Saturday, November 27, 2021

From Todd & Eddy @ Juno Bait -Juno Beach


 INSHORE-  Snook fishing remains strong inshore.  As the fronts start to roll through the snook pattern begins to change, but fishing for them remains strong if you dial it in.  The Flair Hawk bite remains good  for the snook; with the shrimp jig bite starting to fire off (More hand poured shrimp jigs in-stock very soon I promise!).  Outgoing tide remains best, but incoming has also had a decent bite in dirty water situations.  The bite during the day for the snook has started to slow, but still some around in the Loxhatchee River and ICW feeding on the resident mullet.  At night those fish are keyed in on shrimp under docklights.  Winter time shrimp season is upon us on inshore wise.  Sheepshead, black drum, ladyfish, and others are starting to take up the usual winter time homes inshore.  Good numbers of jacks around Palm Beach Inlet over the past week. 

SURF/PIER-  Looks like we could be in for some great surf and pier action this weekend.  Ocean should start to calm down, and if the water clears up a little it should be lights out.  Under similar conditions early in the week the Spanish Mackerel and Bluefish bit really good.  The Bobber Rig w/ a Clark Spoon has been a top lure choice.  Got-cha lures have also been a great choice for the Macs.   Pompano fishing has been solid, and should only improve over the weekend.  Fishbites and FishGum have been great bait choices for the pomps; while a Doc's Goofy Jig will be the best lure choice.  Sharks remain around in big numbers for those looking for somebody to pull on something bigger along the beach.  Should be a lot of action along the beach this weekend...get after it!

Wednesday, November 24, 2021

From Whites Tackle - Ft Pierce -Vero Beach/ Stuart / Jupiter

Sea trout numbers are picking up with the cooler temps. Spoil islands and mangrove shorelines have provided the best activity, mostly on soft plastics. Redfish numbers are also rising, with good numbers showing up, and clearer water making sight fishing an easier bet as well. The Harbor Branch area has been as productive as any. Snook fishing in the inlets has remained good, with some Bluefish and Spanish Mackerel added during the day, and some Tarpon at night. The Fort Pierce and Stuart bridges have also been good, as has the turning basin, mostly on jigs 

Sebastian Inlet Report

Despite recent bad weather, bite still on for Spanish mackerel, bluefish, jacks and others

Our fishing guide, "Snookman" Wayne Landry provided the following report:

Due to the bad weather we had the last four days the north jetty was totally blown out with high winds and huge surf and dirty water. Before the weather moved in beginning of last week, I saw still lots of really nice Spanish mackerel being caught on small live baits, spoons. Most were in the 2-3 pound range and some to 4 pounds.  I also some bluefish are still being caught along with small jack crevalles. The other species I saw being caught were black drum, sheepshead, whiting and a couple nice pompano too, all on live and dead shrimp.

If you get lucky, you might hook up with some of the really nice cubera snappers that are hanging around the rocks and pilings. I saw two caught in the 6-8 pound range and had word of one lost at the net that was about 15 pounds they said. They will bite live bait and cutbait. The finger mullet that were around the jetty are kind of scarce now, but we will wait and see what the winds have blown in; they may show up again. When this weather and water calm back down and clean up, we should be back to some great fishing like we had before it blew in. The snook bite has been a hit-and-miss thing with most snook being too small to keep. As the water cools down, snook have a tendency to "shut down", but the juveniles like to come out and play to keep it interesting. The water temps are showing 69-71 degrees along the coast.

The South jetty has been totally blown out from the weather, but prior to that, was "alright," with small snook and jacks being caught along the rocky shoreline and small snappers being had at the tip of the jetty. 

The surf area is a total washout until things calm back down and clean up. Expect to find catfish, whiting, and bluefish around for the time being. 

At the T-dock area, there's not much to report with the dirty water.

The weather is supposed to be mild but a bit breezy this week, so find yourself a calm spot and go out, get some sun and see what bites!! Tight lines everyone and have a Great Thanksgiving and be safe!






















































































































Despite recent bad weather, bite still on for Spanish mackerel, bluefish, jacks and others

 

Our fishing guide, "Snookman" Wayne Landry provided the following report:

Due to the bad weather we had the last four days the north jetty was totally blown out with high winds and huge surf and dirty water. Before the weather moved in beginning of last week, I saw still lots of really nice Spanish mackerel being caught on small live baits, spoons. Most were in the 2-3 pound range and some to 4 pounds.  I also some bluefish are still being caught along with small jack crevalles. The other species I saw being caught were black drum, sheepshead, whiting and a couple nice pompano too, all on live and dead shrimp.

