To the angler who loves to fish the beaches, shores, jetties, bridges and piers of Florida.
Tuesday, April 25, 2023
Monday, April 24, 2023
Sunday, April 23, 2023
Beach Fishing With Paul Sperco Palm Beach/Martin County Area
Friday, April 21, 2023
Sebastian Inlet Report
“Good morning, outdoor and fishing friends! I hope everyone had a good weekend. The weather was nice, but the fishing wasn't so nice. Thanks to last week’s big winds and swells, it had churned up the ocean all along our coast considerably, making the water rough, dirty and sandy. In addition, the seaweed was bad as well, so this is going to be another short report. Not a whole lot happening around the inlet overall. There were snook and redfish caught on live mojarras, but you had to spend time and fish really hard to find them. Also, with the water being so dirty and weedy, the mojarras were tough to find. Not much else is going on except a few bluefish and jack crevalles. It was dismal. That’s all I have until the weather calms. I would like to use this opportunity to share and educate folks on the rules for fishing that are posted on the signs leading out to the north jetty. These rules are in place for safety and to ensure that everyone has a good time fishing or just visiting the jetty. When I talk to people about the rules, a lot of them say they are unaware, so I’ve listed them here for all to know. Fishing from the jetty is a privilege, and not a right, because the jetty is a navigational aid for the boaters’ safe passage through the inlet. If any of you see anything that shouldn't be, please feel free to call the north ranger station at 321-984-4852 and report it. With your help, we can do our best to keep the jetty a nice place to visit and fish. Thanks, everyone, and have a great week.” — Snookman.
1.) The jetty was built to aid boaters in navigation through the inlet and provide public access onto the deck. While using the fishing deck, please yield to boaters until they pass safely through the inlet.
2.) Throwing or casting of objects at vessels, surfers and snorkelers/divers is prohibited.
3.) The painted yellow lines on the jetty designate a safe walkway. Only anglers and their 2 fishing poles are permitted in the area between the rails and yellow lines. Please place all carts, buckets, chairs, coolers and other accessories in the center of the jetty between the yellow lines. The yellow lines are painted to create a clear pathway in the case of a medical emergency.
4.) Anglers are allowed only 2 fishing poles in use, and you must be at the terminus end of both poles.
5.) Please do not attach anything to the rails, grates or structure.
6.) No cast netting is permitted on the eastern portion of the deck.
7.) All marine life not for harvest must be returned to the water without intentional harm, and in whole condition quickly and safely.
8.) Cast netters must return unused marine life back into the water as quickly as possible. This is one of the few jetties that allows netting. Please do not abuse this privilege.
9.) No alcoholic beverages, glass containers, bicycles, scooters, skateboards, or pets other than service animals are permitted on the jetty.
10.) Jumping and diving from the deck and jetty is prohibited.
11.) No canopies or tents are allowed on the jetty. Umbrellas may be used, but cannot be attached to the railings, grates or the structure.
12.) No open flames or grilles of any kind are allowed.
13.) Please adapt fishing methods when birds are actively feeding to avoid catching or entangling them, and make every effort to release them unharmed if caught or entangled.
14.) Targeting Goliath Grouper, a protected species, is prohibited on the jetty.
15.) Exit the jetty during periods of inclement weather and storms. The seas can get rough and the jetty is a lightning strike area.
16.) No loud music, profanity or rude behavior is allowed.
17.) Failure to abide to these rules and regulations may result in the loss of fishing privileges.
Ed Killer / tcpalm South Fla. Report
Mosquito Lagoon
Capt. Jon Lulay of 2 Castaway Charters in Titusville said over the weekend, his anglers were able to record a lagoon slam — snook, speckled trout and redfish. All three are available to catch in the lagoon and surrounding waterways on live shrimp either freelined or fished under a popping cork to mimic the sound of a trout feeding.
surf
This zone's action is extremely localized so be ready to move beaches if too much seaweed or erosion. If a beach can be found that doesn't have too much of both, there have been some pompano being caught. Long casts to the sand bar are necessary. Fishbites and pieces of shrimp have been the best bait.
Sebastian Inlet
This conduit between the lagoon and the ocean has been a very good place to fish for snook right now. The outgoing tide from both jetties has been the best time to find them feeding. Redfish can be caught in the middle of the inlet during the outgoing tide. Spanish mackerel and bluefish are being caught by tossing jigs and retrieving them fast from the jetties, too.
