Beach Fishing With Paul Sperco Palm Beach/Martin County Area

                                       
 photo courtesy of christinaweberfishing.com

It's 7:30 pm on Thursday night and the anticipated re-opening of the snook season is only four and a half hours away. This past month has seen a lot of snook swimming the beach in the first trough and your chances of taking one home in the upcoming days should be pretty good. Early morning and late afternoon artificial lures like the Live Target Mullet and Sardine baits, YoZuri Crystal Minnows, DOA Baitbusters, and Tsunami swim baits will all provide hook ups. Remember to cast north and south as these great fish will be moving up and down the beach within 15 yards of the edge. If you are going to target them during the day, a live croaker fished on a CP or Fishfinder rig, will certainly draw their attention. We are going to have our full moon next Wednesday and this should certainly get more and more mullet schools flooding down our coast. Snook, tarpon, sharks, big jacks, spanish mackerel, bluefish, and ladyfish will all join the party as well. I just came back from fishing this afternoon and weeds were still a problem at Tiger Shores, Santa Lucea, and Hermans Bay. I went north to Middle Cove Beach access and that spot was very fishable. There was not much bait there but I managed to put a dozen nice whiting and croaker in the cooler. For those of you targeting snook, the near shore edge of the trough at Tiger Shores has been holding lots of 4 to 6 inch croakers, so if you want to catch some live bait, that is the spot I would target to put some of these little guys in your bait bucket. Cast your fishbite between the patches of weeds and you will get some bait quickly. Good luck this weekend and catch em up.

Scouting Around Palm Beach/Martin County Area

INSHORE:

Along the beaches in the Jensen Area, there are still large schools of mullet moving through.

Unfortunately, there has also been lots of grasses in the surf zone. The key has been to find areas where it’s cleared out or washed up on the beach already.

One angler caught several bonefish while fishing from the beach last weekend. Not that common in the area, they were good-sized fish in the 2 to 5-pound range. They were caught using Fishbites

In the same zone, the croaker and whiting bite has been good as well. They’re also being caught on Fishbites.

There have also been some tarpon moving in the surf zone recently.

Anglers have reported good grass beds making a comeback in the Bear Point area of the river.

Snook season opens Friday0901. Remember it’s one slot-sized fish per person, per day.

Slot size is 28 to 32 inches.

Several beaches in the Jupiter area should be excellent for this prized gamefish.

The key is to find a beach or stretch of beach with rocks.

Good areas to check out will be Blowing Rocks Preserve in Hobe Sound, Coral Cove Park on Jupiter Island and bit north of the Juno Pier there is a stretch of beach that is rocky.

Another top spot to look for snook are the bridges spanning the Intracoastal.

The Donald Ross, the Hobe Sound and especially the Flagler Memorial Bridge are excellent spots to fish for them. Best bets are evenings from 9 p.m. to midnight or early mornings from 4 a.m. to dawn.

One more good area to check for snook is the northern end of the Lake Worth Lagoon from Burnt Bridge at MacArthur Beach State Park up to PGA Boulevard. This area can provide great snook fishing from shore, by kayak or wading.

Bait wise live shrimp, live mullet, live sardines or live pilchards will be the way to go.

Surf anglers, fishing the beaches from Boynton Inlet to Lantana Public Beach, are catching barracuda, snook and jacks during the early morning using red or green Tube lures, blue/silver Yo-Zuri Poppers and 3-ounce silver Gator Spoons.

There has been plenty of bait moving around the Boynton Inlet and south parking lot.

Inlet anglers are reporting catching jacks, snapper, snook and small barracuda during the day and snook, tarpon, snapper, moonfish and permit at night. Use either live or fresh cut bait for the snapper.

The Intracoastal Waterway in the Boynton Beach area has had jacks hitting top water plugs along the seawalls both north and south of the inlet.

Night fishing the lighted docks along the intracoastal with small shrimp or epoxy minnow flies for snook and large moonfish has been very effective.

Lantana Bridge anglers are reporting catching small snapper, jacks, and barracuda during the day. Night time anglers have been catching a few snook throwing swimming plugs around the bridge.

LAKE OKEECHOBEE:

Fishing on the lake has been good, but it is still an early-morning affair.

At dawn, artificial baits including swim jigs, spinner baits and some top water plugs have been producing good results.

Later, after that first hour, switch to flipping sticks using jigs and worms.

From The Crew @ Whites Tackle - Ft Pierce / Stuart

Inshore bite yesterday in Stuart was very productive. Lots of Snook and Jacks feeding on mullet schools from the inlet north to Jensen causeway. Best lures to use are shallow divers, topwater plugs, and swim baits. Dock light fishing has been steady with many Snook being caught in the St Lucie river. Small white flies and plastic shrimp such as the DOA 2.75 and Vudu shrimp will get you hooked up. Snook season opens tonight at midnight! Please don’t be afraid to practice catch and release with the slot fish. A few trout and Redfish are being caught around Vero Beach bridges. DOA Cal shad tails on 1/8th ounce jig heads fished around drop offs / spoil islands have been producing the most numbers.