If you get lucky, you might hook up with some of the really nice cubera snappers that are hanging around the rocks and pilings. I saw two caught in the 6-8 pound range and had word of one lost at the net that was about 15 pounds they said. They will bite live bait and cutbait. The finger mullet that were around the jetty are kind of scarce now, but we will wait and see what the winds have blown in; they may show up again. When this weather and water calm back down and clean up, we should be back to some great fishing like we had before it blew in. The snook bite has been a hit-and-miss thing with most snook being too small to keep. As the water cools down, snook have a tendency to "shut down", but the juveniles like to come out and play to keep it interesting. The water temps are showing 69-71 degrees along the coast.

The South jetty has been totally blown out from the weather, but prior to that, was "alright," with small snook and jacks being caught along the rocky shoreline and small snappers being had at the tip of the jetty. 

The surf area is a total washout until things calm back down and clean up. Expect to find catfish, whiting, and bluefish around for the time being. 

At the T-dock area, there's not much to report with the dirty water.

The weather is supposed to be mild but a bit breezy this week, so find yourself a calm spot and go out, get some sun and see what bites!! Tight lines everyone and have a Great Thanksgiving and be safe!

This Rig Is Like A Sheepshead Cheat Code!

Tuesday, November 16, 2021

THIS Is The MASSIVE PIER FISH I've Been Looking For!

Ed Killer South Fla. Report

Every year, when Veteran's Day approaches, a biological phenomenon takes shape along the nearshore waters of the coastline of the Space Coast.

It's the next phase of the great fall migration. After the last few schools of mullet push south, the bluefish, Spanish mackerel and pompano begin to arrive. For many anglers, the transition from the summertime catches of snook and tarpon to these three signify the best of seasons. It means fall is really here, perhaps even more so than the bigger waves, shorter days, or cooler, dryer air.

Closures in effect:  Anglers are reminded about three fishery harvest closures currently underway.

  • Flounder: No harvest of flounder is allowed in Florida between Oct. 15 and Nov. 30. Harvest re-opens Dec. 1.
  • Spotted seatrout: No harvest of trout is allowed in the waters of eastern central Florida, from Volusia to Palm Beach counties, from Nov. 1 though Dec. 31. Harvest will re-open Jan. 1, 2022.
  • Hogfish: No harvest of hogfish is allowed in the waters of the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Florida from Nov. 1 through April 30, 2022. Harvest re-opens May 1, 2022.


Mosquito Lagoon

Capt. Jon Lulay of 2 Castaway Charters in Titusville said it has been a really productive week for his anglers. In the lagoon, Lulay said the wind has dirtied the water on most days so he has been using popping corks to catch trout, some smaller redfish and black drum. Lulay said try putting a live shrimp or a Berkley Gulp! tail on a 1/8-ounce jig head under the cork. If planning to fish Haulover Canal where there have been some larger reds and black drum, use blue crab. 

Surf

Rough surf has kept anglers off Space Coast beaches recently, but that should change quickly. Pompano, whiting and croaker can be caught in the trough between the shorebreak and the first sand bar. Use Fishbites, Fish Gum or sand fleas. Blanched fleas work better because they stay on the hook longer and don't wash out after one cast, but this is the time of year to find them in the shorebreak coming in. Longer casts may produce Spanish mackerel, bluefish and blue runner catches. Use jigs or chrome plugs to get bites.

Sebastian Inlet

The big waves caused poor fishing for several days at the inlet, but that should be changing. Look for Spanish mackerel, bluefish, jacks and blue runners to be coming over the rails during the last half of the incoming tides. Use pilchards, diamond jigs, any kind of jigs with flashy mylar or chrome will catch them. Also, reel fast. The faster one reels, the more likely it is a mackerel or blue will pile onto it. Pompano can be caught from the surf. Snapper can be caught under the catwalks or at the T Dock. Remember to throw any flounder caught back until Dec. 1.

Indian River Lagoon

Some of the best fishing has been on live pogies or croakers at the jetties of Port Canaveral, Lulay said. He steered John Jackson and Phil Cross to a series of nice catches and releases of big redfish and snook. The big redfish and big snook are still staging there spawning. In the lagoons, black drum and redfish can be caught around the mangrove islands near Cocoa Beach. Speckled trout can be caught on live shrimp. 

