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)