Scouting Around Palm Beach And Martin County

Inshore

In the St. Lucie and Indian Rivers, there have been good numbers of snook caught recently. Using live mullet or live croakers, which can be found at the Snook Nook, against the seawalls, anglers have been catching plenty of slot-size fish with a few over-slot monsters mixed in.

On the flats, especially in the Indian River up towards Fort Pierce, anglers have been catching quite a few sea trout with a few 'gator-size' fish in the mix. Though shrimp on a jig head is working, anglers using artificials that imitate shrimp or small bait fish are also producing bites. DOA shrimp with a popping cork and twitch baits are excellent options.

At the bridges spanning the St. Lucie and Indian Rivers there's still good action on black drum and sheepshead. Live shrimp on a jig head or live fiddler crabs, which are available at the Snook Nook, are working well.

In addition to snook, there have been some big jack crevalle hanging around the seawalls.

In the Loxahatchee River there has been good action on snook. Anglers using topwater plugs like a Zara Spook or Yo-Zuri Hydro Pencil and working them along the seawall in the early morning and just before sunset are having excellent luck.

There have also been good numbers of jack crevalle, as well as a few bluefish, caught in the Loxahatchee recently.

In the Intracoastal Waterway, in the area around marker 42 (or Tiger Wood's house), they have been getting a few ladyfish the past week.

Along the beaches in Jupiter from the pier north, anglers have been catching pompano. They are being taken on sand fleas and Fishbites in sand flea, shrimp and crab flavor. They are hitting both sand fleas and Fishbites separately, but most anglers are using them in conjunction. Also, if you're getting stripped again and again by the spinner sharks that are still in the area, don't get mad, get moving to another area.

Lake Okeechobee

The bass bite has picked back up after a bit of slow down. With the full moon coming up on Sunday a lot of the fish are spawning back up in the beds. Soft plastics are working well for anglers working behind the grasslines from Buckhead Ridge over to the Harney Pond area. There has also been a good bite around isolated stick ups pitching Senkos in black and blue or junebug colors. 

Though the crappie bite continues its slowdown, there are still fish being caught in the Kissimmee River. Anglers drifting minnows in eight to 10 feet are having good luck.

The bluegill bite has come up, but it's been mostly guys in airboats and duck boats that can get into the shallow areas (around 2 feet deep) that have been able to get them. Observation Shoal from the Monkey Box over to Uncle Joe's have been hot spots.

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From Todd, Trey & Nick @ Juno Bait -Juno Beach

 INSHORE-  Snook fishing continues to improve as the weather warms.  A mild front this weekend may slow them down just a bit, but overall look for it to be the best bet inshore.  Starting to see more and more springtime mullet pushing around inshore, and the snook are definitely starting to key in on them.  Look for seawalls with good current flow and ambush spots to be the best areas for the snook.  Mixed in with the snook should be some big jacks, and maybe a tarpon or two.  The Hobe S\und Flats are still holding a nice mixed bag variety of fish.  Live shrimp, gold spoons, or Gulp! baits are good choices up that way.  With rough ocean forecast for the weekend don't be surprised to see some pompano get pushed inshore.  ​

SURF/PIER-  The spring Pompano run kicked off in full effect last weekend into the early part of the week.  Good numbers of pompano, most being very good size, have been being caught from Singer Island up to Jupiter Island.  Best section of beach has bounced around from day to day, but even the bad spots continue to produce a few bites.  The usual baits (sandfleas, clams, FishBItes, FishGum) are doing the trick on the pompano.  On the Juno Beach pier the pomps are biting Doc's Goofy Jigs very well early in the morning and late in the afternoon.  Bright color Goofy Jigs seem to be producing the best.  Spanish Mackerel have been biting white crappie jigs well at the pier.  Still a scattering of Bluefish around.  Good number of Blacktip sharks around as well.  The bad news is the weather is not looking very conducive to surf fishing this weekend.   

From Whites Tackle - Ft Pierce / Stuart / Vero Beach

 Snook fishing at the inlets has been good as well, on live bait during the day, and on jigs and live bait at night on outgoing tide. the bridges in Fort Pierce have also been productive on live bait at night. Fort Pierce Inlet has also been good for Pompano and Spanish Mackerel lately, and Jaycee Park has remained one of the better Pompano spots around. There are rumors of large schools of Pompano moving north, so lets hope that bears out. Inshore, there are still a good number of quality Snook around, as well as reasonable numbers of Seatrout, both taking soft plastics and live bait. Redfish numbers are still a bit low, but some are still being caught in the shallows around shorelines on soft plastics.

Scouting Around Palm Beach And Martin County

Inshore

There has been an excellent snook bite at the Stuart Causeway. Lots of slot-size fish are being caught. It has not been tide dependent and live baits, including croakers, pilchards and threadfins, are working better than anything else. Stuart Live Bait has been the place to get pilchards and threadfins and Snook Nook has had croakers.

At the Jensen Causeway, anglers have been netting tiny blue crabs at night and they have been working really well for snook there. 

Snook Nook has been getting plenty of live fiddler crabs recently which, combined with a jig head, have been working well for black drum, sheepshead and even snook at the area bridges.

