Scouting Around- Palm Beach/Martin County Area

INSHORE

   Bluefish and Spanish mackerel are chasing the mullet along the beaches of the Treasure Coast early in the morning – it’s really a first-light bite. There are a few scattered pompano in the surf as well, and whiting and croaker can be caught throughout the day.

   In the Indian River, snook and tarpon are biting around the bridges, especially when there’s mullet in the area (and there are!). Black drum and sheepshead have also shown up and are chewing around structure.

   There are some trout being caught around dock lights at night, and some nice redfish have been hooked on the west side of the river.

   There is bait everywhere along the beaches of Jupiter and also in the inlets and Intracoastal Waterway. As you’d expect, this has led to some excellent fishing.

   In the surf, bluefish and jacks are being caught, with a few Spanish mackerel mixed in as well. In the Intracoastal, snook and tarpon are thick at the bridges, but they’re being caught anywhere you find mullet schools.

  

The mullet are also running south through Palm Beach and into Lake Worth and Boynton Beach, which has produced some great inshore action. Spanish mackerel, bluefish and pompano are all chewing along the beach, and snook and permit are being caught at the Lake Worth and Boynton Beach inlets.

   In the Intracoastal, snook, tarpon, jacks, ladyfish, sheepshead and snapper are being caught along the channel edges, flats, docks and bridges. Snook fishing at the bridges at night is always productive.

FRESHWATER

   The fall fishing pattern is in full swing on Lake Okeechobee, and there are good numbers of bass being caught along the outside edges and back in the grass. The early-morning bite is still best, but you can catch good numbers up until about 10:30-11 a.m. now. The action picks up again in the late afternoon and early evening.

   Live shiners and artificial lures are both working well, so it’s really a matter of personal preference at this point.

   A few bass weighing 6 pounds were reported this week, and the catches do seem to be getting bigger.

report courtesy of Palm Beach Post