Beach Fishing With Paul Sperco Palm Beach/Martin County Area

The whiting are still biting!!! As we approach the end of July things are looking fantastic for anyone who wants to cast their line along our beaches. We had a little shot of cold water in some areas during the mid-week period but a trip to Stuart Beach again today proved the water has warmed back up and the whiting, croaker, small pompano, and even a bonefish were all in the mix today. Randy and I headed down a couple of hours before high tide and the whiting were in a biting mood immediately. As sometimes happens during the rising tide, some small and medium sized fish appeared first, but as was the case today, once we hit the high tide mark the big whiting were there. I know this may sound like a broken record but Orange Clam Fishbites were once again the bait of choice. The five to ten yard distance from the edge of the beach in the near shore trough was once again the location to target. Randy also managed to catch and release a small bonefish and I did the same with an undersized pompano. There was also a greater number of croaker in today's count. Calm surf, clean green water, and a bag of Fishbites should all add up to having some fun on the beach if your plans include surf fishing this weekend. These big whiting make great tablefare and all of my friends and family that I have given fish to this week will agree. Deb cooked them on the George Foreman grill this week after breading them and if that method doesn't make the best fish sandwhich, I dont know what does. Randy treated his family to a dinner of fish tacos with some whiting and they said it was fantastic. Lighten up your gear to a 7 foot spinning rod with a 3000 or 4000 size reel and these big whiting will provide some great action. Good luck and catch em up!

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

INSHORE:  Catch and release snook fishing remains good in the ICW and Loxahatchee River right now.  The bridges are also producing good number of snook at night.  Look for the outgoing tide to produce the most snook bites.  Spillway snook bite has also been very good as of late.  Flair hawk jigs and spooltek swim baits are both good choices for the snook at the bridges and spillways.  Scattering of mangrove snapper around inshore right now.  Small live pilchards and live shrimp are the bait of choice for the snapper right now.  Like the snook, look for the snapper to bite best at night on the outgoing tide.  Other inshore action remains a bit spotty.  Look for things to turn around drastically in a few weeks with the arrival of the first schools of finger mullet.

SURF/PIER:  Catch and release snook fishing remains the best game in town right now.  The snook are spread out along the beach in good numbers, schooling in the inlet, and stacked up at the Juno Beach Pier.  The snook will bite flair hawk style jigs, big swim baits, and swimming plugs at night or during low light periods of the day.  Once the sun starts to get up a little higher up it's much better to switch over to live baits.  Live croakers and sand perch are the top bait choice for the snook right now (especially for the bigger fish!).  Scattered mackerel around right now, but not in big numbers.  

Bonita and a few kingfish are being caught off the end of the Juno Beach Pier.  Rapala X-Raps and diamond jigs are a good choice for the kings and bonies.  Mixed bag of croakers and sand perch in the first trough.  Small pieces of fresh shrimp are the bait of choice for them. 

Beach Fishing With Paul Sperco Palm Beach/Martin County Area

Capt. Paul Sperco is having a great July fishing with Fishbites on Florida’s Treasure Coast. After a great weekend in July one of our South Florida guides, Capt. Paul Sperco shared his recent success using Fishbites Orange Clam:

“Just wanted to let everyone at Fishbites and all of the folks that use this phenomenal bait know about the success that the Orange Clam scented bait is having presently on the Treasure Coast. I exclusively used the Orange Clam this past Thursday, Friday, and Sunday at Stuart beach on Hutchinson Island in South Florida. My three-day catch was approximately 100 large whiting and croaker and no other bait was used. Everyone in our area usually fishes with cut shrimp and Fishbites on a high low rig but with the seasonal absence of shrimp during the month of July there is no shrimp in any of the tackle stores. After posting the recent results on my facebook page, in all of the TC Palm newspapers, and talking about the results on the South Florida Fishing Report on 94.3 this past Saturday all of the local tackle stores and even Bass Pro Shops here in Port St Lucie are running out of this particular bait.!!! I have always done well with all of the Fishbites baits but right now Orange Clam is on fire. My advice to anyone that is not having success along your area beaches pick up some Fishbites and take advantage of this great action that is happening along the surf. The enclosed picture was just our catch from fishing for three hours on Sunday morning. Good luck and catch em up.”-Capt. Paul

From The Crew @ Whites Tackle - Ft Pierce / Stuart

The beach Snook fishing slowed down a bit with this colder water, you can still find them cruising the beach but they are very spooky. There have still been a few tarpon around the crossroads but it seams that most of the beach tarpon have moved on past Vero. There are a bunch Snook at the St Lucie inlet to be caught, Live Pilchards will work the best at hole in the wall on an incoming or by Sailfish point on an outgoing tides.

