Report From The Snook-Nook

This time of year provides some of the best Snook fishing you can find in our area as they are in their yearly summer spawn and are ready to feed. You can expect to find big breeder Snook schooled up in the St. Lucie Inlet, at the hole in the wall, on the beaches, on local nearshore wrecks and reefs and at the causeways. It is always important to practice safe catch and release practices when dealing with these large breeder fish to ensure a healthy release for the fish. Using heavier tackle, circle hooks and reviving the fish before release will give it a great opportunity to swim off strong. Fishing with live baits such as Croakers or Pilchards seems to provide anglers with the best results when targeting Snook in the Summer. We should have a steady supply of Croakers throughout the summer. If you haven’t given them a shot yet, you’re missing out on a chance at a trophy Snook!For those who like to fish with artificials, Swimbaits such as Hogy Pro Tails, No Live Bait Needed Paddle Tails or Lil Mullets are great options whether you are fishing inshore or off the beach for Snook. If you are looking to fish a hard bait, Yozuri Crystal Minnows are also a great option for fishing around the bridges or casting from the beaches or jetties for Snook.  

Tarpon fishing should also begin to pick up for anglers this month. We have heard about some being caught around the causeways. Try to shoot for an evening outgoing tide as crabs have been pushing through the bridges on the outgoing tides and have been met by some hungry Tarpon. You can also expect to find more Tarpon showing up in the inlet as well as the crossroads. Live crabs or large mullet are great options to fish in those areas. For those looking to fish up river by the power plant, you can typically find some cooperative Tarpon around Big Mud. Fishing Pilchards, Mullet or crabs will all work for live bait options up that way. If you are looking to fish artificials, DOA Terror Eyz or Baitbusters are a great choice in that area. 

If you are looking to do some meat fishing and put some fish in the box, we have begun to see a lot more keeper Mangrove Snappers being caught inshore which is expected this time of year. Look for them around structures such as the bridges, older docks with growth and channel markers. You can get them on live shrimp and when you need to pick through smaller fish, you can fish a small pilchard to catch the larger fish in the group. 

There have been some Trout reported up towards Nettles Island and farther up towards Bear Point. We’ve heard them caught on live pilchards, shrimp, topwaters and artificials such as DOA Cals and artificial shrimp. If you are looking for an arm workout, there have been plenty of big jacks cruising the seawalls. Toss out a live bait or work a top water and hold on! Other species that have been making the inshore catch list include; Flounder, Spanish Mackerel, Bonefish and more! It is a great time of year to get out there and get on some fish! 

Beach Fishing With Paul Sperco Palm Beach/Martin County Area

 After looking at the Jensen Beach webcam this afternoon I’m going to pass on hitting the beach tomorrow morning and go right to work at Bass Pro . It appears as if the sargassum is as thick as ever and that is going to make the surf fishing pretty challenging. This has been a pretty disappointing spring and now early summer run of whiting and croaker due to the sargassum and slime weed. Put the conditions that we had in April and May for the spring pompano bite and it’s safe to say it’s been a tough year so far . There were some pompano around this spring but you had to move and look to find the beaches that had a minimum amount of weeds and nice color water . The bait along the beach recently has been sporadic so after talking to some friends who have been doing this a lot longer than me , the hope is everything is late . There have been some snook along the beach but finding days when you can actually fish for them have been at a minimum. The last couple of years June and July have produced some big catches of whiting, croaker, palometa, jacks , and snook so let’s hope conditions get better . The water color has really been nice so we do have tgat going for us .

From Todd & Eddy @ Juno Bait -Juno Beach

 INSHORE-  Catch and release snook fishing remains really good inshore.  Lots of ways to catch the snook right now.  Good fishing in the river for them during the day.  Live mullet fished under boat docks and along seawalls will be a great way to go, especially for the bigger cruising fish.  Early in the morning and late late in the afternoon (as the sun is going down) they should get active enough to chase down a topwater.  At night the snook have been hanging around the bridges in good numbers.  A flair hawk or big swimbait will be a good lure choice.  Outgoing tide will most likely be the most productive, but don't overlook incoming tide in certain spots as well.  Snook are stacking up in the inlets pretty good as well.  A few jacks and tarpon cruising around inshore, but the snook will be the main game in town.  Mangrove snapper will be hanging around their usual summertime spots. 

