Scouting Around - Palm Beach/Martin County Area

INSHORE

     Croaker and whiting are holding in the surf throughout the day along Jensen Beach, and there has been steady pompano action on the higher tide.

     In the Indian River, the redfish bite is still excellent on the west side, and the east side has been great for trout. Also, snook season is now officially open, and they are biting at night around bridges and dock lights. If you’re looking to keep a snook, keep in mind that they must be between 28 and 32 inches, and the bag limit is one per day. The season will remain open through May 31.

     Spanish mackerel are biting along Jupiter’s beaches and also in the Jupiter Inlet. There are whiting around as well, along with a few snook and pompano.

     Snook are also being caught around the bridges of the Intracoastal Waterway in Jupiter and throughout Palm Beach County. Snapper are also biting at the bridges and near Marker 42.

     A few snook and jacks were caught in the surf along Palm Beach this week. A few Spanish mackerel were also reported.

     Sheepshead are holding near the jetties at the Lake Worth and Boynton Beach inlets.

 FRESHWATER

     The bass fishing remains excellent in Lake Okeechobee and continues to improve. Large fish are being caught along the outside edges and back in the grass, and good numbers are being reported.

     Live shiners still get the edge over artificial lures, but skilled anglers are having plenty of success either way.

     Guides taking customers on half-day trips (4 hours) are catching more than 40 fish per outing.

     The largest bass reported this week was over 7 pounds, which hasn’t been all that uncommon recently.

                                                 

Sebastian Inlet Report

                                 

                                   
02-02-16 TUESDAY: SNOOK, BLACK DRUM, POMPANO, BLUES, FLOUNDER AND REDS 

We have dense fog at the inlet this morning but it should burn off as the day progresses. Winds are blowing out of the East-Southeast at 6 mph, gusting to 10 and the water has a light chop. Winds are predicted to increase this afternoon. 

This morning the north jetty is crowded with anglers fishing for Snook, Pompano, Black Drum, Speckled Trout, Sheepshead and Reds. Anglers using sand fleas, shrimp and clams are attracting Pompano, Sheephsead and Black Drum. Live shrimp and bucktails are being used for Reds and Snook. Anglers fishing the rocks west of the A-1-A bridge have been landing medium sized Flounder. 

We received an update and some of today's photos from inlet regular Mike Ricciardi of Vero Beach. Mike reported the first day of Snook season was crowded on the north jetty. Mike decided to fish for Pompano yesterday and landed two slot fish, plenty of other anglers were more successful. Sand fleas were the bait of choice with clams running a close second. Mike caught and released one undersized Sheepshead, four small Black Drum and one Bluefish. The beaches were packed with anglers who were Pompano fishing. Photos four and five are of the poles lined up along the beaches. 
  Our first photo today features Ryan McKay and Josh Gentile both of Satellite Beach. The young men were fishing the north jetty when the bite was excellent. Reds and Black Drum were hot and both guys landed some real nice fish. The men hooked up with giant Redfish simultaneously using bucktails in photo one.
 Photo two is of Ryan McKay with a 27.5" Black Drum he landed using clams. 
 Photo three features Josh Gentile with a 24" Black Drum he landed on clams.
 Photos four and five are of the many poles lining the beaches yesterday.

From James Cronk @ Whites Tackle - Ft Pierce / Stuart

Inshore snook season is open and the bite has been good around the bridges and in the inlets on jigs and live bait on the outgoing tide.The redfish bite has been good to the north around Harbor Branch to round island with a few nice trout around to.The pompano fishing has also been steady around JC park on the incoming tide.
                                             

Scouting Around - Treasure Coast

                            
                                    Zack Jordan with a trout caught along the power lines. 

Trout numbers will be off the chain, with 20 to 30 a day being the norm. Most will be 20-inches and under. Best bet is wading the flats and using shrimp under a popping cork. This way of fishing covers a lot of area and it’s a great way to catch a lot of fish. Top water is a great way to get the early morning bite and to see where the fish are. Plugs like Top Dogs and Skitterwalks work great. Just take your time, Cast over grass flats and holes, and twitch, twitch. Invest in some waders–the water will be a little cold so you will need something to keep you warm. Summertime you can get away with shorts and t-shirt, but in winter and fall, no. Do some scouting. Start at Midway Road if the wind is blowing from west. If the wind is blowing east, start around Middle Cove area on the east side.

Tide is more important than time of day. A falling tide is good but incoming is best. Redfish will be up close during a high tide so cast along the shore line with a shrimp under a cork. Be slow and take your time. Cast near docks and holes. Topwater plugs will work and soft rubber baits will get you your bite. D.O.A. C.A.L. lures work well and black and silver Rapala Skitterwalk topwaters can’t be beat. Atlantic snook season opens February 1 and the snook will be on the bottom where it’s warm. Best places are along deep holes and edges along the bridges and jetties. Flair Hawk’s red/white and green/yellow work great. Slow return and a jerk and drop will get you your bite. Night time is best, incoming moving water will get the bite turned on. Jensen Beach Causeway, Stuart Causeway and the Roosevelt Bridge and catwalks are great snook spots, just try to go when there is hardly any noise. Pompano bite has been hit and miss along the beach because of the weather, but let’s hope it calms down a little bit. Best bet is the little bridge in Jensen Beach. Just jig up and down, and wait for the schools to come through. If you ever need help, I have more than 300 how-to videos on the Beachwalker Fishing Show YouTube Channel. Tight lines!                                                                         Zack Jordan with nice redfish caught along the powerlines. 

