fish caught, we see a lot of trophy sized Snook caught. 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. We will see a lot of fish moving towards the inlet and schools heading outside the inlet to spawn on the beaches and on some of the nearshore wrecks and reefs. We have begun to see fish start staging up and moving towards the inlets. As of June 1st, a few fish have been caught in and around the inlet but the larger schools should be showing up soon. 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 our anglers fishing from boat, areas in and around the St. Lucie Inlet such as the Hole in the Wall, the south side detached jetty and alongside the north side jetty all should be productive as we get into the summer. 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! 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’. 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 has been 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: With some crabs starting to flow through the causeways, it can really get the Tarpon bite going. You will want to focus on fishing the outgoing tides if you’re looking to find them there. Free line a crab with a small cork for your best results if you are fishing around the bridges. There has been some good Tarpon fishing for the guys running the beaches, they have been able to find some nice schools of cooperative fish. Look to find them rolling on the surface and fish live baits such as Mullet or Threadfins. Those running the beaches have also found schools of big Jacks and an occasional Cobia. There have been some Tarpon caught inshore around the power plant too. For those fishing live bait, larger live mullet will typically be your best option. If you are looking to throw artificials, the tried and true DOA Terror Eyz and DOA Baitbusters are always reliable choices. 

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.

Trout: The Trout fishing has slowed down a bit with the warmer water temperatures, but those who have been after them have still been able to find a few. Those wading the east and west side of the river have been productive in the mornings before the sun gets high throwing artificials. Anglers fishing the west side of the river have been focusing on hitting the ends of the docks where the water is a little deeper.

Surf Fishing Report

The Whiting fishing off the beach has been on fire to close out the month with both good numbers and good sized fish being caught. The 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 has been the most productive windows. These fish have all been close to the beach, typically in the 10 yard range so be sure not to over cast. You will see some Croakers mixed in with the same area as well. We typically have to deal with a good bit of weeds fishing from the surf in the summer, if you hit a beach and you notice a lot of weeds in the water, make a move to the next beach as it may be weed free.  

Secret Way To Rig NLBN Lil Mullet To Land More Fish!

From Todd @ Juno Bait Crew-Juno Beach

 INSHORE-  Snook fishing remains the best bet inshore.  The snook are definitely in a pre-spawn pattern and have largely started moving towards the inlets.  The nice thing about the snook this time of year is...when they want to eat, they WANT to eat.  Some of the most aggressive snook bites of the year will go down now.  Large baits and jigs are a great way to go for the snook right now.  Look for the snook to feed best on the last of the incoming and first of the outgoing tide.  During the day live mullet fished along seawalls and under bait docks is a great way to go for the snook.  At night the snook will be easiest to target around bridges and docklights.  Moving water (Incoming or outgoing) will be key to getting the snook biting best.  A few big jacks continue to roam around inshore, along with scattered tarpon.  Mangrove snapper seem to be biting a bit better inshore these days.  Live shrimp and small pilchards are the top bait choices for the snapper.     

SURF/PIER-  Snook fishing continues to improve along the beach and at the Juno Beach Pier.  A return to more normal water temps, a good amount of bait, and a pre-spawn appetite has the snook biting well.  Along the beach the best bite will be early in the morning and then again late in the afternoon.   Small bucktail jigs, swimming plugs, and twitch baits are a great way to go along the beach.  Small live pilchards are also a top bait choice.  Look for sections of beach without heavy traffic and a deeper trough for best luck on the snook.  At the Juno Beach Pier the snook have been eating live sardines.  Lowlight periods will be best for the snook, but they will also feed on  tide changes and ahead of approaching storms.  Surprisingly, still a few good schools of big jacks cruising down the beach.  A Rapala X-Rap is a great lure to cast at the cruising jacks.  Tarpon reports have improved this week.  Sounds like a good number of tarpon are starting to move down the beach.  