SURF/PIER-  Catch and release snook fishing will be the main game in town along the beach, at the pier, and in the inlets right now.  Lots of different ways to catch them, so a really fun time to get out and try different techniques and tactics.  The Juno Beach Pier has had a decent number of Spanish Macs around, along with a handful of kings.  A fair number of tarpon cruising along the beach; along with a handful of big jacks.  Croakers have been biting well in the first trough.  Small pieces of shrimp are the ticket for the croakers. 

Ed Killer South Fla. Report

 

Indian River County

Inshore: There is a good mangrove snapper bite at night at Sebastian Inlet on shrimp or cut bait, and cubera snapper up to 10 pounds will bite on larger baits. Slot redfish can be caught during the outgoing tide along the north jetty, and plenty of oversized snook, but they are strictly catch and release until Sept. 1. Large redfish can be caught and released during the outgoing tides by drifting small live crabs during the tide.

Freshwater: There is a toxic algae warning posted for Blue Cypress Lake. Headwaters Lake is still fishing pretty steady for bass, but the fish are in deeper water for much of the day. Use 9-inch worms or lipped crank baits to find them.

St. Lucie County

Inshore: Snook and tarpon are seemingly everywhere because both fish are strictly catch and release. For fish to take home, try fishing the bridges for snapper using cut bait or live shrimp, if they can be found at bait shops.

Surf: The main obstacle here is seaweed washing in. Patrol the beaches to find beaches free of seaweed. There, you will find some whiting and croaker biting, but little else. And most beaches are smothered with seaweed right now. 

Martin County

Inshore: Most of the action in this zone has been on catch and release fishing for snook and tarpon. Snook are being caught along the south shore of the inlet, around docks at Rocky Point, Sewall's Point and Hell's Gate. Tarpon are at The Crossroads or upriver in the North Fork near Harbour Ridge. Tripletail can also be caught around inshore structure like channel markers and bridge pilings.

Lake Okeechobee

With recent rainfall near the great lake, the level of it has come up to 12.96 feet. This means bass have more room to work in the northern and western sides of the lake, which is also where an algae bloom has set up, according to satellite imagery. Flip and pitch to mats of vegetation where smaller fish are congregating and where bass are trying to pick off those fish feeding on grass shrimp and more. 

courtesy of Ed Killer ,TCPalm's outdoors writer. 

Ed Killer South Fla. Report

  Indian River County

Inshore: Capt. Glyn Austin of Going Coastal charters in Sebastian said there is a mixed bag of catches coming on live crabs drifted through the inlet or on live croakers. Snook (catch and release only), tarpon, redfish, jacks and sharks all are part of the action which is pretty much non-stop.

Freshwater: Although the bass bite cools down when the temperature heats up, Headwaters Lake is still fishing like the trophy producer that it is. Fish are being caught in deeper water using shaky head jigs, worms and lipped plugs.

St. Lucie County

Inshore: Many anglers believe snook can read a calendar because how else would one explain why we catch so many of them after the season closes? Tarpon, jacks and sharks are roaming the inshore waters of the lagoon taking live shrimp or live pilchards. Trout are on the points of mangrove islands north of the causeway.

Surf: Pretty bleak reports coming in from the surf this week. Look for beaches with little or no sargassum weed, but other than a few whiting, some catch and release snook and some small sharks, there isn't really anything else biting.

Martin County

Inshore: Snook, which are catch and release right now, can be caught around docks, bridge pilings and along the shorelines of the jetties. Tripletail can be caught using live shrimp and fishing around channel markers and bridge pilings. Jacks are running through the inlet like packs of wolves.  

Lake Okeechobee

The expansive lake is said to have cyanobacteria on it and this year it is amassing in the northern and western portions of the lake. This is where the fish are and were the majority of fishing takes place. Although no one has truthed it to this outdoors writer yet, there are still bass being caught and released at the great lake. Flip and pitch vegetative mats to find fish. Use worms or spinnerbaits to dial in on where the bass are. As the sun gets higher in the sky, the bass tend to run for deeper water.

Ed Killer is TCPalm's outdoors writer. Sign up for his and other weekly newsletters at profile.tcpalm.com/newsletters/manage. Friend Ed on Facebook at Ed Killer, follow him on Twitter @tcpalmekiller or email him ated.killer@tcpalm.com.

Sebastian Inlet Report

 Look for reds, snappers at the north jetty; margates, sea bream, blue runners at south jetty

“Good morning, my fishing fanatics! Hope everyone had a great weekend, as it was pretty nice, but hot. Summer is here! Fishing at the inlet as a whole has been lackluster, mostly due to rain runoff from Sebastian River/C54 canal from last week's big rainstorms. Stormwater mixes with the clean ocean water, slowing fishing activity. Also, there isn’t much around for baitfish to attract anything, either. But things will change; they always do. 

