Chasing After a Shark while Wade Fishing for Trout and Jacks - 4K

GIANT Speckled Trout- Indian River Lagoon Flats Fishing

Beach Fishing With Paul Sperco Palm Beach/Martin County Area

                                                     
A trip back to the beach today reinforces the great fishing that alot of anglers experienced yestaerday at various locations. I made a quick stop this morning at Stuart Beach and the wind shift to the North last night had the water pretty stirred up and somewhat off color. A steady push from the North will sometimes send the clean water in a southerly direction and that's what occured today. I ended up at the Bridge Road beach in Hobe Sound and found the clean green colored water that we had at Stuart yesterday. The action turned out to be better than yesterday as the first forty minutes of fishing produced two big jacks, two bluefish, and two nice pompano. After a bit of a lull for a short period of time the bite turned right back on and four more big pompano made their way into my cooler. I had my limit of nice pompano and at one point was only able to fish two rods because of the non-stop activity. Clam strips, EZ Flea and Orange Clam Fishbites all produced today. Plenty of 2 - 3 pound bluefish and jacks up to ten pounds were mixed in with the pompano. I watched a fellow angler just South of me throwing a silver spoon continually hook up with the jacks and bluefish. Its really too bad that the winds are going to put a temporary hold to this great fishing but its great to see the spread of fish that are in our area. We should be back at it early next week so get your gear ready. The key again today was being able to reach the pompano at 70 - 90 yards from the edge of the beach. 

Sebastian Inlet Report

          

THE BITE IS IMPROVING IN SPITE OF THE ROUGH CONDITIONS,Black Drum, Whiting, Reds, Snook and short Pompano

We have cloudy, churned up conditions at the inlet this morning.  Winds are blowing out of the East at 16 mph, gusting to 22 and the water is rough.  Seas are building and the ICW is rough as well.  We have potential afternoon showers in the forecast for today and over the weekend; pack your rain gear if you head to the inlet.  NOAA has a small craft advisory in effect through Sunday afternoon.  It’s not a good weekend for our boaters.

In spite of the rougher conditions this week, the weather was warmer and the bite picked up.  We received an update from snow bird Rich Blum who is back from the frozen north for the winter.  Rich has been out on the north jetty fishing the past couple of days and reported a fair bite on Wednesday and a better bite yesterday.  Black and Red Drum have been the most consistent species and some nice Sheepshead are coming over the rails.  The Sting Rays have been thick but seem to be thinning out now.  Yesterday the Black Drum were hitting well on the incoming tide.  Thanks Rich!  Rich and Dennis Fletcher pose with some of the nice Black Drum they landed Wednesday.

Wayne Pollock of south Jersey was in Melbourne Beach visiting family and had a chance to fish the inlet on several days.  Wayne reported a strong Whiting bite all week on dead and live shrimp, particularly during the incoming tides.  They had a great time landing the 14” – 17” scrappy fighters which were fantastic table fare.  We received an update from inlet regular Mike Ricciardi of Vero Beach who fished the north jetty again yesterday afternoon.  The day was beautiful even though the high winds kept it cool.  Mike reported a lot of Sting Rays in the water but not as many as the two previous days.  Pompano were disappointing as the 6 – 8 that came over the rails were short and had to be returned.  Approximately 12 Black Drum were landed, 2 slot Reds and 2 oversized were landed by anglers free lining live shrimp.  8 – 10 C/R Snook were landed and Whiting were plentiful.  It sounds like fishing is starting to return to normal, if only the wind would give us a break!  

Our 2nd photo today features Mike Ricciardi of Vero Beach with two Black Drum he landed off the north jetty yesterday on shrimp. 

Scouting Around Palm Beach/Martin County Area

    

Though the forecasted rough seas will likely put a damper on it this weekend, the pompano fishing has been excellent in Hobe Sound recently.

Anglers using long rods to reach the outside trough and using fish bites, clams and live sand fleas are having a blast catching these delicious fish.

The relief bridges along the Stuart and Jensen Causeways have been hot spots recently for pompano, big sheepshead and redfish. Live shrimp on jigs has been working best.

Though the surf fishing for pompano will cool off this weekend, fishing for them at the Juno Pier should still be good.