Sebastian Inlet Report With The Snookman

Fishing still slow, but snook, black margates, whiting and perch are possible with the right bait

“Good morning, Sebastian Inlet fanatics. I hope you all had a great and safe weekend despite the afternoon thunderstorms. The weather and water were agreeable, but the fishing was a bit slow for the most part — no baitfish anywhere to be found and that made it kind of tough. There were mojarra, but you  had to search and work hard to find any. Fish were caught, but not like it should be for this time of the year. The water was relatively clean until the winds switched to SSE, which dirtied it up on the south side. Seaweed was lingering, but nothing like it was. The water has warmed back up to 78 as of this writing, which should be in the low 80's this time of year. Now for my report:

North side: The action here has been under the bridge on the rocks on the outgoing tide. A few anglers who were able to find some mojarra were catching small undersized snook and a couple of small catch-and-release redfish. Remember, in this area, you are NOT permitted to pass the fencing marked “no trespassing” east of the catwalk; it is a designated construction area. Towards the back, west of the tide pool on the incoming tide, a few snook have been caught fishing live mojarra, and back along the mangrove shoreline. That's pretty much it for this side since fishing access is limited. 

South side: Here, all the action has been at the tip of the jetty on the outgoing tide — cut shrimp was attracting bites from black margates, spot tail pins, small whiting, and some nice sand perch. I also received a report of flounder caught as well, but didn't hear if they were keepers or not. The incoming tide has been slow with the dirtier water, but there were a couple of undersized snook caught on live croakers. That's pretty much it. 

T-Dock area: Here, the fishing has picked up a bit, but access is limited due to the T-dock still being closed. On the incoming tide, and beginning of the outgoing, snook are possible if you find mojarra. I did hear about a few slots being caught, but I did not see any the entire weekend I was there. Early morning seems to be the time for that. Along the rock shoreline I saw small mangrove snappers caught. This time of year when the water warms in the intercoastal, snapper will start showing, plus all the tiny minnows that are around the T-dock attract them. Also caught back here were sheepshead, and a few black drum, live or cut dead shrimp for the snappers, drum, and sheepshead. 

Surf Area, both sides: The north side has been slow due to a massive sandbar on that side from the jetty all the way up to the north parking lot which makes finding deep water tough, so not many folks are fishing this side. On the south side the water is much deeper, but also much dirtier due to the SSE winds kicking it up. An occasional pompano or two have been caught, along with some small whiting on live sand fleas and cut shrimp. Puffers, catfish, and some pesky bonnet head sharks round out what is happening on this side. 

Top 3 LIVE BAIT RIGGING MISTAKES (Underwater Evidence)

Snook-Nook Fishing Report

 Inshore Fishing Report 

May is one of the most productive months for inshore fishing in Stuart, Florida. With warm water temperatures, usually calmer conditions and bait becoming more abundant, anglers can expect excellent action in both the Indian and St. Lucie Rivers.

Snook: Our late spring Snook fishing has been heating up for anglers in our area! We are beginning to get into the best time of the year for Snook fishing as they prepare for the summer spawn. Not only do we have a chance to catch a good number of fish, this is the time of year where you tend to see a lot of the bigger breeder Snook caught. When you are targeting or catch the breeder fish, please remember to treat them with care when caught as they will be providing us with our future Snook population. Using circle hooks and reducing their time out of the water are helpful to ensure a strong release of the fish. Snook season remains open until June 1st if you are still looking to harvest a slot. All four main causeways (Jensen, Stuart, 10 Cent & Roosevelt) have been productive over the past few weeks. Fishing the bridges with live Croakers will typically be your best bait choice as they will naturally swim to the bottom. If the current is flowing, utilizing larger split shots is not a bad idea to keep your bait in the zone. Sea walls in both the Indian & St. Lucie River have been productive too. Fishing the sea walls with live mullet or threadfins has yielded anglers with a lot of Snook and some big Jacks. You will find some fish bouncing around the docks too. There has been a lot of life around the power plant including solid numbers of Snook hanging out in the mangroves for those looking to fish to the north. We should begin to start seeing more Snook start moving around and work their way towards the inlets and beaches towards the end of the month approaching their summer spawn so areas like the jetty and Hole in the Wall should begin to be more productive. If you are planning on going out for an evening or night trip, the dock lights have been very productive and there have been a few Trout mixed in with the Snook in certain areas. Live Pilchards, live shrimp, small paddle tails or artificial shrimp will be some of your best bait choices if you’re looking to hit the lights. Those fishing by land have found success at the Jensen Causeway, Indian Riverside Park, wading on the east and west side of the river north of the Jensen Causeway also look for the Snook bite to improve at the Ft. Pierce jetty. With the temperatures heating up, if you are planning on fishing in the afternoon or later in the morning on some of our warmer days, try to fish in areas with either deeper water, flowing current or shaded areas as the Snook will head to these areas as the water heats up. If you are looking to fish artificials, mornings, evenings and at night will be your best bet.