North jetty: Fishing on the jetty has been hit-or-miss, depending on the clean water. On the outgoing tide at the tip, some snook are biting live shrimp, croakers and mojarras. Remember, the season is closed for them and must be released unharmed. Most of the fish are 34 to 40 inches. I had a report that some slot redfish have been caught at the tip as well, on the outgoing tide. This is the time of year that the big bull reds come in the inlet on the outgoing tide looking for the small crabs. The reds can be caught on any live or cut bait and top water popper lures. I had a report of a couple permit being caught, also on the outgoing tide on said small crabs, as they, too, show up this time of year on the tip looking for the crabs. The mangrove snapper bite is still fairly good, with fish being caught on small live bait and cut bait as well. Most fish are between 11 to 12 inches, minimum is 10 inches, and you can keep five per person. Also showing up are cubera snappers, about five to 10 pounds in size. They will bite any live bait or cut bait. Either tide at the tip or around the pilings and rocks is where they like to be. Over the weekend I saw quite a few barracuda around the north jetty looking for some baitfish. These fish are fun to catch on large live baits and bright colored ‘tube lures.’ 

South jetty: Fishing over here has been slow as well, with most of the fish being caught at the tip on the outgoing tide. Small black margates, sea bream, blue runners and jack crevalles are the species being had. When the water is clean, pompano can possibly be caught fishing towards the south beach area on cut shrimp, sand fleas and small ‘goofy 

jigs.’ Incoming tide in the evening with the cleaner water has been decent on the snook bite — again season is closed and they have to be released unharmed. Also, smaller redfish are being caught, both species on live mojarra fished all along the rock wall. Mangrove snapper are being caught too; most are small though. 

T-dock area: Fishing back here has been really slow. Small undersized snappers are being caught and those pesky puffers that are ever present. Jack crevalles and blue runners are possible as well by tossing silver spoons out to the channel area. 

Surf, both sides: If you can find clean water that isn't all silted up, pompano and whiting can be caught on live sand fleas and cut shrimp. Be on the lookout for bait schools moving up and down the beaches, as it is time for the large pods of glass minnows to start arriving. These bait pods will attract all sorts of predators: tarpon, snook, king mackerel, Spanish mackerel and jack crevalles. Silver spoons, jigs and all live baits will attract a bite when the bait is present. 

Ed Killer South Fla. Report

 Indian River County

Inshore: Snook know when they are out of season, so they are biting everywhere. They must be released until Sept. 1, of course. There are big jacks tormenting the summer bait pods, trout on the flats early and redfish in the mangroves. The falling tide is better to target these fish.

Freshwater: Headwaters Lake continues to be a good spot to find fish early. The fish are moving into deeper water and running for cover as the temperature and sun heats up during the day, however. Bluegill fishing has been pretty good as well on live crickets and red worms.

St. Lucie County

Inshore: There are trout biting on the points of the mangrove islands north of north causeway. Use live pilchards or mullet if possible during the beginning of the falling tide. Each summer, the tripletail come in and set up around channel markers, bridge pilings and carb pots. Use a live shrimp to catch them.

Surf: It's whiting season along the beaches of Hutchinson Island right now. The trick is finding a beach with little or no grass, and that can be a challenge. Use Fishbites E-Z flea or pieces of shrimp to get bites. Cast about 100 feet from shore to be in the zone.

Martin County

Inshore: Although catch and release fishing for snook has shifted to an offshore fishery, there are still some around the detached jetty and on the south shore of the inlet. Use live pilchards or medium-sized jigs to catch fish in this zone, but move on after you catch three or four.  

Lake Okeechobee

All that rain, well it did not fall over Lake Okeechobee or north of it, thankfully. Good news for anglers seeking to dial in on bass in the shallows early in the morning. The fish are there, but not for long. The rising temperatures have the fish heading for deeper water and cover by 9 a.m. Use topwaters early or spinnerbaits and switch to lipless crank baits and worms later in the morning.

Ed Killer is TCPalm's outdoors writer. Sign up for his and other weekly newsletters at profile.tcpalm.com/newsletters/manage. Friend Ed on Facebook at Ed Killer, follow him on Twitter @tcpalmekiller or email him ated.killer@tcpalm.com.