June is here along with our hot summertime temperatures. Luckily for us, the fishing can be just as hot! June provides anglers shots at not only good numbers of fish but opportunities at some bigger fish too. With the warmer temperatures comes warmer water temperatures too and you will find that your better fishing can come early in the morning and in the evenings for those fishing inshore.
Inshore Fishing Report
Snook: As a reminder, Snook season closed in our area on June 1st and will reopen again on September 1st. June provides us with some of the best Snook fishing of the year. Not only do we see a lot of fish caught, we see a lot of trophy sized Snook caught. If you’re looking to knock a 40” Snook off your bucket list, you’ve got a good shot at it! Please remember to handle these breeder Snook with care as they will be providing us with our Snook population for years to come. Fishing circle hooks, limiting their time out of the water along with reviving them if necessary are all crucial to a strong release of the fish. We will see a lot of fish moving towards the inlet and schools heading outside the inlet to spawn on the beaches and on some of the nearshore wrecks and reefs. We have begun to see fish start staging up and moving towards the inlets. As of June 1st, a few fish have been caught in and around the inlet but the larger schools should be showing up soon. If you are planning on Snook fishing during the heat of the day, you will want to focus on areas with deeper water and moving current as they will tend to favor those areas to stay cool.
For our anglers fishing from boat, areas in and around the St. Lucie Inlet such as the Hole in the Wall, the south side detached jetty and alongside the north side jetty all should be productive as we get into the summer. Live Croakers are typically one of the best bait choices for those targeting Snook this time of year and we plan to have a steady supply of them through the summer weather permitting. Threadfins and Pilchards can be great choices as well. Don’t be afraid to try fishing dead baits with an egg sinker if you aren’t getting bit on the live bait, you might surprise yourself! Heading outside the inlet when the water is clear and running the beach either north or south to look for schools up in shallow can be productive and makes for some great sight fishing opportunities. Once the schools start hitting the inlet in numbers, you can expect to find them on some of the nearshore wrecks such as Bullshark barge out to some of the numbers in 60’. As these fish have begun staging for their spawn, they will typically stop at the causeways on their way towards the inlet, fishing the concrete blocks and fenders can be quite productive in June. Bouncing around docks with deeper water and steady current can be good too, try fishing docks with sport fish boats or larger center console boats. Typically they will hold some fish as they will have your deeper water. If you want to head out in the evening or at night, dock light fishing can be really good this time of year as a lot of the fish that stay in the river will be more inclined to feed at night in the lights when it cools down.
For our land based anglers, the Jensen Causeway, Ft. Pierce Inlet, Indian Riverside Park and the beaches are all solid summertime choices. If you’re heading to Jensen Causeway, the night and evening Snook bite has been more productive than during the daytime. During the outgoing tide we have finally started to see a few crabs and shrimp that have been passing through that the fish key in on. You can freeline live shrimp or crabs when they pass through to match what the Snook are feeding on. Focusing on the shadow lines with artificial shrimp or paddle tails can get you some bites too. If you’re heading to Ft. Pierce Inlet, live Croakers once again will be a great option as the Snook will typically be sitting on the bottom. The Croakers naturally will swim down to their zone, you may need to add a little weight for when the current starts picking up such as a larger split shot if you are fishing the river side of the jetty, but if you are fishing the beach side, you should be in good shape just free lining them. Live pilchards will also work if you see some bait schools around. Indian Riverside Park is typically going to be a morning bite this time of year, Pilchards and Croakers around the dock will typically lead to some success when the fish are around. The beach can provide some fun Snook fishing during the summer. You can fish artificials such as white paddle tails, Yozuri Crystal Minnows or Rapala X-Raps or twitch baits in the morning before the sun gets high and in the evenings to cover a lot of water. When the sun gets higher in the sky, they will tend to prefer a live bait. It is always a good idea to bring a rod rigged with a sabiki in case a school of bait comes by. If you are able to catch some live bait, you can simply free line it up in the first trough. If you are Whiting or Croaker fishing and catch a smaller one, you can go ahead and free line them as well to give you a shot at a big one!
Tarpon: With some crabs starting to flow through the causeways, it can really get the Tarpon bite going. You will want to focus on fishing the outgoing tides if you’re looking to find them there. Free line a crab with a small cork for your best results if you are fishing around the bridges. There has been some good Tarpon fishing for the guys running the beaches, they have been able to find some nice schools of cooperative fish. Look to find them rolling on the surface and fish live baits such as Mullet or Threadfins. Those running the beaches have also found schools of big Jacks and an occasional Cobia. There have been some Tarpon caught inshore around the power plant too. For those fishing live bait, larger live mullet will typically be your best option. If you are looking to throw artificials, the tried and true DOA Terror Eyz and DOA Baitbusters are always reliable choices.
Snapper: We typically get some nice sized Mangrove Snapper inshore during the summer. Look for them around structures like bridges or docks. You will typically need to weed through a lot of the smaller ones if you are fishing with live or dead shrimp, but if you put your time in you should be able to find a few for the cooler. Fishing with a small pilchard, pinfish or mullet with the tail clipped on a jighead or knocker rig can also help you weed through some of the smaller fish and find the bigger ones that are able to eat a bigger bait.
Trout: The Trout fishing has slowed down a bit with the warmer water temperatures, but those who have been after them have still been able to find a few. Those wading the east and west side of the river have been productive in the mornings before the sun gets high throwing artificials. Anglers fishing the west side of the river have been focusing on hitting the ends of the docks where the water is a little deeper.
Surf Fishing Report
The Whiting fishing off the beach has been on fire to close out the month with both good numbers and good sized fish being caught. The red bloodworm Fishbites along with pieces of shrimp on a double hook whiting/croaker rig has been the ticket to getting the bite. Fishing two hours before the high tide and the first two hours of the outcoming tide has been the most productive windows. These fish have all been close to the beach, typically in the 10 yard range so be sure not to over cast. You will see some Croakers mixed in with the same area as well. We typically have to deal with a good bit of weeds fishing from the surf in the summer, if you hit a beach and you notice a lot of weeds in the water, make a move to the next beach as it may be weed free.