Indian River Lagoon
Sheepshead and black drum can be caught around docks, piers, bridges and seawalls using a shrimp-tipped jig. Speckled trout can be caught with topwater plugs in 2-3 feet of water early in the morning. Big black drum are in schools in the northern lagoon and will take split blue crabs. Snook and redfish can be caught in the Thousand Island area near Cocoa Beach.
Freshwater
Bass can be caught with crank baits fished on the outside edges of beds. Wild shiners have also been very productive for bass in the 2-5 pound range. Bluegill and shellcracker fishing is best on live crickets or red worms fished from cane poles.
- report courtesy of Ed Killer is florida today's outdoors writer. Friend Ed on Facebook at Ed Killer, follow him on Twitter @tcpalmekiller or email him at ed.killer@tcpalm.com.
From Todd, Eddy & Jeff @ Juno Bait -Juno Beach
SURF/PIER- Pompano fishing remained very good both along the beach and at the Juno Beach Pier this week. From the surf it was the usual baits (Sandfleas,clams, and Fishbites) doing most of the damage. Seemed to be a little more of a morning bite going on than the past few weeks; with fish also still being caught in the afternoon as well. From the pier bait it seems to be about a 50/50 split between bait and Doc's Goofy JIgs catching the pomps. Bright colored Goofy Jigs (Pink, Green, and Orange especially) remain the best color choice. The Juno Beach Pier has also had a solid number of jacks (Including some full grown ones!) cruising through. A GT Ice Cream or old school diamond jig remain top choices for the jacks. A few snook around the pier; and that should only improve as we move into May and more summertime patters.
Friday, April 14, 2023
West Palm Beach Fishing Club--Marine Yard Sale
Saturday April 15th 8:00am-12:00pm
Each spring the West Palm Beach Fishing Club is home to a one-day marine oriented yard sale that offers great bargains for anglers and boaters.
The free event has become quite popular over the years and has developed a loyal following among those who enjoy sifting through used gear to find that one item they cannot live without! Serious buyers arrive early. The gate opens at 8 a.m. at the Fishing Club, located at 201 Fifth Street in downtown West Palm Beach (on the corner of North Flagler Drive and 5th Street). The Marine Yard Sale is of particular interest to anyone who is looking for a used fishing rod & reel or that ‘hard to find’ part for their boat. An impressive variety of used items are always up for sale including snorkeling & dive gear, downriggers, anchors, dock lines, cast nets, antique fishing lures, tackle boxes, boat fenders, coolers, live bait wells, marine electronics, boat propellers, terminal tackle, waders and more.
Proceeds from the Fishing Club’s annual Marine Yard Sale benefit the youth education and conservation efforts of the Palm Beach County Fishing Foundation, the Fishing Club’s charitable affiliate. The PBCFF conducts several youth oriented programs throughout the year including the popular Kid’s Fishing Day outreach program, a unique environmental education and fishing adventure event held each summer for underprivileged youth, and the Rod’s and Reels For Kids program which puts refurbished and new fishing tackle into the hands of needy youngsters and community youth groups.
Snook-Nook Fishing Report
Inshore Fishing Report
Snook fishing is starting to heat up in our area and it will only continue to improve as we get closer to their summer spawn. The water temperatures have been warming up which makes them more eager to feed on live baits such as pilchards and mullet. For those fishing from a boat, look for them on seawalls in the mornings and evenings as well as on docks. Docks in both the St. Lucie and Indian River have been holding fish as well as the causeway bridge fenders. They haven’t really started showing up in the inlet in numbers yet, we can expect more fish in that area towards the end of the month and going into May. A lot of Snook are still being caught at Jensen Causeway in the evenings and at night. We’ve had a good amount of shrimp flowing through on the outgoing tide which they have been feeding on. Match the hatch with a live shrimp or artificial shrimp such as a Thumper Shrimp, Monster 3x or Vudu Shrimp to give yourself a good shot at hooking up. For those wade fishing, we’ve heard solid reports from both the east and west side of the river north of the power plant. Snook, Trout and Redfish have all been in the mix. Topwater baits, DOA Cals and artificial shrimp have been the go to baits if you’re looking to head that way. If you prefer fishing with live bait, you can’t go wrong with a live shrimp on a jig head or popping cork.
There have been a few Tarpon around cruising through the channels. If you are going to target them around the causeways, try to fish the outgoing tide as there have been some crabs flowing through. Live mullet and crabs will be the best options for them. Tarpon fishing should start heating up as we get closer to the summer. If you are looking to tire your arms out, there have been a lot of big Jacks inshore cruising the seawalls. Live mullet, pilchards or a topwater will be your best options.
