09-20-13 FRIDAY: REDS, SNOOK, MANGROVE SNAPPER, BLUE RUNNERS AND JACKS
We have a small craft advisory this morning. Winds are blowing out of the East-Northeast at 14 mph, gusting to 17 and waters are choppy. The extreme tides have the water on the murky side, but the fish have been abundant. It looks like after the jellyfish moved out, things returned to normal mid-September conditions. We are starting to see more variety of species as well as bait in the water.
Inlet regular Mike Ricciardi of Vero Beach fished the north jetty yesterday morning and sent in an update for us. Rain poured down from 7:30 - 8:30 but it set off a good Redfish bite. Those anglers who stayed during the rain landed numerous fish and at least six people landed Reds in the slot. All anglers were using mojarra, but finger mullet were plentiful and work well for Reds. A few Snook came over the rails, but all were over the slot. After Mike landed his slot Red, he went to work on Mangrove Snapper and got his limit of five with no trouble. He used mojarra for the Snapper as well. Mike reported several large Jacks, Blue Runners, a Sheepshead, Margate, and undersized Pompano and a Mutton Snapper.
Our first photo today features Kyle Falbo of Miami who was here surf fishing near the south jetty. Kyle was using a croaker and fought the oversized Snook for 39 minutes before landing it. He revived the fish and released it unharmed after the photo.
Photo two is of Steve Bozutto of Vero Beach, Mike Ricciardi of Vero Beach, Chuck Fischer of Satellite Beach and Tony Swiderski of Sebastian, all with slot Reds they landed yesterday morning.
Dennis Campbell of Palm Bay missed the group shot, but was another angler who benefitted from the Redfish bite.
Richard LaDrew of Melbourne Beach landed this nice Spotted Seatrout using an all-white grub while fishing the flats. This nice Trout was 28.5".
Ft Pierce
Inshore has been ok if you can find a spot out of the wind trout and reds have been up to the north around Queens Cove. The mullet are starting to head into the river so if you can find them the snook and jacks will be around. The beach fishing is still productive if you can deal with the wind snook and tarpon are in the mullet schools around the power plant.
Stuart
The wind and the rain has been keeping many held back from fishing, Inshore fishing has been okay along the lee side of the island, fish early and try to get back before the storms start building. The Mullet run is beginning and we are starting to see signs of them, the Snook and Tarpon will begin to follow them in shortly. The Redfish and Trout bite has still been pretty good to the North as well. The beach is still holding bait and the Snook and Tarpon are still fairly prevalent near the bait schools.
This past week we have seen rain, rain and when it stops....more rain. What a wet week around the Treasure Coast. Out of four days scheduled on the water this week, we managed two hours on Sunday before the storms arrived. It has been one wet year around here! Expect more of these conditions for the coming week. The Saint Lucie River continues to be flooded with water from Lake Okeechobee and the run off from all the rain. Both Martin County and Saint Lucie County have asked the governor to declare a state of emergency for waters around that area. Seems like a few weeks ago we were in a severe drought....
Fishing has continued to be productive around the river. The most active area has been the Fort Pierce inlet. It has been loaded with jacks, mackerel, blue runners and other assorted predators. A good number of tarpon have been following the bait inside the inlet. Top water lures or small shiny jigs have kept rods bending on the incoming tide. Trout can be found around the mullet schools in two to five feet of water.
The DOA 3 1/2" Big Fish lure or Bait Buster are good choices around the mullet schools. You can't beat using the trusty DOA shrimp on the flats as well. We have found redfish hanging around the mangroves lately. The snook bite has been good around the jetties and bridges. You can still find plenty of snapper around the channel edges, bridges and structure of the river.
The surf has been good while fishing the bait schools for snook, jacks, bluefish, etc. DOA Big Fish lures, CAL Air Heads or Bait Busters will all work around the bait schools. You can also find plenty of whiting this time of year. Bridges are holding snapper, sheepshead and some black drum. The mouth of the inlet has been alive with a variety of species on the incoming tides. It's been a wet week, so plan your trips carefully and watch the weather. Lots of thunderstorms this week have made it an adventure out there.