Freshwater

Try using spinnerbaits or topwater frogs early in the mornings along the edges to catch bedding bass. In some canals and lakes, tilapia are bedding along the edges, too. For anglers who have bowfishing equipment, the tilapia make good targets. With the cooler longer nights, crappie fishing should start getting good on live minnows.

story courtesy Ed Killer is TCPalm's outdoors writer. 

Beach Fishing With Paul Sperco Palm Beach/Martin County Area

 The weekend surf fishing along our local beaches was a bit inconsistent as some mackerel, bluefish, lady fish, and pompano were all caught but just not in the numbers where you could say it was good. There was a a pretty decent pompano bite at Tiger Shores Friday afternoon . I spoke with Chris Battjer from Palm City and he put 4 nice pompano in his cooler in a quick trip up to that area and said other anglers along that stretch of beach did the same . There were a number of throwbacks also but they did bite on the rising tide. I fished with Randy today and we were hoping for some similar action but we picked the wrong way as there were some pompano caught on the north end of Hutchinson Island , up by Fort Pierce Inlet . I packed up my gear around 9 am after we did not have any action at all and took a ride to the north. I was lucky enough to put 4 pompano in the cooler and released a small permit during the course of the day but I was definitely late to the party. As I always ay, the most consistent factor of catching pompano from the beach is the inconsistency of doing it on a day to day basis. The good news is some of the pompano that are showing are 2 to 4 pound fish and three of mine today were beautiful fish . The bait today that caught all of my pompano and the permit on was EZ Flea Fishbites. I caught a double header of big ladyfish and a couple of jacks on the yellow crab but the EZ Flea was the bait today. Looking ahead to this week the current National Weather Service forecast is not looking too good for wind and surf conditions with seas to be 3 to 5 and occasionally 6 feet all week. Lets hope they are wrong.

Tuesday, November 9, 2021

How to catch snook with dead bait

Sebastian Inlet Report

Jun Policarpio caught this 24”-inch, 3 -pound spanish mackerel  using live greenies. He caught  six  mackerel that day, with two being 24 inches in length. 

Our fabulous fishing guide, “Snookman” Wayne Landry, reports that fishing was not happening at the North Jetty, thanks to the wicked cool front that rolled in last weekend and brought torrential rains, high winds, HUGE surf, and very dirty water. Only a brave few dared to face the waves crashing over the jetty.

“Prior to the arrival of the front, plenty of mullet were coming down the beach and around the jetty and into the inlet,” Wayne says. “But there were no predators with them. They were just lazing around.”

However, a few fingerlings lured some nice Spanish mackerel into the morning tides on the ocean side of the jetty, Wayne adds.

“Prior to the deteriorating conditions, most of the fish were being caught on small pilchards that were everywhere around the jetty, and most of the Spanish were averaging three to four pounds. Quite a few I saw caught were pushing the five-pound range,” he says. “I haven't seen fish of this size for some time. Also, I saw a few nice pompano caught last week on dead shrimp before the weather moved in and the water was pretty clean.”

Some were catching mangrove snapper — some being keepers — along with a couple of nice cubera snappers caught on live and cut baits.

“Large redfish were being caught by the boaters out front, but very few, not like it was a couple weeks ago,” Wayne says. “The snook seem to be absent from class again with no reports of any being caught. The water temp as of this morning is a cool 73 degrees. I'm hoping that as the roughed-up seas clean up that the pompano, black drum and sheepshead might show up.” 

Wayne says anglers are catching small snook, redfish and mangrove snapper on small, live bait at the South Jetty, while the action at the T-dock area is limited to a few small snappers and an occasional jack crevalle or catfish.

Surf area is a total washout! Before the weather and huge surf some Snook were still being caught if you knew where to fish a good trough and the water was clean. Also, I heard of some Whiting being caught as well.

“That's all I have,” Wayne says. “I wished I had better news, but the weather always plays a hand in our fishing. It’s supposed to be a nice week but still a little windy. Go out and find a calm spot, throw out a line, see what comes up, and enjoy the mild temps. Tight lines everyone!”

