Snook-Nook Fishing Report

        Noah Young with a Snook caught on a Vudu Shrimp at the Jensen Causeway

Summertime Snook fishing has kicked off for us here on the Treasure Coast! As a reminder Snook season just closed in our area and will reopen again on September 1st. June provides us with some of the best Snook fishing of the year. Not only do we see a lot of fish caught, we see a lot of trophy sized Snook caught. If you’re looking to knock a 40” Snook off your bucket list, you’ve got a good shot at it! Please remember to handle these breeder Snook with care as they will be providing us with our Snook population for years to come. Fishing circle hooks, limiting their time out of the water along with reviving them if necessary are all crucial to a strong release of the fish. For our anglers on boats, we are starting to see some of the breeder fish being caught in the St. Lucie Inlet as well as Snook schooling up around the inlet. You can also head out the inlet and fish some of the nearshore reefs as the Snook will school up there as well. Fishing live baits such as Croakers or Pilchards will give you your best shot at the fish there. Fishing around docks and the causeway fenders will produce some fish as well. Keep in mind that on hot summer afternoons these fish will stay in areas with deeper water, shade or moving current to keep themselves cool which makes the inlet, bridges and deeper water docks all good options to fish in the afternoons. For our land based anglers, the Jensen Causeway, Ft. Pierce Inlet and beaches are all good options if you’re targeting Snook. The Jensen Causeway has been best in the evening and at night as there has been a good amount of bait that has been pushing through including shrimp, crabs and pilchards that the Snook have been keyed in on. You can free line crabs, fish a shrimp on a jig head or freelined or free line bait fish if you’re looking to fish with live bait. If you’re looking to throw artificials, artificial shrimp, paddle tails and jerkbaits have all been productive. If you’re hitting Ft. Pierce Inlet, live Croakers will be tough to beat! You can also expect to find some Snook on the beaches, white paddle tails in the mornings and evenings are great options as well as live baits. If you’re hitting the beach, it isn’t a bad idea to have a rod rigged with a sabiki in case any bait pushes through. 

Tarpon fishing has been on the rise for us as well. Fishing the causeways on outgoing tides will be the best time to target them as they have been eating the crabs that are pushing through. The majority of the reports as of late have been coming from the Jensen and Stuart causeways. You can also look to target them in the crossroads as well as in the inlet. If you want to throw artificials, the Hogy Slow Tail swimbait as well as NLBNs are great options. 

Other than Snook and Tarpon, there have been plenty of big Jacks cruising the sea walls, a few Redfish caught at Stuart Causeway, some Trout caught in the mornings on the flats north of the power plant, some Sheepshead on the channel markers and plenty of Mangrove Snapper throughout the river hanging around structure. We get some nice sized Mangroves in the river this time of year which can be fun for the whole family. To weed out some of the smaller ones, you can try fishing with smaller baitfish to get a few for dinner. 

Surf Fishing Report 

The Pompano fishing has slowed down as the majority of fish have migrated back up north. A few Pompano are still making their way to the coolers but the production has definitely slowed down and will continue to drop off until late fall. We have also been dealing with a good amount of seaweed on the beaches which will limit anglers when it is present. You will definitely want to check the beach for seaweed conditions before hauling your gear out. Anglers fishing the long rods have been able to find some Permit recently when conditions have permitted, they are a true tackle tester on the beach and will take you for a run! White Crab, Yellow Crab and EZ Flea FishBites have been the popular flavors for the Permit. The Whiting and Croaker fishing will continue to improve as we get into the summer. A good majority of them will be found right up in the first trough so you don’t want to over cast. Pieces of shrimp along with Bloodworm or shrimp flavored FishBites will get the job done. We are starting to see some Snook show up off the beaches and we will continue to see more throughout the month as they move onto the beaches for their annual spawn. If you are looking to throw artificials, white paddle tails and jerkbaits such as the Yozuri Crystal Minnow, Fingerling or Rapala Xrap in the mornings and evenings are some of the best options. As the sun gets higher, the artificial bite typically slows down and you will find more production fishing live Pilchards or Croakers. As mentioned previously, it isn’t a bad idea to have a rod rigged with a sabiki in case any bait pushes through. If you are fishing for Whiting or Croaker and catch a small one, try flipping it back out free lined and get ready for a thump! You may run into some Jacks on the beach when bait is present as well.