Beach Fishing With Paul Sperco Palm Beach/Martin County Area

 

“ Quality not quantity” describes my pompano fishing on the beach today . Randy and I only managed 2 pompano today but when they hit the scale at New England Seafood the total hit almost 8 lbs . Along with the couple of pompano we put a bunch of big whiting in the cooler and released some jacks and blue runners . The commercial mackerel fleet was evident from St Lucie Inlet to the area above the Jensen traffic circle on A1A all morning . The pompano have a tendency to mix with the mackerel as they move up and down the beach and it was great to see a lot of life along our local beaches . The water color was outstanding from mid South Hutchinson Island south and I did receive a few texts about pompano and whiting being caught at areas in south Martin County . EZFlea Fishbites caught everything today and all of my rods ended up having that as the only bait on the hooks . The west wind pattern is forecast to be with us through the weekend so let’s hope the pompano school up and provide some great action . The whiting were caught on our long rods anywhere from 60 to 90 yards off of the beach . The two pompano bites were indicative of how big pompano take a bait and pull drag . Boy they were fun to catch. We have a couple fronts on the way for New Years weekend and the temperatures are going to get chilly so get the sweatshirts out and get to the beach and have some fun . Pompano , mackerel, bluefish, blue runners, whiting, and jacks should be on everyone’s catch list . EZFLEA Fishbites should be in your tackle bag as that bait was on fire today . I wish everyone a safe, happy, and healthy New Year . Good luck and catch em up

We are fast approaching 2024 , where did this year go ? As far as our winter pompano run is concerned the conditions, high winds over extended periods of time and dirty water have been the norm. We always get the December fronts with the winds from the north and east and these factors cool the waters north of us and move the pompano, mackerel, and bluefish into our area . This year it just seems the conditions go on for days and makes for difficult surf fishing conditions. The current forecast is for a wind shift to the west and northwest right through Sunday . It should knock the swell down and allow us to get back to wetting some lines . The good news is there have been some pretty good pompano catches in the river this week so there are fish in the area . It’s a full moon tonight and along with the decreasing swell Sputnik sinkers from the Sinker Guy should be included in your tackle bag to make sure those baits are holding on the bottom. I fished the river on Christmas morning and I think the entire population of ladyfish on the Treasure Coast set up residence at the Jensen Causeway . The first couple you hook are fun to catch but it seemed for every 5 I caught I sacrificed a Goofy jig to ladyfish break offs . I only saw one pompano taken from the folks fishing by me . I’m looking forward to getting back on the beach in the next couple of days and hopefully bending a rod with some pompano and whiting . I hope everyone is having a great holiday season and please be safe as we approach 2024 . On a seminar note I will be the speaker at the Port St Lucie Anglers Club meeting on Thursday January 11 at 7 pm at the Port St Lucie Botanical Gardens . The address is 2410 SE Westmoreland Blvd , Port St Lucie . The meeting and seminar is open to the public and starts at 7 pm . The focus of the seminar will be providing some tactics , baits , and techniques on catching pompano from the beach, bridge, and in the river from a boat . This past season has produced a bunch of information and tips on tackle , baits, and techniques that were successful and definitely different from past seasons . I look forward to sharing the info with you and hope to see you there . Have a wonderful New Year and I hope to see you on the 11th . Just one more quick reminder to get your tickets for George Poveromo’s Saltwater Sportsman Magazine National Seminar Series on February 10 at the Civic Center in Port St Lucie . I will have some information and literature to give out about this great event on the 11th .

Fishbites VS Fishgum: What's the difference?

From Todd, Eddy & Jeff @ Juno Bait -Juno Beach

 

                                                               Thumper Shrimp

INSHORE-  A bit slow inshore this week.  Snook season is closed, but catch and release fishing for them remains pretty good.  We have continued the trend towards smaller baits (DOA Shrimp, Thumper Shrimp, etc) around the bridges at night.  Outgoing tide tends to be the best bet, but some bridges will work well on incoming depending on water conditions.  The real key is you need the water to be moving for best results.  Larger jigs and swimbaits are still going to get bites, they just tend to be fewer and far between.  Starting to see more and more sheepshead around inshore, along with a few black drum.  Boat docks, seawalls, and bridges with barnacle growth and some current will be the best bet for the sheepshead.  Live shrimp is the bait of choice.  A basic fish finder jig or light jighead is the best rig.  

SURF/PIER-  Fairly slow fishing along the beach and at the pier again this week.  A few scattered pompano reports coming in.  For the most part the pier has been more fishable than the beach; but the extra dedicated have picked a few from the sand.  Bright colored Doc's Goofy Jigs (Green was the color choice this week) continue to produce the best results from the pier on the pomps.  A few Spanish Mackerel around the pier.  Crappie jig remain the lure of choice for the Macs.  Bluefish have also been around as well. 

