Palm Beach Report

photo courtesy of Sebile Fishing

Snook season is open and in full swing!

Plenty of big snook and tarpon are being snagged on the beaches of the Treasure Coast. The key is finding bait schools — but that shouldn’t be too difficult. There are some big permit on the beaches as well, and whiting and croaker are always around.

The mullet run is going off in the Indian River, especially around the bridges, where snook, tarpon, black drum, sheepshead, snapper and pompano are all being caught. The best strategy for snook and tarpon seems to be fishing the shadowlines in early-morning hours, around 2 a.m.

Snook and trout are also biting on the flats.

Finger mullet are running along the beaches of Jupiter, and are also moving inside. When the mullet move through the Jupiter Inlet, the snook fishing is red hot! Bluefish, redfish and Spanish mackerel are also being found mixed in with these bait schools. If you can’t find a bait school, try fishing at first light — that should be productive.

Snook, tarpon and big jacks (up to 20 pounds) are all being snagged in the Intracoastal Waterway and Loxahatchee River.

The snook fishing has been decent in the Lake Worth Inlet and in the surf along Palm Beach. As the mullet make their way through the area, the fishing should be good.

There are plenty of snook on the beach in the morning before the sun comes up, and you can always find them near bridges and docks in the Intracoastal Waterway at night.

There are scattered bait clouds around the Boynton Beach Inlet, but there don’t seem to be big numbers of snook or tarpon at this point. However, there are some tarpon rolling through the Intracoastal near the Lantana bridge (snook also in the mix) and Boynton Beach Inlet. There are nice-sized jacks around as well.

FRESHWATER

The best bass bite is still early — well before the sun comes up — on Lake Okeechobee. You can catch a good number of fish at that time, but by 10 a.m., the bite is gone.

Anglers are having success with both lives shiners and artificial lures, but the artificials seem to be the bait of choice right now.

Bass are biting out in the open water and also along the outside edges, so it’s really a matter or preference.

report courtesy of Palm Beach Post