The main focus will be on getting out past the churned up water line and into the greenish “pompano” water.

Anglers looking to avoid the rough seas, but still wanting to get their fix this weekend should check out the Intracoastal Waterway.

Using live shrimp, ladyfish, jack crevalle and mangrove snapper are being caught.

Fishing for snook around pilings of the Loxahatchee River Bridge could be a good call this weekend as well.

With the cooler temps and the bridge pilings holding heat, snook will sometimes congregate around them.

The beaches from the Lake Worth Pier north to around Sloan’s Curve have had a good pompano bite lately with them hitting on Goofy Jigs and pompano.

Anglers fishing off Lantana Public Beach have reported catching sheepshead using live shrimp and sand fleas.

The sheepshead bite has also been good at the Boynton Inlet using crabs on an incoming tide.

Jetty fishermen are also reporting catching a few snook, jack crevalle, bluefish and croaker.

Fishing at the Lantana Bridge, anglers are catching sheepshead and drum on clam strips and live crabs and a few redfish using cut mullet.

LAKE OKEECHOBEE:

Out on the lake, the speckled perch bite is still really good.

Anglers using minnows and fishing along the Kissimmee River and catching plenty of these tasty panfish.

report courtesy of Palm Beach Post

Beach Fishing With Paul Sperco Palm Beach/Martin County Area

Conditions, Conditions, Conditions. We finally got a day along our local beach front where the conditions that you need to have some great surf action all came together. Clean water, light wave action, and numerous species of fish where spread out over a large portion of our county beaches. I fished with my son Randy at Stuart Beach, as this location had been holding some of the best looking water along South Hutchinson Island. We were lucky enough to catch a big number of pompano (only keeping our limit of course) and added bluefish, ,jacks, whiting, palometa, and blue runners. EZ Flea Fishbites and clam strips were the hot baits for us. There was a nice showing of anglers at Stuart Beach and some of the folks that also had a great day were surf regulars Chuck Frith and Marty Barlow from Jensen Beach who caught pompano, whiting, and croaker. The Port St Lucie Anglers club had a mini-outing for their members and had a nice number of anglers participating this morning. Fishing Director Kurt Hoyer put some nice whiting and croaker in his cooler and caught and released some jacks. Some of the other members added bluefish and jacks to the overall catch. A little further south at Santa Lucea, local regular and friend Ron Robinson, also had a great day with the pompano. Ron reported that other anglers at that beach caught pompano, jacks and bluefish as well. I got a late report from Hobe Sound and the folks that targeted the Pompano in that area today had a great bite going for most of the morning. I also heard from Pat Cooper, who is visiting from western Michigan and attended the Pompano Seminar on Saturday. Pat tried the diamond shaped Fishbite technique and caught a big jack and some bluefish at the Fletcher Beach area.

The best fishing today occured on the rising tide and the high tide mark, which is normally the time to target the pompano at this time of year. The last few weeks the falling tide and even the low tide mark at certain beaches produced a lot of action. All of this information is great news to report, but unfortunately these great conditions are about to end. The National Weather Service Marine Forecast is calling for the winds to shift to the North tomorrow at 10 - 15 knots and increasing to 15 - 20 knots tomorrow night. Looking at Thursday and Friday, the northeast direction returns and builds to 20 - 25 knots. Easterly and southeasterly is the predicted flow at 15 - 20 knots right into Sunday. This is going to give us those challenging conditions that we have been dealing with this fall and winter, and we can only hope as we leave January and head into February that Mother Nature will start to give us more of an opportunity to get back to great fishing. Good luck and catch em up.

Sebastian Inlet Report

THE BITE IS PICKING UP!

Winds are blowing out of the North-Northwest at 17 mph, gusting to 20 and the water has a moderate chop.  The cool front that is moving across the state this afternoon will bring hazardous boating conditions through the rest of the week.  NOAA has a small craft advisory in effect through Friday at 4:00 a.m.  Always check the NOAA forecast prior to boating.

In spite of the higher winds, we have a gorgeous day at the inlet for the last day of the Florida Pro/WSL Qualifying Contest.  Congratulations to Melbourne Beach’s Caroline Marks and New Smyrna Beach’s Evan Geiselman for their wins!