With all the challenging weather, what can you do on these rainy days? I like to change out hooks and refurbish lures, check the guides on my fishing rods. It's a good time to grease and oil reels and check the line.
Hey, it's never as much fun as fishing, but these things are necessary to check several times a year!
09-19-13 THURSDAY: REDS, MANGROVE SNAPPER, SNOOK, BLUE RUNNERS AND A FEW SPANISH MACKEREL
We've had a significant amount of rain at the inlet this morning and it's kept a lot of folks off the jetties. Winds are blowing out of the East at 12 mph, gusting to 17 and the water is rough. Sometimes rough conditions make for great fishing. The Snook and Reds don't seem to mind. There have been some nice Reds landed over the past few days, a lot of oversized and a lot of keepers too. Mangrove Snapper, Snook (most have been oversized), Blue Runners and a few Spanish Mackerel have started to appear according to Tommy Turowski at the Sebastian Inlet Bait and Tackle Shop.
We received an update from Randy Gastfield who fished the south side Friday night and landed four C/R snook, one undersized at 25" and three oversized at 33", 37" and 38". Randy landed a nice 27" Redfish that he got to take home. He was using soft plastics for both species.
Photo one features Steven Bozutto of Vero Beach. Steven was fishing the north jetty when he landed and released a couple of oversized Reds before landing the 27" keeper, using mojarra.
Eli Nunez a/k/a the "Reverend" is in our second photo with a nice slot Red he landed during a real good Mangrove Snapper bite. Eli landed one of the three slot Reds that came over the rails.
Palm Beach Fishing Club Seminar Line Up
09-18-13 WEDNESDAY: REDS, MANGROVE SNAPPER, BLUE RUNNERS, SPADEFISH AND JACKS
This morning we have a mix of sun and clouds at the inlet. Winds are blowing out of the East-Southeast at 9 mph and gusting to 11. Even though our web cam photos are stuck on Sunday, the temperature, local conditions and tide charts continue to update. If you look at today's tide chart, you will see extreme highs and lows, due to the coming full moon tomorrow night. Tides reported on the web site and in the newspapers are "ocean" tides, be sure to add about 2.5 hours for Sebastian Inlet highs and lows.
Mike Ricciardi and a lot of inlet regulars were out on the north jetty yesterday, braving the elements. Mike sent in an update and reported a wet morning, but a good Redfish bite made it worthwhile. A lot of greenies were in the water attracting the Reds, a few Mangrove Snapper, Blue Runners and sporadic Spadefish. Mike relayed that the first wave of Reds came early, before 7:00 a.m. when at least three slot Reds along with some oversized were landed. The second bite happened around 8:30 when more oversized Reds and at least one slot came over the rails. Mike landed his 25" Red on the 11:00 a.m. bite and landed a few Mangrove Snapper in between, but the Snapper bite wasn't as strong as Monday. Blue Runners were quite active. A beautiful rainbow appeared in between rain storms! Thanks for the photos and update Mike!
Photo one is of Spiro Stathopoulos of Malabar, Chuck Fischer of Satellite Beach and Tony Swiderski of Sebastian, all with slot Reds in the 25" - 26" range which were landed on the 7:00 a.m. bite!
Photo two is of a very wet Mike Ricciardi of Vero Beach with his 25" keeper Red. Sweet catch!
Our last photo is of a beautiful rainbow that appeared over the inlet between rain storms.
09-17-13 TUESDAY: MANGROVE SNAPPER, RES, SNOOK, JACKS AND BLUE RUNNERS
We have a nice breeze at the inlet today. Winds are blowing out of the East at 9 mph and gusting to 19, so hang on to your fishing hats. The breeze is making the heat more tolerable and is keeping the no see 'ums away.
We received an update from Mike Ricciardi of Vero Beach who fished the north jetty yesterday. Mike reported a great Mangrove Snapper bite and many anglers got their limit of five. Three slot Reds were landed as well. Anglers were using mojarra and shrimp to land both species. Mike is holding two of his five in our first photo today, a 14.5" and a 13.5".
Tony Swiderski limited out on Snapper yesterday and is holding two real nice Snapper, one that was 16",