Nearshore the Albie’s have taken over the beaches from St. Lucie to Ft pierce inlets. Fish were endlessly feeding on small minnows yesterday from 100 yards to 1 mile off. Light tackle and Fly have been the best methods. The Umpqua Gummy Minnow fly , and small heavy jigs will get the most bites. The start of the mullet run has began more are showing up everyday. It will hopefully reach its full peak by the end of September.

Sebastian Inlet Report

                                                      
08-31-17 THURSDAY: C/R SNOOK, SNAPPER, REDS AND JACKS 

Winds have been variable this morning. It was blowing out of the Southwest early and now is coming out of the Northeast at 2 mph, gusting to 4. The water is calm and there are no NOAA advisories. We have a slight chance of showers and thunderstorms after 1:00 today. 

We are beginning to see more baitfish in the water, including finger mullet. We have confirmation that there were many in the water Wednesday night! Justin Jarek of Satellite Beach reports that he has fished his entire life and has fished the inlet many times; he's never seen it like it was Wednesday night. He said there were mullet everywhere and big Jacks, Reds and C/R Snook were active. Justin landed this big Jack off the south catwalk Wednesday night. Thanks for the update Justin, nice catch!

The recreational harvest season for snook starts Sept. 1 statewide. Unique to the region, snook are one of the many reasons Florida is the Fishing Capital of the World. When releasing a snook, proper handling methods can help ensure your fish's survival and the species' abundance for anglers today and generations to come. To learn more about catch-and-release and the best way to handle a fish, visit MyFWC.com/Fishing and click on Saltwater Fishing, then Recreational Regulations and Fish Handling. During the open season, the daily bag limit is one fish per person. In the Atlantic, snook must be not less than 28 inches and not more than 32 inches total length, which is measured from the most forward point of the head with the mouth closed to the farthest tip of the tail with the tail compressed or squeezed while the fish is lying on its side. A snook permit, as well as a recreational saltwater license, is required unless the angler is exempt from the recreational license requirements. Snook may be targeted or harvested with hook-and-line gear only. Snagging is prohibited. In Atlantic state and federal waters, including Lake Okeechobee and the Kissimmee River, snook are closed Dec. 15 through Jan. 31 and June 1 through Aug. 31. Researchers ask anglers who harvest the fish to save their filleted carcasses and provide them to the FWC by dropping them off at a participating bait and tackle store. For the county-by-county list, go to MyFWC.com/Research and click on Saltwater, then Snook (under Saltwater Fish) and Snook Anglers Asked to Help with Research. If you see a snook fishery violation, call the Wildlife Alert Program at 888-404-FWCC (3922).

                             
                                                Event at Port St. Lucie Location      

Beach Fishing With Paul Sperco Palm Beach/Martin County Area

"Variety" is the best way to wrap up this weekend's surf fishing results. Weeds came back into play at some beaches like Tiger Shores, Santa Lucea, Bryn Mawr, and County Line today when I went looking this morning, so Randy and I decided to fish the high tide this afternoon at Middle Cove on the northern end of Hutchinson Island. This beach was was weed-free after the tide change and it proved to be a good choice. As I have said before, we are fortunate to have a number of beaches, bridge, and river access points in our immediate area or within a short driving distance - - and finding a fishable area can save the day. We decided to wipe the dust off a couple of the long rods that we put away after the end of the pompano season and send a couple of baits to the second trough 80 to100 yards off of the beach. The first trough produced some whiting and croaker as soon as we got there but that bite only lasted for 45 minutes. Randy managed to land a 50-pound nurse shark that ate the live croaker we put out for a snook or tarpon and the long rods provided all of the rest action. Blue Runners, jacks, and four bonefish rounded out the catch until we left once the rain squalls hit. The whiting and croaker bit as usual on the Orange Clam Fishbites and the jacks, blue runners, and bonefish all favored the EZ Flea scented Fishbites. Whiting and croaker for the table, jacks, blue runners, sharks, and bonefish for catch-and-release action made up for a great afternoon of fishing the beach. The mullet run gets closer day by day, but for those of you that want to bend a rod before that action explodes, there are some great opportunities for you sharpen your skills. The forecast is for some great conditions this week as the rain chances are going to diminish and winds should be favorable. Good luck and catch em up!

Sebastian Inlet Report

08-30-17 WEDNESDAY: SNAPPER, JACKS, LADYFISH, C/R SNOOK, REDS, TARPON AND TROUT 

Conditions have calmed down significantly. Winds are blowing out of the North at 1 mph, gusting to 2 and there is a light chop on the water. There are no NOAA advisories but we have a chance of showers and thunderstorms after 1:00 p.m.

The bite is getting better by the day. The Snapper bite has improved and a few real nice Cubera's were landed this week. Jacks and Ladyfish have been active, along with C/R Snook. Snook season opens on Friday, September 1st. Be sure you have an up to date fishing license with a Snook stamp if you are lucky enough to land one in the slot and plan to keep it. 

Florida Today sportswriter Ed Killer's sources tell him that the bite in the Indian River Lagoon is steadily picking up. Larger schools of mullet are being pursued by Jacks, Snook, Tarpon and Trout near the spoil islands. Reds are active along the mangroves.