Ed Killer / tcpalm South Fla. Report

 

Florida fishing: Pompano, jacks, ladyfish because wind and waves will keep fishing inshore

Spotted seatrout harvest re-opens Jan. 1

Another weekend of crummy weather just in time for Santa's visit.

Don't expect to find any dolphin or snapper under the tree this Christmas, because few if any anglers will be able to reach the currents where they roam. Spanish mackerel will probably get a break, too, outside the reefs.

Fishing the lagoon in the wind will be the ticket. Drifting with jigs on Sailfish Flats, between Wabasso and Sebastian Inlet, or south of the sewer plant in Fort Pierce may yield a few pompano, jacks and ladyfish during the last hour of incoming and first hour of outgoing tide.

Florida fishing regulations and fishing season opening and closing dates:

• Spotted seatrout: Harvest re-opens Jan. 1, 2024.
• Snook: Harvest closed Dec. 15. Catch and release until Feb. 1, 2024.
• Flounder: Harvest re-opened Dec. 1. Size limit: 14 inches. Bag limit: 5 fish per person.
• Gag grouper: Harvest closed for both recreational and commercial 
• sectors on Oct. 23. Re-opens May 1, 2024.
• Lobster: Regular season opened Aug. 6-March 31, 2024. No egg bearers, 3-inch minimum carapace length. Lobster stamp required.
• Alligator: Hunt season opened Aug. 15-Nov. 1. Permits required.
• Grouper: Harvest opened May 1. Includes gag grouper, red grouper, black grouper, scamp, yellowfin grouper, yellowmouth, coney, graysby, red hind and rock hind. Harvest closes Jan. 1.
• Cobia: New bag and size limits for state waters. Bag limit: Two fish per vessel. Size limit: 36 inches fork length.
• Redfish: Harvest of redfish has been banned in the Indian River Lagoon and Mosquito Lagoon since Sept. 1, 2022. FWC will reevaluate in the future.

• Indian River County

• Inshore: Sebastian Inlet's north jetty is closed to anglers because of bad weather for the last two weeks. No word on when it will re-open to anglers. Pompano have been in the lagoon running along the Intracoastal Waterway channel. They can be caught from the low bridge on Wabasso Causeway or by drifting in other parts of the lagoon all the way through Vero Beach and bouncing Doc's Goofy Jigs along the bottom.

  Freshwater: Speckled perch fishing is really good right now at Blue Cypress Lake, in the C-54 Canal and at Headwaters. Use 1/32-ounce jigs or 1/16-ounce jigs with or without live minnows to get bites.

• St. Lucie County

• Inshore: Pitch to the end of docks along St. Lucie Village or along Indian River Drive with a live shrimp on a naked jig head to catch a variety of targets: flounder, sheepshead, black drum, croaker and more. Snook, spotted seatrout and redfish, jacks, ladyfish and bluefish will also be caught.

  Surf: Rip currents will be common along all Atlantic Coast beaches in Florida. It may be difficult to fish until after Christmas, when the weather changes.

• Martin County

  Inshore: Pompano have been roaming around the Indian River Lagoon between the channel and the flats to the east south of Stuart Causeway. Boats have reported skipping some as they move through the areas. Other anglers are picking some up using jigs and drifting with the tide.

  Lake Okeechobee

  It's been all about the speckled perch fishing the last two weeks and that should continue. Fish the Kissimmee River, King's Bar, Harney Pond Canal, Pearce Canal and the entrance to Taylor Creek for a good chance to catch specks on small jigs and live minnows.

  report courtesy of Ed Killer  TCPalm's outdoors writer. 

Sebastian Inlet Report with The Snookman

 

The fishing was lousy but the north jetty has reopened to the public following last weekend's wind and wave monstrosity

“Good morning, fishing fans. This report will be brief and dismal, thanks to the poor weather that lingered throughout the week and into the weekend. High winds and monster waves of 10 to 12 feet shut down access to the north jetty on Thursday. Likewise, access to the south jetty was impossible with the waves washing over the rocks and jetty deck It was very dangerous on both sides. Also, the west side of the north park was closed as well due to the high water level, making fishing from the rock shoreline treacherous. The only place to fish safely was the back of the inlet along the shoreline and the T-dock area.