We received an update from inlet regular Mike Ricciardi of Vero Beach who fished the north jetty yesterday afternoon.  Mike said there was a good Black Drum bite with 10 -12 coming over the rails for anglers using live and dead shrimp.  Two slot Reds were also landed, one on live shrimp, one on dead shrimp.  Those Sting Rays are still out there in huge numbers and many were landed and released.  

Our photo today features Ryan Wood of Malabar.  Ryan landed the C/R Snook in our photo from the north jetty a little while ago.

How to Catch Flounder: Seminar with Capt. Jimmy Price

the SECRET to winter fishing - and catching big trout

How to Catch GIANT FISH on the PIER!!!! (Trolley Rig Basics)

From Capt. Charlie @ Fishing Center - Ft Pierce

2018 has started off with winter moving in and cooling things down quite a bit. Wind, rain and cold have made the first part of January a real challenge to get out and enjoy the fishing. Water temperatures have dipped into the fifties and it will take a few sunny days to warm things up a bit. You can expect lots of wind this month along with the normal weekly cold front moving through the Treasure Coast. Watch the weather and plan your adventures carefully.

               Sheepshead is always the best bite in this kind of weather. They don't mind the colder water and there are lots of them in the river to keep anglers busy. Bridges, docks and channel edges are favorite areas to fish for sheepshead, drum, and snapper. The nighttime snook bite has been good around the bridges and jetties. Look for the Spanish mackerel and pompano bite to improve around the area. Trout, snook and redfish will be on the grass flats when the sun is high to warm up. Black drum and croakers should be moving into the river now that things are cooled down. January is always a good month to enjoy the fishing!

Winter weather is a good time to work on reels, tackle and boats. We get a lot of windy days and this is the perfect time to get your equipment in good working order for the coming spring fishing. It's an important part of fishing and boating. Dress in layers this time of year. Temperature swings can be go from the fifties into the eighties in a few hours and layering can keep you comfortable out there. Have fun and stay safe!

Sebastian Inlet Report

Fishing conditions should start to improve as well.  Look for Black Drum, Pompano, Sheepshead, Spanish Mackerel, Whiting and (hopefully) Flounder to start making appearances from both jetties, catwalks, T-Dock and inlet rocks.

Tommy Turowski at the Sebastian Inlet Bait and Tackle Shop reported that the cold weather and high seas have kept most anglers at home this week but a few big Reds and Snook were landed off the end of the north jetty. Snook normally head to warmer water when it turns cold so to see them landed off the jetty in these conditions is surprising A lot of Sting Rays were covering the bottom over the weekend and anglers were even catching them on lures!  When you get one of those big rays on the line, it can feel like a whale on the other end they are so tough to reel in.  

How to Fillet Black Drum Quickly

Preparing Blue Crabs and Hermit Crabs for Black Drum and Redfish

From Todd &Trey @ Juno Bait -Juno Beach

INSHORE:  Cold weather should help to push some pompano into the Loxahatchee River and Hobe Sound Flats.  Look for pompano to skip up behind the boat and be ready to throw Doc's Goof jigs in the vicinity.  The wintertime sheepshead and black drum are filling in around local bridges, boat docks, and deep holes.  Fresh shrimp is the best for them right now. Snook fishing is tough with the cold weathe.  Locally it sounds like or snook have faired well, and should really start biting well as the weather warms.  

SURF/PIER; The pompano bite was good early in the week, but slowed when the water got dirty again.  Key to the surf fishing has been water clarity.  When its good, the fishing is good!  Hopefully it straightens out a bit this weekend and we could see great action for pompano, spanish mackerel, and bluefish.  

DUO IKAKKO - ON THE FLATS

Learn How To Catch Pompano Instead Of Just Feeding Them

                                    
Surf Fishing for Pompano on Jan 20 and 21 at 
Bass Pro Shops in Port St Lucie with 
                       Paul Sperco
The Jan 20 time is 11:30am & 3:30 pm and Jan 21 start time is 2 PM. The location will be in front of the aquarium and I would plan on coming early as this is usually the most popular seminar we do all year at the store. Tackle, techniques, locations, baits, and even recipes will all be covered .