report and photos courtesy of  Chris Sharp/Beachwalker Guide Service for Coastal Angler Magazine 

From Capt. Charlie @ Fishing Center - Ft Pierce

While winter is still around the Treasure Coast and weekly cold fronts will continue to bring cool nights and lots of windy days to the area, fishing will still be good out on the water.  It has been a tough winter so far with all the rain, winds and cold.  Water temperatures can dictate where and how you might fish on any given day this month.  January was a much warmer month this year.  When the water is cold, fish the deeper cuts and drop offs of the river.  Sunny days will bring fish up in shallower waters to feed and the bite can really get hot out on the flats.          
The trout bite picks up very nicely in February.  2015 proved to be the year of big trout in the Fort Pierce area.  I anticipate that 2016 will be another big fish year around the area.  Jerk baits and Deadly Combos are exciting ways to trout fish with artificial lures, while live shrimp on popping corks are the old’ standard way to trout fish out on the river.  Redfish can be found in shallow flats around mangroves and islands.  We had a fantastic winter bite in 2015 around the docks and mangroves for redfish.  On warm sunny days, the reds will sit around the mangroves and soak up the sun.  Finding some along the mangroves will bring some good rod bending action to anglers this month. Shrimp and jerk baits can find some hungry reds hugging the mangrove lines when fished very slowly.  Docks are a great way to find plenty of fish waiting for something tasty to drift under them.
Sheepshead will be plentiful around the river and the larger fish will be coming into the river to breed.  They showed up early this year and January has been a great month for them.  Live or dead shrimp around bridges, docks and structure can provide lots of action in addition to some great tasting fish.  Sand perch and croakers should also be hanging around the inlet and bridges during February.  Pompano around the surf and on the deeper flats of the river can be taken on grub tails, Doc’s Goofy Jigs and shrimp or clams.  Bluefish, mackerel and jacks will continue to haunt the baitfish around the jetties and turning basin.  Small, shiny lures will keep you busy.  There should be some flounder around the back sides of the jetties and on sand flats around the inlet area.
February is a transition month on the river.  Winter has been challenging this year on the Treasure Coast.  We have enjoyed more normal winter weather and the fish bite has been good for us.  Winds will still be blowing and the water will begin to gradually rise in temperature.  Fishing your lures slowly will certainly give you more action on the river.  Fish tend to be sluggish in the colder water.  Working your lures or bait slower along the bottom will give the fish more time to react to it and will result in more bites for anglers. 

Sebastian Inlet Report

                                   

                                      

 BLACK DRUM, POMPANO, FLOUNDER, BLUES AND SHEEPSHEAD 

Northwest winds are blowing at 10 mph, gusting to 16 and there is a moderate chop on the water this morning. Although banks of dark clouds are visible offshore, we only have a 5% chance of rain today. NOAA is calling for small craft to exercise caution today. Our boaters have a better chance of getting offshore this weekend, particularly on Sunday. 

With the water temperature dropping we're starting to see more Flounder, Sheepshead and Pompano. Black Drum remains the strongest bite from the north jetty. A few Blues and some nice Trout have been landed as well. Many anglers are gearing up for the opening of Snook season on Monday. Please note: one per person per day means one fish per person every 24 hours. Please go prepared to measure your catch and do it quickly, Snook are delicate and can't be kept out of the water too long. If your catch is out of the 28" - 32" slot please return it to the water via net. Novice anglers should take the time to read the information at the top right corner of this page. Good information is available there to make your fishing experience much better. It makes the experienced angler's experience better too if rules of etiquette, FWC regulations and catch and release protocol are followed. Nobody wants to see an angler running around with a Snook out of the water too long, taking too many photos, etc. endangering the fish. 

Our first photo today features Tanner Stewart. Tanner fished near the north side rocks on Wednesday and landed this healthy 8 lb. 3 oz. Flounder. Woo-hoo, way to go Tanner!

Photos two through four are courtesy of Deron Davis of Orlando. Deron, his uncle Larry Johnson and good friend Darryl Hernandez made the drive over to fish the north jetty last Thursday. Deron reported the Black Drum bite was very good that day. The men went home with three Drum and a Sheepshead using clams, sand fleas and live shrimp. They plan to return soon. Photo two is of Deron with his Black Drum. Photo three features Larry Johnson with two Black Drum and photo four features Darryl Hernandez with a nice Sheepshead. Very nice gentlemen! 

Our last photo today is courtesy of Andrew Sampson of Palm Bay. Andrew took the nice shot of the sunset on January 15th. Thanks for sharing Andrew!

From James Cronk @ Whites Tackle - Ft Pierce / Stuart

Inshore,

  The Snook bite has been rough with this cold water, you can still get some in the deep holes but it has slowed down a lot. The night time Sea trout bite has been great on the dock lights. Redfish are being caught on the west side of the river across from round island.