There has been a fantastic sheepshead bite going on at the Boynton Inlet the past few days by anglers fishing off the wall of the south jetty. Crabs, oysters and large barnacles fished during the outgoing tide has been working best.

At the Lantana Bridge, anglers using cut, frozen shrimp have been catching sand perch and large croakers. There were some Spanish mackerel and ladyfish being caught on small X-Rap lures in shad color patterns during the late afternoon into the post dusk hours. Using either a live croaker or sand perch fished on bottom with a 6/0 circle hook and 50-pound leader has been producing big over slot snook for catch and release anglers.

Lake Okeechobee

The bass bite has been good with live shiners still working better than artificial baits. If you are planning on going with an artificial Senkos in dark colors and flippin' creature-style baits are working well as is throwing flukes first thing in the morning. Hot spots remain the Eagle Bay and Tin House Cove areas.

Though the spec bite is starting to slow down with the warmer weather, they are still being caught in the deeper areas in the river. Minnows and jigs are both working.

As the spec bite has been slowing with the warmer weather, the bluegill and cichlid bite has been picking up. 

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Beach Fishing With Paul Sperco Palm Beach/Martin County Area

 

I am hoping that the pompano bite I had this afternoon in the rain is an indicator for the fishing we can expect after all of the easterly wind and building surf subsides later next week . I took a look at the Jensen Webcam and checked on Jensen Beach Surf check for sea conditions and water temperature and was pleasantly surprised. If you have not taken a look at the Jensen Beach Surf check , take a look before you head up to fish our local beaches. After you log on to that site the Kona Beach Cafe page will appear and click on Jensen Beach Buoy . You can then access current wave heights , surface water temperature , and bottom water temperature. I took a ride up north towards the Fort Pierce Inlet and had a great pompano bite that turned on around noon. I ended up with 20 nice pompano up to 3.5 pounds and would have had another 10 to 15 if the sharks were not a problem. I ended up fishing only 2 poles so I could get to the poles, tighten the drag, and reel as fast as I could to try to keep the hooked pompano away from the spinners and blacktips. When I dropped my fish off at New England Seafood this afternoon they were the only pompano in the market and that kind of sums up the slow and inconsistent pompano bite we have had this winter. When you go to the beach to fish for pompano in the spring , you kind of expect to put some in the cooler, not hope to. I hope this was the kick off to our spring run. White Crab Fishbites were on fire today followed by EZ Flea, and Yellow Crab . I hope we can all get back at it toward the end of the work week and everyone is bending a rod with some nice pompano. Good luck this week and catch em up.

Scouting Around Palm Beach And Martin County

 Inshore

With the winds as strong as they have been the past week, even the St. Lucie and Indian Rivers are a bit churned up.

This has made the fishing a little tougher, but there are still plenty to catch.

There are snook and some nice-sized jack crevalle being caught on the east sides of the St. Lucie and Indian Rivers for anglers working the docks, seawalls and bridges. Live croaker, which the Snook Nook has been having, and threadfins have been working well.

From the bridges there have been black drum and a few scattered pompano caught using shrimp on a jig head. 

The pompano bite that had been so red hot on the Sailfish Flats has backed way off with the churned up water.

Anglers at the Lake Worth Pier are reporting that there has been an fantastic jack crevalle bite recently. Squid and Rapala X-rap lures have been working best for catching the hard-fighting fish.

Working the channel edges in the Intracoastal Waterway from Boynton Beach up to the Lake Worth Bridge, anglers are catching a few bluefish and some small jack crevalle using trolled yellow bullet jigs.

At the Lantana Bridge anglers have been catching sand perch, croakers and sheepshead using cut shrimp. There have also been a few ladyfish and bluefish caught around the bridge using cut sardines and one-ounce spoons.

Fresh Water

The spec bite is still really good. It's been best using jigs, but in the river minnows are definitely the way to go.

The bass bite has been a little tougher the past week, but it's still good. Anglers fishing the Eagle Bay and Tin House Cove areas have been having the most luck. Working a little deeper into the grassy areas has been most effective with speed worms being best in the early morning and then switching over to flippin' creature style baits.

The fishing in the canals in and around the Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge has been excellent recently.

Capt. Bruce Cyr has been catching and releasing dozens of fish in single outings at the refuge with largemouth bass up to five pounds. His go-to lures the past week have been:

• Red/brown Strike King Football jigs with a Yamamoto Flappin' Hog bounced along the bottom.
• Berkley Bullet popper in bass fry pattern that is retrieved out from the shoreline.
• Senko worms in black/gold, salt and pepper, gold flake and red/red flake rigged either whacky or Texas style.
• report courtesy of Palm Beach Post

From Whites Tackle - Ft Pierce / Stuart / Vero Beach

 

Inshore, Sea trout catches have been good, as witnessed in the latest Backcountry Fishing Association tournament, as well as some decent Redfish catches. Finding cleaner water has been difficult, but seeking out areas with firmer bottoms and lee areas will certainly help. Paddle tail soft plastics, spoons, and other lures that create vibration definitely will help. There are also some larger Snook still around docks and occasionally on the flats. Black Drum and Sheepshead have been rewarding anglers fishing the bridges with shrimp and fiddler crabs. Fishing the inlets for Snook has been slow, but hopefully that will change with a better weather pattern. 

