Palm Beach Report

INSHORE

Bait schools are thick along the beaches of the Treasure Coast and Palm Beach County, which has made for some phenomenal fishing this week.

Along Jensen Beach, snook and tarpon are biting. The best action is during the incoming tide. Early-morning and evening hours seem to be better for tarpon. These fish are also being caught in the St. Lucie Inlet.

There are some whiting and croaker along the beach as well.

The trout bite is still good in the Indian River, and live bait is working best. For the best results, fish the flats and docks on the west side of the river. There are also a few redfish in the mix.

Fishing the bridges at night should produce snook, black drum, sheepshead, and mangrove and lane snapper.

The snook bite has also been excellent along the beaches of Jupiter, as they are feeding on greenies and pilchards — which have shown up in big numbers. They are in the inlet, too. Schools of tarpon have also been migrating down the beaches and are there for the taking.

Snook are also being snagged in the Intracoastal Waterway in Jupiter and down through central and southern Palm Beach County. As always, the best time to fish for them is at night, focusing on bridges and docks (structure). Fishing the shadow lines is usually productive.

There are big bait schools on the beaches all the way down to Boca Raton, so anglers should be able to hook some nice snook and tarpon on the surf regardless of where they’re fishing.

In the Intracoastal, mangrove snapper, sheepshead and black drum are all being reported around the bridges.

FRESHWATER

The best bass fishing on Lake Okeechobee this week has been out in the open water. The bass are chasing bait, so they are moving out of the grass. Live shiners and artificial lures are working equally well, so it’s a matter of preference at this point.

Remember, the summertime pattern is in effect, so to have success, you need to be out on the water early — before sunrise. The fish are biting, but once the sun is up for a few hours, there’s a substantial dropoff in action.

Skilled anglers and professional guides are still hooking a few dozen bass in those early-morning hours, but even they are shutting it down by 10:30 a.m.

     courtesy of Palm Beach Post