From Capt. Charlie @Fishing Center-Fort Pierce

The fall mullet run is in full swing around the Treasure Coast this month.  Schools of finger mullet continue to filter into the river around the inlets bringing lots of hungry fish to feed on them.  It's a great time of year to fish the river, inlets and beaches of the area and find lots of action.  Have some fun this month!

Snook season opened September 1st and many eager anglers headed out to fish the jetties, bridges and docks around the river in search of that slot fish for dinner.  Using live bait, feather jigs, Bait Busters and Terror Eyz can get you into some of the action.  Fish slowly along the bottom and around the rocks for your best opportunities.  Don't forget that top water lures at night or early mornings as well.  You can bet a lot of anglers will be out this month.

Trout and redfish action continues to be good around the area.  Live bait, DOA shrimp and Deadly Combos are great when fishing for trout.  Redfish are willing to take CAL grub tails, DOA shrimp or live bait on the flats.  Most of the redfish have been in one to three feet of water and keeping the noise down is essential to get close enough to cast at schooling redfish.

You can still find snapper along channel edges or around structure.  There should also be flounder showing up as the mullet run continues this month.  Try a DOA BFL lure around the mullet schools.  It swims as good as any mullet and can entice a big fish when fishing the edges of the schools.  You can find tarpon action around the inlets and jetties.  Fishing at night in these areas will give you the best chance at hooking up with a top water lure, BFL lure or live bait.

September starts the transition into fall and the temperatures will begin to get back to normal.  Continue to watch for afternoon thunderstorms and have lots of fun fishing this month!

From Todd @ Juno Bait & Tackle

Surf/Pier/Inshore- Snook are still the main species on everyone’s mind, and for the most part they haven’t disappointed too bad.  Snook fishing remains good at the Juno Pier, Jupiter and Lake Worth Inlet, and many area bridges(that is mostly a night time thing).  Bait selection has been key, so be sure to stock up on a variety of fresh bait to offer those tricky linesiders.  In other news inshore….well I don’t have a whole lot else to report.  The Juno Pier has had a decent little push of early season Pompano and a few good size Spanish Mackerel.  Doc’s Goofy Jig for the Pompano, small live bait for the Macks.

RIVER RED

 Another great shot from Mike. If you got a nice shot send it to me with a little detail and I'll see about putting it up. Remember 
(on foot) no boat shots...... 


onfootangler@mail.com

Sebastian Inlet Report

This morning winds are blowing out of the Northeast at 14 mph and the water is choppy, but that's ok, the Snook like it rough! Snook season is open through December 14th. The Season will close again on December 15th. The bag limit is one per person per day and the fish must be between 28" and 32". Please see the FWCC regulations in the right hand corner if you have any questions regarding handling and photographing fish. You must have a Snook stamp on your fishing license in order to keep a Snook in the slot. 

We received an update from inlet regular Mike who was out on the north jetty yesterday morning from 6:30 - 10:30. Mike reported that 4 or 5 people landed Snook that were over or under the slot but no one landed a keeper during his time on the jetty. Mike said the Redfish were smaller than they have been with many under the slot, Mike landed one that was 20". Finger mullet continues to be the best bait for Reds. Black Drum made an appearance and some were landed on live shrimp. Quite a few Snapper came over the rails for anglers using mojarra. Thanks for the update Mike!

 

Day Light Grovers

                  For the next month or so we should be getting grovers like this, which was caught on a live croaker at the Boynton Beach Jetty this morning. there where a few snook over the railing but to my surprise few fisherman seeing this is opening day for snook, I guest the anglers of darkness did their thing early.

From Todd @ Juno Bait & Tackle

September Fishing Outlook (Inshore)

Fall is coming just a little early to south Florida this year…inshore fishing wise at least.  Large surf from hurricane Irene helped push large schools of finger mullet down the coast just a little earlier than usual this year.  Of course those that like to fish inshore will not be complaining about this!  The large schools of finger mullet will bring with them a whole host of assorted predators including; snook, tarpon, jacks, redfish, bluefish, sharks, snapper, and more.  Fishing this time of year is relatively straight forward, find the bait and you will find the fish.  Here are a few tips to help make it just a little easier.

If your fishing during the day try and get out of heavy boat traffic areas.  The mullet will stay schooled up during the day, but heavy boat traffic tends to send them down towards the bottom.  If they are not run over time and time again they will stay schooled up on top, and thus be a lot easier to find.  Areas like the Loxahatchee River, Erman River,  Munyon Island, Lake Worth and Little Lake Worth, and backwater residential canals and seawalls are ideal for finding mullet schools during the day.  During lower light periods it may be possible to trick a few fish with lures.  I like to toss a Zara Spook Jr, Rapala Skitterwalk, or Mirrolure MirroMullet around schools of mullet on top early in the morning or late in the afternoon.  Yes it does produce a lot of jacks, but many snook and tarpon will fall to a “walk the dog” style topwater in low light conditions.  As the sun gets a little higher in the sky, switch over to live mullet for best results.  Fish those baits on the edges of the schools for best results.

Once the sun sets and boat traffic dies down the mullet really come to life. High traffic areas, like The Intracoastal Waterway(ICW) around Jupiter Inlet, absolutely come alive with large schools of mullet.  The fish take notice of the easy pickings and line up at the buffet line.  At night I like to fish lighted bridges (Katos, A1A, US1, Donald Ross to name a few) with good current.  The fish line up on the dark side of the shadow line and wait as school after school of mullet are washed over their heads.  Tossing live mullet, Rapala X-Raps, Yo-Zuri Crystal Minnows, and DOA Baitbusters are all good choices for getting the attention of assorted predators lurking below.

And lastly, in non mullet run related action inshore, it should be a good month for some mangrove snapper.  Fish live shrimp or cut sardines around structure with some good current, and a few grovers should show up.

Sebastian Inlet Report

09-01-11 THURSDAY: SNOOK SEASON IS OPEN! It's the first day of Snook season and the north jetty is crowded with anglers hoping to get their first Snook of the season. The bag limit is one per person per day and they must be between 28" - 32". You must have a Snook stamp on your license if you get one in the slot and plan on keeping it. Keeper Reds have been very active and most anglers are getting their one per day. Yesterday it slowed a little, according to Mike of Vero Beach. Mike said about 60% of jetty anglers went home with a keeper. That is still a good ratio for keeper Reds. Finger mullet are working well for the Reds. Ladyfish and Jacks were active yesterday with some of the Jacks in the 5 - 6 lb range or higher. Thanks for the update and our first photo today Mike.