Tarpon: The Tarpon have not yet been widespread inshore, but there have definitely been a few around. Anglers have found Tarpon around the Stuart Causeway as well as up by the power plant. Larger live mullet has been the ticket for those fishing live baits. Drifting crabs on a float around the bridges should find you a bite too when they are around. We have not really had a good flush of crabs this year so the crabs have been on the scarce side this year. For those fishing artificials, the DOA Bait Buster and DOA TerrorEyz are tried and true great lures for targeting Tarpon. 

Pompano: The inshore Pompano fishing was definitely on the slower side compared to previous years in April. Our cooler winter this year may have delayed the action with reports of fish still to the south of us that will need to migrate north. For those that have been targeting them, anglers have been able to pick away at a few on the Jensen Causeway east side relief bridge. A lot of the Pompano have been caught directly at your feet up to 10ft away from the bridge so be sure to work your jig through that zone. You’ll definitely want some current flowing as it really slows down during slack tide. 3/8oz and 1/2oz Pompano jigs have been the most popular choices. 

Trout: Those who are targeting Trout have still been able to pick away at a few. The better numbers of fish have been caught north of the power plant on both the east and west sides of the river. On the west side, you will have your better shot at finding a school of them at the end of the docks. There have been Trout caught as far south as Joe’s Point just south of the Jensen Causeway along with a few mixed in the dock lights. Targeting them with soft plastics such as DOA Cals, artificial shrimp, top waters or twitch baits will get the job done when you find yourself around them. For those looking to fish live baits, live shrimp on a popping cork is an effective strategy too.

Misc: There have been some Tripletail caught by those running the crab trap buoys north of the Jensen Causeway. When you do find one, pitching them a live shrimp will typically get you the bite. We will typically have one rod rigged with a jig head and one rod rigged with a small cork to offer two different presentations if they aren’t cooperating. Stone crab season closes in May so you will see a whole lot less buoys in the water which can be a good or bad thing depending on how you look at it. The Tripletail are still around, but will move to channel markers and other structures with the absence of the buoys. The Sheepshead and Black Drum bite has slowed down with the warmer water temperatures, but we should begin seeing some better Mangrove Snappers here inshore as we approach the summer. Plenty of big jacks have been around cruising the channels and sea walls too. 

Adventures of Jay Linesider...SPRING MULLET RUN

From Todd @ Juno Bait Crew-Juno Beach

 INSHORE-  So-so week inshore this week.  Snook fishing has been fair.  The Loxahatchee and ICW are producing a few snook, just not a red hot bite.  Live mullet remains the top bait choice for the snook during the day.  At night the flair hawk bite is trying to get going around the bridges.  Outgoing tide will likely produce a few more snook bites.  A few jacks and occasional tarpon mixed in with the snook.  Other inshore action remains a bit slow; with a few mangrove snapper and sand perch being caught.  

SURF/PIER- Not a red hot week on the beach; but those putting in the time have been finding a few fish.  Pompano are still being caught, but still not in huge numbers.  It feels like we should still have a good push of pompano coming; though we are starting to get a little late in the season.  The usual bait assortment (sand fleas, clams, Fishbites) will do the trick on the pompano.  A few pomps coming over the rail at the Juno Beach Pier on Doc's Goofy Jigs early in the week as well.  Bright colored jigs (orange and pink) seemed to be the best color.  Still some scattered bluefish around; though it has to be near the end of them soon.  A few good schools of jacks cruised by the Juno Beach Pier this week.  A well presented Rapala X-Rap or Yo-Zuri Mag Speed is the top lure choice for the jacks.  A few scattered kingfish at the Juno Beach Pier as well.  The same swimming plugs that work for the jacks will work well for the kings.  Croaker and whiting have been biting good in the first trough.  Small pieces of fresh shrimp is the way to go for the croaker and whiting.