Fishing the mullet run 2017

From Capt. Charlie @ Fishing Center - Ft Pierce

Hurricane Irma has come and gone from Florida leaving death and destruction in her wake.  Its hard to fathom the extent of damage that has occurred in the Caribbean and most of the Southeastern states.  Our hearts go out to those most affected by this tragedy.  Please take a moment and donate to one of the many agencies that are providing aid to those in need, like the Red Cross.  Our families and friends were fortunate with some damages, but we have our health, homes and loved ones.  Please help those who weren't so fortunate!

It will be a few days before it will be safe on the water.  When you do venture out, watch for debris from trees, docks and other things floating or under water.  Many of the ramps are unusable and dangerous.  Be careful!   

Look for snapper around docks, channel edges and bridges.  Tarpon should be along the beaches and inlets.  Try for snook around the jetties, bridges and docks of the river.  Look for cleaner water when trout fishing on the grass flats.  Try Harbor Branch, Queen's Cove or Bear Point.  The DOA Deadly Combo is the perfect way to look for trout on the flats.  September is a great month to fish on the Treasure Coast.  As soon as the water calms down and clears up, get out and enjoy the fishing!

Beach Fishing With Paul Sperco Palm Beach/Martin County Area

Sorry for the delay in posting the beach conditions but I had a minor computer problem last night. I spent about three hours yesterday checking out 14 of our local beaches and here are the results. Some of the accesses have steep drop downs of 5 to 6 feet and the ability to get you, family members, friends ,and your gear to a fishing area safely are going to be compromised. There are enough spots where the path to the beach has a gradual decline so if you are going to fish try these. Walton Rocks and John Brooks beaches are still closed with the gates locked.The areas with the big drop downs of 5 to 6 feet are Blue Heron, Normandy, Dollmans Beachside, Bob Graham, and Virginia Forrest. The fishable beaches are Middle Cove, Hermans Bay, County Line, Bryn Mawr, Tiger Shores, Stuart Beach, and Santa Lucea. The troughs and near shore channels have changed on many of the beaches but if you are going to head out in the near future my top four spots to try would be Tiger Shores, Stuart, Middle Cove, and Santa Lucea. These beach conditions will be changing on a daily basis due to wind, current, and tides but this should give you a good starting point. On a good note the mullet were getting pounded yesterday at Middle Cove but unfortunately they were out of casting range. As far as inshore and offshore troughs, I will be discussing them in further length at the seminar on Saturday at 3:30. The water color is still dirty and the first species that should be biting will be the croaker for that type of fishing and as the water quality improves the whiting and pompano will follow suit. Any beach where the mullet schools get within casting range the tarpon, snook, jacks, sharks, ladyfish, bluefish, and spanish mackerel will be in the mix. 

From Todd / Trey & Paul @ Juno Bait -Juno Beach

SURF/PIER:  The mullet have been on the beach; and the fish are here with them.  The snook, tarpon, jacks, sharks, bluefish, and hot of others are all in and around the mullet.  Live mullet fished on the edge of the school is a good option, as is a loud noisy topwater or big swimming plug.  The Yo-Zuri Mag Darter has been an especially good option around the mullet schools.  Look for the fish to be most active first thing in the morning and then again late in the afternoon.  The Juno Beach Pier is back open after the storm and should produce some very good snook fishing.  Should also be some snapper being caught in the inlets and possibly at the pier.

INSHORE:  The inshore fishing has been on fire after the storm.  The mullet have shown up in a big way, and the snook are taking advantage of the endless buffet.  Look for the best action to go down at night, or during very low light periods of the day.  Mixed in with the snook will be jacks, tarpon, ladyfish, and more.  Snapper are also being caught in the inlets, and another swell on the way should help keep them pushed in the inlet a little bit longer.  Good fishing inshore right now, well worth going if you can! 

I Want To Fish

Ft Pierce inlet Jetty, closed and Not Looking To Pretty Right Know but being worked on...

From Todd /Trey/ Paul @ Juno Bait -Juno Beach

INSHORE:  Snook season opened Friday...pretty much that all needs to be written!  Snook fishing remains the best bet inshore right now.  The bridges are holding fish at night, as are certain docks and seawalls in the Loxahatchee River and ICW.  Look for the snook to be keyed in on bigger baits.  The mullet aren't far away and the snook know it.  

Big baits like SpoolTek Swimbaits, Flair Hawk Jigs, and big swimming plugs are great bait choices to try and invite a slot size snook home for dinner.  Look for the outgoing tide to produce best for the snook.  Some big jacks also mixed in with the snook; as are a few tarpon.  Other inshore action is a bit slow.  It's all about the mullet showing up now; and when they do...GAME ON!

SURF/PIER:  Lots of good stuff going on at the Pier and along the beach right now.  The big draw this weekend will no doubt be the snook; and for the most part they have not disappointed lately.  A ground swell could slightly alter that this weekend; but hopefully it only helps fire them up a little more.  Lots of bait along the beach (mostly pilchards with some mullet mixed in) attracting lots of other stuff as well.  Fair number of spanish mackerel, jacks, and blue runners hanging around right now.  The bobber rig and a small clark spoon is a great rig to throw on the beach right now for good mixed bag action.  Lots of blacktop sharks hanging around as well.  Should be pretty fishy at the beach and pier this weekend...well worth going if you have a chance! 

Sebastian Inlet Report

                                                 
Winds are blowing out of the South at 9 mph, gusting to 13 and there is a light chop on the water. Winds will shift to the Southeast this afternoon. There is a chance of scattered showers and thunderstorms after 3:00 p.m. today. The extended forecast for seas over the long weekend looks favorable for our boaters. Chances of showers and thunderstorms are good also, always check the marine forecast prior to boating. 

Mangrove Snapper have been biting sporadically; we received an update from Charlie Achinelli of Melbourne who said he landed his largest of this season, a 17" beauty on a greenie. A couple of nice Cuberas have come over the rails as well. Tommy Turowski of the Sebastian Inlet Bait and Tackle Shop reports a slow start to Snook season. He's not heard of anybody having luck so far, the Snook obviously got the word. He said several schools of big Reds have been spotted from the north jetty. A few nice Permit have been landed by anglers drifting small crabs from the north and south jetties.
  Our angler of the day is Matthew Hartfiel of Jacksonville. Matthew was here trying his luck and landed the real nice Cubera Snapper in our photo. Matthew reported a slow but steady morning and early afternoon. There were plenty of greenies in the water and some medium sized schools of mullet. A few anglers were using Sabiki rigs to land the greenies and one lucky angler landed a large Spanish Mackerel on one, others were catching Ladyfish and Jacks. Jacks were consistent through the day. A few C/R Snook came over the rails in the early morning. The highlight of the day was schools of Tarpon rolling off the end of the north jetty. At one point, he estimates 40 or more although they weren't hitting anything.