Beach Fishing With Paul Sperco Palm Beach/Martin County Area

Surf fishing this past weekend can best be described as just OK. We still had the the remaining swell from the storm that left the Carolinas during the week and there were still some weeds that just do not want to leave the area. I fished at Stuart Beach both Saturday and Sunday, with Saturday being the slower day of the two. I fished with Norm from the Port St Lucie Angers Club and the croaker action was a slow pick. Sunday proved to be better with the croaker, whiting, and loads of mojarra. Fishbites and frozen shrimp were the baits we used to put about 30 croaker and whiting in the cooler. It is the time of the summer when the commercial shrimp boats don't sail as the shrimp have moved to deep water far off-shore. The frozen shrimp are also hard to find, so try some clam strips to go with the Fishbites until we get past this annual shrimp shortage. My son Randy did manage to play tug-of-war with two large snook that ate live the croaker he was fishing on a live line rig. Anyone who wants to hook one of these great fighting fish should just put a smaller croaker out on a near-shore setup and be prepared to hold on. Remember, this is catch-and-release only, so return these fish to the water quickly and unharmed. I started today, Monday, at Stuart Beach and caught some nice whiting and croaker until the bite shut off after only about 45 minutes. A trip to Middle Cove was short lived, as that water was dirty and full of weeds. My final stop was in the area of Normandy beach and I put five big croaker in the cooler in a very short amount of time before the weeds made that area unfishable. We can overcome the shrimp shortage with Fishbites and clam strips, but the weeds need a current or wind shift to make all of our beach areas fishable. If you find your favorite beach loaded with weeds, start looking at some different spots and fish the ones that have the minimum amount of grass. Good luck and catch em up!