                                   

Scouting Around Palm Beach/Martin County Area

INSHORE:

 At the Lake Worth Inlet and along the beaches in the Palm Beach area there have been tarpon, permit and jack crevalle. Using light tackle, they are hitting shrimp and small live baits.

North of the Lake Worth Pier, from Kreusler to Phipps Ocean Park, there has been a good pompano bite with fish up to four pounds being caught on Doc’s Goofy Jigs and live sand fleas.

LAKE OKEECHOBEE:

 Fishing for largemouth bass has been a bit tough recently with the cool weather, but anglers are still catching a few using live shiners.

The speckled perch bite, however, has been fantastic.

For both, the Monkey Box area has been a recent hot spot.

LAKE OSBORNE:

 Fishing for sunshine bass and speckled perch should pick up with the cold weather in the lake and adjacent canals. Live shad, shiners and Missouri minnows will be best 

report courtesy of Palm Beach Post

Sebastian Inlet Report

THE BITE IS SLOW

Winds are blowing out of the Northwest at 9 mph, gusting to 11 and there is a moderate chop on the water.  A cold front is predicted to move through central Florida late this afternoon bringing higher winds and seas.  NOAA has a small craft advisory in effect from 4:00 p.m. today through 4:00 p.m. Thursday.

There isn’t a lot to report, the bite is slow.  Waves breaking over the jetties have kept many anglers at home.  We usually have a good bite going on at this time of year, especially with the winter species which include Sheepshead, Mackerel, Pompano, Permit, Black Drum, Reds and Flounder.

Our photo today,  Mike Ricciardi landed these nice Pompano off the north jetty.

Scouting Around Sebastian Inlet Area

This morning winds are blowing out of the South-Southwest at 13 mph, gusting to 19 and the water is choppy.  Showers are likely this afternoon and thunderstorms are possible ahead of a cold front that is predicted to move through late this afternoon and tonight.  NOAA has a small craft advisory in effect through Saturday afternoon.

The bite remains on the slow side from the north jetty although anglers fishing the flats have been successful with Speckled Trout using swimming and topwater plugs.  Streamers and bait tail jigs are effective as well as live shrimp and bait fish.  We received an update from Mike Ricciardi of Vero Beach who fished the north jetty yesterday afternoon.  Black Drum were few and far between although a couple of early morning regulars managed to land a couple.  Mike landed one slot Black Drum using dead shrimp.  Eight or nine Pompano were landed on the ocean side for anglers using small live shrimp.  Mike landed two using a standard pompano rig.  Small Blues and Whiting were in the mix too.  Thanks Mike!

From The Crew @ Whites Tackle - Ft Pierce / Stuart

Inshore the trout and red bite has been good to the north around Harbor Branch soft baits and live shrimp have produced well. The pompano bite has been good in the inlet and off J.C Park on the incoming tide. The south jetty in Ft. Pierce has had a few snook, jacks and bluefish around spoons have been the bait of choice. 

biggest speckled trout EVER caught on video (33")

Garlic Parm Baked Flounder-How to cook and prepare

Jigging for Permit and Jetty Monsters - Fishing

From Capt. Charlie @ Fishing Center - Ft Pierce

2018 has started off with winter moving in and cooling things down quite a bit.  Wind, rain and cold have made the first part of January a real challenge to get out and enjoy the fishing.  Water temperatures have dipped into the fifties and it will take a few sunny days to warm things up a bit.  You can expect lots of wind this month along with the normal weekly cold front moving through the Treasure Coast.  Watch the weather and plan your adventures carefully.

Sheepshead is always the best bite in this kind of weather.  They don't mind the colder water and there are lots of them in the river to keep anglers busy.  Bridges, docks and channel edges are favorite areas to fish for sheepshead, drum, and snapper.  The nighttime snook bite has been good around the bridges and jetties.  Look for the Spanish mackerel and pompano bite to improve around the area.  Trout, snook and redfish will be on the grass flats when the sun is high to warm up.                      

Black drum and croakers should be moving into the river now that things are cooled down.  January is always a good month to enjoy the fishing!