The Pompano bite inshore has been on the slower side over the past couple of weeks, but has begun to really pick up here as of late. Last year, we had some of our best inshore Pompano fishing in April and it is looking like we will be experiencing that again this year. Anglers have been catching them off the Jensen Causeway Mosquito bridge, the east relief bridge on the Stuart Causeway as well as in the Ft. Pierce Inlet. We have still heard about a lot of fish to the south of us that will need to come our way as they head back north.
Those fishing live shrimp around structure have found a variety of species including Flounder, Snapper, Black Drum, Sheepshead, Croaker and Bonefish.
Surf Fishing Report
March was tough on a lot of our surf anglers due to unfavorable conditions such as seaweed and wind, but luckily we’ve had some steady reports coming from the surf over the past week. You will definitely want to check the beach before setting up as there has been a good amount of seaweed, but that doesn’t mean the seaweed is going to be bad at every beach. Anglers have been putting their limits of spring Pompano in the coolers and FishBites have still been the bait of choice. The top flavors have been Powerlime Crab, Electric Chicken Crab and EZ Flea. If you are fishing multiple rods, it would be a good idea to stagger your casting distances as there have been good amounts of fish caught both in the 100yd range as well as the 50-60yd range. Don’t be afraid to go after a late afternoon Pompano bite either, historically we see a lot of spring Pompano get caught in the afternoon. The Whiting fishing has been improving for those fishing in the first trough, remember not to cast too far as you may be casting past them. Pieces of frozen shrimp as well as bloodworm and shrimp flavored FishBites should get you the bite. The Whiting and Croaker fishing is just starting to kick off and we will see more in the area over the next couple of months.
Ed Killer / tcpalm South Fla. Report
Indian River County
Inshore: Snook has been the go-to target for anglers fishing around the jetties at Sebastian Inlet and the shorelines of mangroves and spoil islands south of the 17th Street Bridge. They are taking topwater plugs, soft-sided jigs and live pilchards. Trout and jacks can also be caught south of Vero in the lagoon.
Freshwater: Bass fishing has been excellent at Headwaters Lake. Use wild shiners, spinnerbaits or 9-inch junebug worms.
St. Lucie County
Inshore: Capt. Tim Simos of GoliathGuru.com steered clients to catches of Goliath grouper from 10 pound to 300 pounds, the latter coming offshore. Simos said his anglers caught jacks, too. Other anglers have been doing very well of snook up to 42 inches. Patti Strauch of Port St. Lucie caught common, tarpon and fat snook while fishing the North Fork of the St. Lucie River north of Port St. Lucie Blvd with Capt. Greg Scherer of Bridge Tender guide service.
Surf: The rough seas the last few days have blown in too much sargassum seaweed for the beaches of Hutchinson Island to be fishable. Give it a few days to calm down and maybe the waters will clear up.
Martin County
Inshore: Snook, bull sharks, snapper, redfish and sheepshead are all being caught in the St. Lucie River on natural baits, live and dead. Snook, jacks, black drum and Spanish mackerel can be caught in the Indian River Lagoon around Hole in the Wall near the inlet and Stuart Causeway on shrimp-tipped jigs.
Lake Okeechobee
Bass fishing at the lake has been pretty good this week. Anglers are using poppers, chuggers, frogs, spinnerbaits, stick worms and wild shiners. Bass were moving off the beds following the full moon, but will be caught along the edges now. Crank baits will be a good option to use this weekend. Crappie fishing is still pretty good. Bluegill and shellcracker are biting on live crickets.
- report courtesy of Ed Killer is florida today's outdoors writer. Friend Ed on Facebook at Ed Killer, follow him on Twitter @tcpalmekiller or email him at ed.killer@tcpalm.com.
From Todd, Eddy & Jeff @ Juno Bait -Juno Beach
INSHORE- Nasty conditions kept reports down to a minimum this week. A handful of snook around (it's no fun to fish in, but the snook like the wind) for those pushing through the weather. It wasn't a great bite on the snook; more of a grind it out for a few bites. Dirty water and a lot of seaweed pushing in from offshore made it tough. As the water begins to clear up expect the snook fishing to continue.
SURF/PIER- No reports this week from the beach. Weather conditions do look good for the weekend. If the water clears up a bit (clarity and seaweed both) the pompano fishing should be good. Before it kicked up this week the pompano fishing remained good. The snook have started to show up a little bit at the Juno Beach Pier, hopefully the rough stuff didn't mess with them too much.