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Beach Fishing With Paul Sperco Palm Beach/Martin County Area

 Its Thursday evening and looking ahead to the next few days it appears as if our beach conditions are going downhill fast. At least we got a nice shot of weather last Saturday for the first day of the Indian Riverkeeper Sand Spike Shootout. Congratulations to Mike Conner and his staff for for their effort and planning as this may have been the Inaugural but I am sure this event will continue to grow and succeed in the coming years. The Indian Riverkeeper is an organization and a group that deserves support from all of us that are lucky enough to enjoy the resource we have available . Another congratulations to all of the winners of the pompano and whiting divisions . Personally, I fished Saturday in that beautiful weather and only managed a few shark offs, one throwback pompano, and a few small whiting. Conditions on Sunday were not the best with the building SE swell and wind but thats surf fishing . As far as fishing this week I managed to find four nice pompano yesterday in some great looking water up by Fort Pierce and had a 20 minute fight with a big permit before pulling the hook in the first trough . White Crab Fishbites produced the permit bite and that scent continues to be my top bait for hooking permit. EZ Flea caught the pompano and I am happy to report, I only had one shark off. Looking back at my log from last year the spring pompano bite was on the last week of February and first week of March and only got better after that . Lets hope we see some of that great fishing when we get back to the beach next week.

From Todd, Trey & Nick @ Juno Bait -Juno Beach

 INSHORE-  Snook fishing remains pretty good for those putting the time in.  The bridge bite has been good at night.  The smaller shrimp jig bite is being replaced by the flairhawk jig; a sure sign the snook are getting more active as they are becoming more receptive to the bigger baits.  The snook are feeding around boat docks during the day in the Loxahatchee River, with live mullet being the top choice.  Look for walls and docks with good current to be the top spots for the snook.  The big  jacks are starting to cruise inshore a little bit.  A few scattered tarpon reports continue to come out of the Loxahatchee River as well.  

SURF/PIER-  The Juno Beach Pier was a little better this week.  Still a good number of Spanish Mackerel around, with the 1/8oz white crappie jig being the lure of choice.  Pompano were also biting a little better off the pier as well this week.  Doc's goofy jig in bright colors (green, pink, and orange) remains the way to go for the pompano.  Sandfleas, Clams, FishGum, and FishBItes will work on the pompano for those looking to use bait. Bluefish action remains pretty good at night.  Spinner/blacktip sharks are here in good numbers right now...time to get after them if that's your thing! 

Scouting Around Palm Beach And Martin County

 

Inshore

Anglers working the pilings and fenders along the Jensen and Stuart causeways as well as at Indian Riverside Park are reporting catching snook, black drum and sheepshead. Shrimp on a jighead or freeline shrimp have been working.

Like last week, the Sailfish Flats is still the hot spot for pompano.

At the Juno Pier, there have been reports of Spanish mackerel, some bluefish and spinner sharks moving through.

Though it's not full 'spring fishing' yet it's getting closer in the Loxahatchee River and the Intracoastal Waterway in the Jupiter area. With the water warming up, now can be an excellent time to target snook, according to Pete Schulz at Fishing Headquarters in Jupiter. Using live shrimp or lures in the early mornings, anglers should focus their efforts around the docks and mangroves. In addition to snook, there is plenty of fun bycatch as well including jack crevalle and ladyfish.

The Intracoastal Waterway around Boynton Beach and Lantana has been a bit murky the past week with the all of the south winds. This has slowed the fishing way down, even around the bridges.

Lake Okeechobee

Though live shiners are still working for bass, Senko worms in all black may be more effective right now. Working them along the inside wall from Buckhead Ridge down to Horse Island has been effective as most of the fish are staying pretty tight in that area because they're still bedding and haven't moved out yet. The same strategy applies using poppin frogs. Also remember, we are on the backside of the full moon so the fish are a bit lethargic right now. What does that mean? It means don't rush your retrieve.

Though the spec bite has backed off a bit since the full moon, it's still really good. At night minnows are working best, especially in the river. During the day jigs have been best, especially "cocaine" jigs.

Fishing Lake Osbourne the last week has been excellent. There has been good action for largemouth, sunshine and peacock bass using live shiners or shad. The key has been working the heavy cover, docks, culvert pipes and deep holes.

post courtesy of Palm Beach Post

From Whites Tackle - Ft Pierce / Stuart / Vero Beach

 

With a front coming thru, things are likely to change up a bit, but there have been a few bright spots. Pompano fishing in the Vero area, particularly around South Beach, has picked up of late. The beach has been yielding Pompano to most that put in the time, not huge numbers, but enough to make it worth your while. Sand fleas, clams, and Fish Bites have all been productive. The Indian River is still producing some Seatrout along the spoil islands on soft plastics, and a few Redfish along the shorelines, particularly in the Harbor Branch area, taking soft plastics and flies. There are still quite a few larger Snook around the flats, but getting them to eat is perpetually challenging. 

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