Winter weather is a good time to work on reels, tackle and boats.  We get a lot of windy days and this is the perfect time to get your equipment in good working order for the coming spring fishing.  Don't forget to check out the safety equipment on the boat.  It's an important part of fishing and boating.  Dress in layers this time of year.  Temperature swings can be go from the fifties into the eighties in a few hours and layering can keep you comfortable out there.  Have fun and stay safe!

Beach Fishing With Paul Sperco Palm Beach/Martin County Area

                                                 

Off-colored water was back in play today and hopefully with some west and northwest wind forecast for Friday night and Saturday our surf will clean up. I received a couple of calls on Wednesday night about a great pompano bite that occured in the Jupiter area during the day on Wednesday and after looking at a few of our local beaches like Normandy, Middle Cove, Tiger Shores, and Stuart beaches and finding the water brown, my son Randy and I headed to Hobe Sound to fish the Bridge Road beach. The water here was a touch better than the beaches to the north but the powder blue conditions that were experienced on Wednesday were gone. We set up at a spot on the northern end of the beach and managed to put some fish in the cooler using EZ Flea Fishbites and clam strips. Whiting, croaker, catfish, and the surprise catch of the morning, a nice seatrout, all bent our rods. Ron Robinson, another local surf regular, fished just to the north of us and hooked an unknown fish that almost spooled him and came unbuttoned when the hook straightened out. A couple fishing just to the south of us had non-stop action with bluefish as they targeted that species with cut bait. The pompano did not show in our area of the beach and the fisherman who were further south in Jupiter did not find that large body of fish that bit on Wednesday. That's a normal occurence for those of us who search out the pompano, " here today -gone tomorrow " is a normal battle cry. As I repeatedly remind everyone, the beauty of fishing our local beaches is the variety of fish that inhabit our local waters and if you put the time in you will bend a rod. Good luck this weekend and catch em up.

Don't forget that I will be doing two days of seminars next Saturday and Sunday at Bass Pro Shops in Port St Lucie. The subject is Surf Fishing for Pompano. The times are 3:30 PM on Saturday the 20th and 2:00 PM on Sunday the 21st. I will be discussing techniques, tackle, bait, locations, and other areas to help you put a pompano or two in the cooler. Other wintertime species will be covered and all of this information along with some great recipes will be included in the free handout. Hope to see you there.

Sebastian Inlet Report

                                                   

We have a foggy morning at the inlet but it should burn off by 10:00 a.m.  Winds are blowing out of the Southwest at 1 mph, gusting to 3 and the water is churned up.  NOAA is calling for small craft to exercise caution for seas, especially near inlets.

We received an interesting report from Mike Ricciardi of Vero Beach.  Mike fished the north jetty Tuesday afternoon and reported hundreds of undersized Permit hitting.  He said that it was refreshing having a hit every time his line touched the water even if they had to be returned.  Mike ended up landing one slot Pompano and three decent sized Whiting.  He reported quite a few small Blues in the 10” – 15” range came over the rails but not much in the way of table fare.  

Our angler of the day is Jonathan Reese.  Jonathan landed this good sized Sheepshead and Mangrove Snapper on the south side of the inlet.

Park Info:  The Sebastian Inlet State Park will be holding a surf fishing class on Saturday, January 13th from 1:00 – 3:15 p.m.  The class is designed to introduce anglers to the basics of surf fishing.  Discussions center on the equipment needed, rod and reel selection, standard pompano rig, baits and more.  Bring a pen/pencil and something to write on, meet at the Fishing Museum on the south side of the Park.

FOUND THEM!!- WADE FISHING/TIPS AND TRICKS

Jiggin' Jerry, BIG! Sheepshead Nov. in to Dec. 2017

Jiggin' Jerry, Baiting for Winter Sheepshead 2018

Turning a Huddleston Into a Saltwater Lure

COLD FRONT Snook Fishing

Seminar Time

Come see David Hartwell of Big Dave's Land Based Lessons "How To Get Tight" and Pompano Rich Vidulich!  with the Stuart Rod and Reel Club at the QUALITY INN on US1 in Stuart across from FLANAGANS. Thursday 1/11/18 7pm..They'll be discussing Pompano, Sheepshead and Black Drum fishing. They will be sharing a lot of solid info so don't miss it! Its going to be a great time.

