Palm beach Report

INSHORE

The pompano bite has been red hot along the beaches of the Treasure Coast — when the wind isn’t blowing too hard. There have also been some whiting and croaker mixed in, along with a few bonefish, bluefish and ladyfish.

In the Indian River, flounder (up to 5 pounds) are biting near the south end of Middle Cove. Also, if you want to get away from the wind, try fishing the river’s small ponds and intakes. There are some nice — usually small — tarpon and redfish in these areas. Snook and tarpon are hitting jigs around the Jensen, Stuart and Roosevelt bridges.

Big bonefish were chewing in the surf along Jupiter, as were Spanish mackerel, ladyfish and some pompano. The best action is on the incoming tide or during the first two or three hours of the outgoing tide.

Snook, pompano and ladyfish were all reported in both the Intracoastal Waterway and Loxahatchee River, and snook are still biting around bridges and docklights at night. If you want to target Spanish mackerel, fish near Marker 42 in the Intracoastal — there are good numbers around.

Most of the inshore action in central and southern Palm Beach County has been snook around bridges and docks at night, although a few Spanish mackerel were caught on the beaches and near the inlets. There have also been a decent number of bluefish snagged along the beaches of Boca Raton.

FRESHWATER

The wind has made it pretty challenging on Lake Okeechobee this week. The best bass fishing is still on the outside edges and back in the grass, but getting to — and holding — those spots has been no easy task.

This is still a great time of year to fish the Big O, and there are plenty of fish out there, so if you can somehow get back in there, you should have a great day. If you’re unable to do so, there are still some nice bass being caught out in the open water. Several in the 4-to-5-pound range were reported in the past few days.

Live shiners and artificial lures are both working well, but the shiners would get the edge at this point.

courtesy of Palm Beach Post