About the only fish I heard being caught were some nice sheepshead, spot tail pins on sandfleas and cut shrimp.  Prior to the weather moving in and ruining water visibility, it was clean enough on the south jetty: During the early morning incoming tide there were small snook, spotted weakfish and sheepshead caught, but that was Wednesday. Until this weather settles down and the water clears, don't expect too much in a good bite anywhere. With that said, I hope everyone has a great week! Also, I wish you a very Merry Christmas and a safe holiday! It's almost here!” — Snookman.

Sebastian Inlet Report with The Snookman

  Fishing started off really well with all sorts of different species caught. The north side of the inlet was again the hot spot,  but the rest of the inlet was kind of dirty and slow. However, the north side was clean until Thursday when the winds switched to SSE, picked up and made it a dirty mess again! Snook, black drum, pompano, whiting, redfish, bluefish, jack crevalle, blue runners and even some sea trout (which are still closed until January 1.) were caught. Weather conditions will deteriorate by Wednesday, with the NNE winds clocking at 20 to 30 mph, and the seas picking up to around 8 to 11 feet. Fighting fish from the jetties could be treacherous, so be careful.

North jetty: Fish are biting on the high tides here. That sandbar on the north side of the jetty  keeps it shallow on the low tide phases. Black drum, pompano redfish and whiting have been caught by anglers using live sandfleas or fresh-cut shrimp on the bottom. Inside the jetty, there have been a few nice keeper snook caught on big live shrimp. Snook season closes Friday (December 15) at midnight. Also, there have been redfish and black drum in the mix, as well. The outgoing tide at the tip has been producing two to three-pound bluefish on silver spoons and cut baits. Blue runners and jack crevalle are in the mix, along with cubera snappers for those fishing big live baits at the base of the rocks at the tip. 

South jetty: Early last week when the water was clearer,  snook and redfish were playing for those fishing live pins and pigs or big live shrimp. Most of the snook were too small to keep, but there were some slots mixed in. Outgoing tide at the tip is still all about the black margates, spot tail pins, blue runners and a few bluefish. Cut baits will do the trick for those species. The flounder bite over here has not produced yet, due to the roughed up and dirty water — plus everyone is still fishing for snook before the season closes on Friday (see above). 

T-dock area: Fish remains slow here. Dirty water and the lack of baitfish have kept the predator fish away. Incoming tide along the shoreline is still producing snook, and catch-and-release redfish for those using live baits. Spanish mackerel and bluefish are possible for those tossing silver spoons and small jigs to the channel area. The flounder bites have largely been from anglers fishing from boats. I did see a few caught over the weekend in the two to three-pound range. Live finger mullet or mud minnows are the baits to use, but they will bite live shrimp as well — as will every other fish in the water.  

Surf area, both sides:  The north surf just north of the jetty was producing decent numbers of pompano, whiting and black drum early last week before the winds and surf picked up, suppressing the action. While the water was calmer and clearer, Spanish mackerel and bluefish were around for those tossing silver spoons into the surf. 

The south surf has been a dirty mess for the most part; it never cleaned up regardless of the tidal direction. So, there wasn’t much happening in this area except for catfish, stingrays and a few sharks to keep things interesting. 

That's it for today. As I stated earlier, fish before Thursday as that's when messy conditions are expected to arrive and remain through the weekend. Stay safe and  be well, everyone." -  Cheers. Snookman.

Snook-Nook Tent Sale "12-16-23"

 

We are still on for the tent sale on Saturday from 8am-6pm! We have taken extra precautions to prepare for whatever Mother Nature wants to send our way and to ensure we will be able to offer the best experience possible!

We have increased the tent size and will have siding walls to keep the rain out and to block the wind so everyone will stay nice and dry underneath the tent. We will have plenty of deals to last all day long, if you aren’t able to make it by 6pm, we will be honoring all deals and promos inside the shop until 8pm. For the free line promos, if you purchase a reel that qualifies for free line, you will be given a ticket that will allow you to come back anytime until January 1st if you don’t want to wait to have your reel spooled.

Parking can be a bit hectic especially right when the sale starts, we have included a parking map with this post to highlight a few alternative locations if the shop parking lot is full. There will be additional parking available directly across the street from the shop in front of the house with the screened in front porch (3596 NE Indian River Dr). There are public parallel spots available alongside NE Pineapple Ave, you can park there and take a short walk down NE Mango Terrace to lead you right to the shop if all other parking is full. Parking in downtown Jensen and at the Jensen Causeway have also been options we’ve seen used in years past. As mentioned earlier, we will have plenty of deals to last the full day and parking typically gets easier as the day goes on.

We’re looking forward to still having a great event and are looking forward to seeing everyone there!

What Do You Give An Angler For The Holidays ""MORE FISHING""