Sebastian Inlet Report

We have an overcast day at the inlet.  Winds are blowing out of the North-Northeast at 4 mph, gusting to 5 and there is a moderate chop on the water.  Showers are forecasted for today and we could see possible thunderstorms this afternoon.  NOAA has a small craft advisory in effect through late Wednesday night.

This morning the bite has been slow from the north jetty.  A couple of Black Drum were landed in the early morning hours along with some Catfish and small Blues.  Tommy Turowski at the Sebastian Inlet Bait and Tackle Shop reported the weekend bite was fair for Sheepshead, Reds, Black Drum and Pompano and that good sized Trout were running in the inlet, in the 3 – 5 lb. range.  Mike Ricciardi of Vero Beach confirmed the Friday afternoon Trout bite, as he was leaving he saw an angler fishing the inlet side with three real nice fish that were landed on a lure.  Mike also reported that several Pompano were landed on sand fleas, a couple of Sheepshead and four or five Black Drum came over the rails during his time on the jetty.  

Park Info:  The Sebastian Inlet State Park will be holding a surf fishing class on Saturday, January 13th from 1:00 – 3:15 p.m.  The class is designed to introduce anglers to the basics of surf fishing.  Discussions center on the equipment needed, rod and reel selection, standard pompano rig, baits and more.  Bring a pen/pencil and something to write on, meet at the Fishing Museum on the south side of the Park.

Beach Fishing With Paul Sperco Palm Beach/Martin County Area

I am preparing material to put into the handouts for my upcoming seminars and wanted to focus on some of the fishing that we often seem to lose sight of in the upcoming months. The star of the show along our local beaches is definitely the pompano in the winter months, but do not forget about the other species that will still be around all winter. At the present time I am a recreational angler like 90 per cent of most of the surf fishing public. My main focus at this time of year is to search out the pompano, and I know most of you share in that quest. I sometimes forget about my main reason for fishing the beaches, and that's to bend a rod and have some fun. " PompanoMania" as I call it, will do that to you. Whether its the challenge of finding this fish because of its elusive nature due to water color, or a temporary dip in water temperature that will send it looking for the 65 to 72 degree range that it prefers, they will definitely not leave our beaches for a long-term duration. According to NOAA, the average winter water temperature in Jensen Beach is 73.4 degrees in January and 73.2 degrees in February. The beauty of living along our stretch of the Treasure Coast is the ability to target something other than Pompano on the days when we have a brief cool down or slight water discoloration. What's wrong with stopping into the Snook Nook during those times, buying a package of finger mullet along with a CP Rig or a Fish Finder to catch bluefish and jacks; or getting a couple dozen shrimp, a package of Fishbites and some whiting and croaker rigs to catch a Hutchinson Island Fish Fry? We will definitely have more cold fronts this winter and our conditions will not always support a great pompano day, but don't let a temporary pompano shutdown keep you from enjoying the local resource that's hard to beat along the entire coast of Florida. Jacks, ladyfish, whiting, croaker, bluefish, blue runners, and spanish mackerel always bring a smile to my face when I hook one and although some of these species are catch-and-release, something pulling on the other end of the rod is the main reason I fish the beach. So don't regretfully tell your son, daughter, neice, nephew, grandson or grandaughter they have not hooked a pompano - they really don't see it that way. Good luck and catch em up.

Cold Front Snook Fishing

From Todd &Trey @ Juno Bait -Juno Beach

INSHORE:  Not much to write about on the inshore fishing side of this things this week; thanks largely to poor weather conditions for the first part of the week.  Cold weather could really help fire up the inshore flats around Muyon Island and Hobe Sound.  This weather could push in pompano, ladyfish, jacks, and maybe even a few triple tail.  Some sheepshead are being caught around area bridges.  Snook fishing was tough this week with cold weather.

                           

SURF/PIER:  Extremely poor water clarity (looks a lot like chocolate milk right now) has surf fishing slowed to a crawl this week.   As soon as it clears things should really go off.  Expect a good number of Spanish Mackerel, bluefish, and pompano to be around when water conditions improve.  Could see some triple tail around the Juno Beach Pier as well. 