How To Catch GIANT Snook Ft. Capt. Ryan Nitz

Thursday, November 4, 2021

Beach Fishing With Paul Sperco Palm Beach/Martin County Area

 The weekend pompano results left a lot to be desired as far as putting any numbers in the cooler . The swell was still with us on Sunday morning and I headed north towards Fort Pierce while my son Randy opted to try the south end of Hutchinson Island . As it turned out Randy picked the right end as he had 3 nice keepers in the cooler before I even had a bite . His friend Chris Battjer also put a nice fish in his cooler and Chris was set up right next to him . Unfortunately the south end had a lot more surfers than surf anglers and they packed it in around 10 am as it became impossible to fish due to the numbers of surfers in the water . I finally put a nice 2 pounder in the cooler and added one more keeper by noon time . Randy showed up by me and had the right formula as he caught his fourth keeper 10 minutes after he set up . Those two pompano were the only ones I ended up with and other than a couple of small jacks and a ladyfish there were no other bites . EZ Flea Fishbites was the scent and color of the day for both Randy and myself . I ended up working Monday and today but after talking to some of my friends that fished the action was super slow at most locations . Looking ahead the next few days should be fishable but the weekend is not looking good with the wind shifting to the north and the surf really building . Maybe the north wind will push some pompano down our way. Let’s hope the activity starts to pick up and we all bend some rods .

From Whites Tackle - Ft Pierce -Vero Beach/ Stuart / Jupiter

Pompano fishing along the surf continues to improve, with decent catches coming to those putting the time in. Sand fleas, clams, and Fish Bites all seem to be working well. Bluefish, Spanish Mackerel, Jack Crevalle, and Snook are also being caught along the shore, taking spoons, soft plastics, and even topwater plugs under calmer conditions. The inlets have been a bit difficult for Snook, due mostly to clearer than usual water. Due to this, live bait has been more productive. 

Scouting Around Palm Beach And Martin County

 Inshore 

The snook action remains steady as more fish are moving farther back up into the St. Lucie River. Though they are mostly being caught along the docks and seawalls, they are not quite as voracious as they have been. This is likely due to an abundance of food and slowly cooling water temperatures. Shrimp presentations, versus live mullet or pilchards, may start being the call in the near future.

At the Stuart Causeway, and under some docks, there are some slot-size redfish being caught. Shrimp on jig head, cut bait, or live finger mullet on a knocker rig are all working.

Stone crab season is under way and there will be tripletail hanging around the traps, waiting to be caught.

Along the beaches in Martin and St. Lucie Counties, the numbers of pompano, Spanish mackerel and bluefish continue to increase.

The early mornings and evenings have been good times to target Spanish mackerel using Gulfstream Flash Minnows, Got-Cha plugs and spoons.

From South Palm Beach down to Delray Beach, surf anglers are reporting catching jack crevalle, small bluefish, ladyfish, snook, barracuda and croaker.

Cut shrimp and sand fleas are working for the croaker, cut or live mullet for the bluefish and throwing a one and a half to three-ounce spoon, like a Gator or Crocodile, in the early mornings is producing snook, ladyfish and jack crevalle.

At the Boynton Inlet, snook and mangrove snapper have been hitting live baits, including mullet and pilchards, around both jetties.

A few slot-size redfish were taken on cut mullet at the southern end of Ocean Inlet Park.

The Intracoastal Waterway has been packed with mullet, pilchards and greenies the past week.

Tearing into those schools have been snook, tarpon, redfish, ladyfish, bluefish, jack crevalle, mangrove snapper and a few flounder.

Fishing around structures, docks, channel edges and around the spoil islands has been producing good action.

A good sheepshead bite was reported off the Snook Island pier and around both the Lake Worth and Lantana Bridges using clams, crabs and live shrimp fished alongside the pilings.

Lake Okeechobee

The bass bite has been OK the past few days.

Fishing in Cody's Cove and using live shiners for bait, Capt. Larry Wright had his clients into 20 fish early Wednesday. He commented that they had 60 bites, but that the bass seem more intent on killing the shiners than actually eating them. He said the bite has been relatively consistent and that he had his clients into 50 fish with a couple in the seven-pound range on Sunday.

Though working the outside grassline is still the main area to target, the fish are starting move back into the grass more and more. 

While swim jigs in pearl white can work early for bass, anything artificial has been tough. Capt. Larry joked that you could "flip for miles without catching anything."

The spec bite has remained steady, but after the strong cool front predicted to move through this weekend there could be a nice uptick.

Report courtsey of The Palm Beach Post