ICAST Photos

                                             

                                     

Scouting Around Palm Beach/Martin County Area

INSHORE:

Along the beaches around Jensen Beach, the whiting and croaker fishing has been outstanding.

Whether casting out to the trough or right off the beach they’ve been hitting.

Fishbites combined with pieces of clams on small hooks are producing the best results.

Catch a small one? They make great bait for snook.

Yes, snook are still biting, but remember it’s catch and release only and to get them back in the water quickly.

Around the St. Lucie and Fort Pierce inlets the tarpon and jack crevalle fishing has been excellent.

There has been good palometa, permit, tarpon and barracuda action at Gulfstream Park in Delray Beach.

For palometa, anglers are using live shrimp on pompano rigs, for permit and tarpon, 2-ounce yellow jigs tipped with live shrimp and bounced along the bottom and in the early morning casting surface poppers, tube lures or large Zara spooks is generating explosive hits from barracuda and tarpon.

Goggle eyes, large pilchards, cigar minnows and threadfin herring have been schooling up and moving all around the Boynton Inlet this week.

Anglers there have reported excellent snook and mangrove snapper fishing off the north jetty during the day. Night anglers have been catching snapper, snook, permit, tarpon and barracuda using a variety of live and fresh cut bait. Moonfish have been hitting small jigs fished under the lights during incoming tides.

Intracoastal Waterway surface temps have been reaching 95 degrees causing most fish to seek cooler water in the channels, under docks or deep holes found around the lagoon. Snook, small tarpon and large moonfish are being caught around the dock lights at night using both live bait and epoxy minnow flies.

Lantana bridge anglers have reported catching jack crevalle and barracuda.

LAKE OKEECHOBEE:

  The bass fishing has been really good in the early mornings and late afternoons.

The artificial bite has been best in the mornings with anglers using PT-7s, swim jigs and spinner baits with great success.

In the afternoons, wild shiners have been the way to go.

The bluegill bite is still good with anglers using crickets and worms.

report courtesy of The Palm Beach Post

From Capt. Joe Ward in Ft. Pierce

Ron Johnson from Chandler, Arizona. with his first snook, a 31.5-incher! Caught on live shrimp at the Fort Pierce Inlet jetty the day before season closed. Photo supplied by Capt. Joe Ward.

The summer patterns are in full swing and you will need to fish early in the morning from daylight until about 9 a.m. and then again from 6 p.m. until dark for the best results.  Trout fishing should be good at places like Bear Point, Pete Stone Creek to the south and Harbor Branch and the Torpy Road area to the north. Try using top water baits like a Zara Spook in natural colors or a Chug Bug in a bright color.  Live shrimp, greenies or pilchards fished under a popping cork will be hard to beat for the trout if you can keep it from the big jacks that are roaming the flats. The redfish should be around the mangroves around the Round Island area and the docks along Indian River Drive. Try crabs, shrimp or a piece of cut ladyfish fished on a 2/0 live bait hook and a two-foot 20-pound fluorocarbon leader and you should be in good shape.  The snapper fishing around the local bridges and channel edges should be red hot around the full moon.  Try using live baits like mojarra, greenies, pilchards or a live shrimp. Fish any of these on a #2 hook with a 20 to 30 pound flourocarbon leader and a small weight like a half-ounce to a one-ounce. The snook are still catch and release but there is plenty of action around the Fort Pierce Inlet, around both bridges and the beaches.  A live pilchard or pinfish are going to be the best baits to use.  Try fishing the Fort Pierce Inlet with a big enough weight to hold the bottom or free line the baits in the surf.

courtesy of coastalanglermag.com