Sebastian Inlet Report

                           
We have another frigid day at the inlet but it looks like temperatures will start warming up over the weekend and by Monday we will see low 70’s.  We have winds blowing out of the Northwest at 10 mph, gusting to 15 and there is a moderate chop on the water.  NOAA has a small craft advisory in effect through this afternoon.  Conditions will calm down a little tomorrow but pick back up on Sunday, giving us choppy conditions for boaters over the weekend.

Anglers are starting to file out onto the north jetty again and Tommy Turowski at the Sebastian Inlet Bait and Tackle Shop reports big Reds and Sheepshead were biting yesterday afternoon.  A few Snook were landed on jigs as well.  Now that conditions are settling down, look for the bite to pick up even more for Sheepshead.  Fishing with small crabs, sand fleas, clams and shrimp around structures such as docks and bridge pilings will produce results.  Historically, a cold snap like this one will get those Flounder moving as well.  Blues should start making an appearance although we haven’t seen many so far.  A good variety of species should start making appearances as the weather begins to cooperate.  Get out and try your luck!

Our first angler of the day is Tung Pham of Orlando.  Tung made it over to the inlet and fished the south beach.  Tung landed the 26.5” slot Red and the huge 21” Black Margate in the surf.  

Our other angler is Brad Fawcett of Toledo, OH.  Six days ago our anglers were fishing in shirt sleeves!  Brad fished the north jetty on December 29th when he landed the 29” C/R Snook in our photo.  Brad landed the Snook using shrimp around 3:00 p.m.  The fish was released unharmed right after the photo.  

From David Ronald Hartwell @ Big Dave's Land Based Lessons. How To Get Tight

We may have covered this before but I feel it bears repeating. When most folks fish with lures, they rarely consider how the fish they were targeting was hooked. It all boils down to types of strikes, a predation strike and a reaction strike. Understanding the differences between these types of attacks can help you improve your catch rate with lures of all types.
By definition, a predation strike is what happens when the fish has actually tried to eat your lure. This means that you successfully fooled the fish into thinking your lure was actually a prey item. A predation strike is most often made obvious by the fact that your lure has either mostly or completely been engulfed by the fish. Fish like snook or trout are famous for utterly inhaling lures. When your lure is deep inside the fish's mouth, its hard to deny that it was truly trying to eat it.
A reaction strike is what happens when you have either triggered a fishes aggression or curiosity. An aggressive reaction strike is hard to miss. These are hard, often savage strikes leading to excited squeals of joy from the angler. A reaction strike stemming from simple curiosity is often far more subtle. Barely a light tap on the line or unmistakable heaviness on the retrieve when there should be none. Reaction strikes are often signified by the fish being hooked on the lips or even just outside the mouth.
Lures such as swimming plugs or top water poppers in bright, flashy and unnatural colors are designed to achieve a reaction strike. Soft plastic shrimp, jerk baits and suspending twitch baits or buck tails in natural colors are designed to imitate natural prey items.
Generally, when the fishing is tough such as when the water is clear and calm, you'll want to choose natural colors to trigger a predation strike. When fish are in stained or rough water, flashy or noisy lures often prove to be the better choice to trigger a reaction strike.
Tight lines friends!

Beach Fishing With Paul Sperco Palm Beach/Martin County Area

Happy New Year to everyone and I hope the surf fishing that we had today, January continues as we head into 2018. Fish were caught all up and down Hutchinson Island today as the conditions of a calm surf and good color water went along the entire beach from St Lucie Inlet to Ft Pierce. I spoke with local surf regular, Barry Richards who fished at Stuart Beach, who landed pompano and whiting at that location. Pompano, bluefish, jacks, and whiting were also landed by friends of mine at Tiger Shores. I fished at Middle Cove today and was lucky enough to put a nice limit catch of pompano in the cooler. My son Randy met me later in the morning and he ended up with 5 nice pompano. We also had some whiting, jacks, and blue runners. EZ Flea Fishbites accounted for ten of the eleven pompano. Fishbites, natural sand fleas, and clam strips produced strikes from the other species. Another local surf regular, Don Brooks, fished just north of us on the beach, and although the bite was not quite as productive as he experienced last Sunday, Don still had some consistent action. The most excitement of the day was provided by a large hammerhead shark that ate a pompano as we tried to get it into the beach; after that we saw him chasing a school of jacks in the calm surf. My wife Deb lost another pompano to a spinner shark who went airborne after he nailed it. The wind and weather is about to take a turn for the worst as northeast winds are forecast to start blowing at speeds up to 30 knots tonight. The forecasted shift to the northwest should make the conditions fishable again by Thursday or Friday. Once we get past the front coming in this week, the great early winter action should continue. The nice fact about this fishing is that it is not confined to one or two beach locations. These fish are spread out along all of our Martin and St Lucie County beach accesses. 

As far as local seminars are concerned ,I will be doing a seminar on Surf Fishing for Pompano on Jan 20 and 21 at Bass Pro Shops in Port St Lucie. The Jan 20 time is 330 pm and Jan 21 start time is 2 PM. The location will be in front of the aquarium and I would plan on coming early as this is usually the most popular seminar we do all year at the store. Tackle, techniques, locations, baits, and even recipes will all be covered . If you have any questions please feel free to call the store at 772-785-7600.

From Capt. Charlie @ Fishing Center - Ft Pierce

In past several years, January has traditionally been a cold month around the Treasure Coast. Hopefully, 2018 will show us another mild winter and you won’t have to worry about the water temperatures as much this year. Fishing in deeper water will provide you with better results on most days. Working your lures and baits much slower will also give you a better chance at success. Fish tend to become lethargic in cold water and are slow in moving to strike at lures. Finding water that is a couple degrees warmer than the surrounding area can also give you an edge on finding fish. Water temperatures have been mild so far. We had great results last year on fishing deep sand holes on the flats that were being warmed by the sun. We will certainly be doing that again this year.

January is typically a windy month and it will continue the tradition if recent weather gives you an insight to the coming month. You might enjoy one or two days a week that is calmer, but expect it to be windy most days. Using the right ramps can make your day a little easier in dealing with the weather. There are many ramps around the area that allow you to launch depending on wind direction. The river can be rough some days, but you can still fish most days if you plan your trips carefully. It is a great month to fish in spite of weather conditions that might not be to your liking.
                                                      
Bridges will continue to produce sheepshead, black drum, croakers, sand perch and bluefish. Most of the anglers on the catwalks prefer live or frozen shrimp for these fish. The inlet and turning basin will be full of bluefish, jacks and mackerel this month. Live or dead bait on a jig head will give you plenty of action along with silver spoons or shiny lures. Around seawalls, channel edges or deeper structure you can find grouper for catch and release action in January. Snook action around the jetties and bridges will be active mostly at night for anglers using feather jigs, Terror Eyz and live bait. Snook closed on December 15th, so it will be catch and release for them. 

Redfish can be found around docks and sitting on the flats on warm, sunny days. The new 2 ¾” DOA shrimp, Terror Eyz or CAL jerk baits work great for wintertime fishing. We had fantastic results around mangroves for redfish last year. CAL paddle tails in the 411 color were a hit with the reds. Docks will be loaded with sheepshead in January with nice sized fish. They have moved in early this year and have been hungry! Pompano fishing will depend on water temperatures for their location, but they will be in the area throughout the winter. Surf anglers will be targeting these fish on days when the beach is fishable. Flounder should be found around the jetties on the beach side and on sand flats around the inlet. If you can find warmer water on the flats, you will most likely find trout feeding in those areas. Last year, we were rewarded many days as the sun would warm up a patch of water and get the fish actively feeding. Trout fishing in 2017 rewarded us with many big fish in the 25” to 30” range. CAL jerk baits and Deadly Combos were very successful on the trout, and 2018 should prove to be another good year. Ladyfish and jacks will be all over the river for fun action for the little ones.

January Tips: Dress for the weather. We might get one or two days each week that might be warmer, but most days will be on the cooler side. There can be a 30 degree swing in temperature on some days. Dressing in layers can keep you comfortable throughout the day in January. Once you become cold, it's hard to warm back up again. Keep yourself comfortable and enjoy some good fishing in January. Stay warm and safe and enjoy the winter!

GIANT Speckled Trout- Indian River Lagoon Flats Fishing