Learn From The Best

September , October, and November are shaping up to be busy Seminar months . Here is a list of dates and locations . September 27. - Bass Pro Shop , 2250 Gatlin Blvd , Port St Lucie 34953. 630 pm . Theme - Surf Fishing the Fall Mullet Run . This will be a mini seminar with a Questin and Answer period at the conclusion . The next three I will be teaming up with the Fishbites crew of Billy, Brett, and Liam as they will be onsite doing their “ Buy 2 bags -get a 3rd Bag free “ promotion . These are full seminars and the theme will be Surf Fishing for Pompano . I will cover tackle , baits , techniques, and some additional species that will be on your catch list in the fall and early winter . If you pre register your name will be put in a hat for a drawing for a package of all 9 of the Captain Paul Pompano Rigs that we sell and some additional free bags of Fishbites . Here are the dates and locations : October 5 - Bass Pro Shop 1880 Checkered Flag Blvd , Daytona Beach, Florida 32114 2 pm . October 12 - Bass Pro Shop 750 Bass Pro Dr NE , Palm Bay , Florida 32905 2 pm . November 12 - Bass Pro Shop 2250 SW Gatlin Blvd , Port St Lucie Florida 34953 2 pm . Handouts and a question and answer period will all be part of this venue . Fishbites will set up their area for the Buy 2 - get a 3rd bag free promotion from 12 noon to 4 pm . To register for these events and drawing please text me your name and phone number to 609 903 8243 or email the same info to dsperco@yahoo.com . Please include which seminar you will be attending .You must be present to claim your prize and the drawing will be at the conclusion of the seminar . The dates and locations are all aligned with Fishbites Shoreline Showdown Tournament Series in Melbourne and Jensen Beach . The Melbourne tournament is October 19 and the Jensen Beach event is November19th . A total purse of $ 15000 dollars per event will be given out to the winners . Make sure you pre register for the seminar and register for these great tournaments that are being put on by Fishbites . Just click on the Shoreline Showdown tournament website to enter . There’s a lot of information in this post so if you have any questions feel free to call me at 609 903 8243 . Thank you, Capt Paul

Sebastian Inlet Report with The Snookman

 

Our fishing guide, "Snookman" Wayne Landry, describes how an influx of stormwater runoff from the recent rainstorms slightly diminished the fishing action:

"The intense snook action from a week ago has cooled down quite a bit from what it was. I spent the last three days there and didn't see a whole lot being caught with the snook. They were there, but just didn't want to play. I'm believing that all the rain runoff water coming from the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) in the Indian River Lagoon was the main culprit: an excess of tannic acid-stained freshwater from the ICW.  Snook prefer clean, salty ocean water, unless they are from the ICW, and they can tolerate the difference. On the other hand, the fishing at the inlet remained rather good on the high tide periods — lots of baitfish still around too. So here we go with the action spots.

North jetty: Most of the action has been on the early and late evening incoming tides. After the water clarity improves, a strong NE swell continues to mess things up. There are a decent amount of mullet on this side, along with the greenies, so bait is plentiful. The hot action has been the Spanish mackerel for the last three days! Many have been caught on free-lined greenies and the smaller of the finger mullet. Some were caught on the small white crappie jigs, but the hot bait were the greenies. Most everyone was catching them on the beach side of the jetty, with many anglers reaching their limits of 15 per person! Most of the fish were in the 14 to 15-inch size, but I saw several fish pushing the 3 to 4-pound range. As I stated earlier, the snook bite on live shrimp has slowed, with most of the fish caught on live mullet at the surf area at the beginning of the jetty. There were very few out at the rock pile where they were before. I saw several catch-and-release redfish caught though; enough to keep anglers interested. Big jack crevalle also were out there in the mix on the live mullet. The cubera snapper bite has also dropped off, I didn't see, or hear of any all weekend. The mangrove snapper bite has abated as well, with only a handful caught that were big enough to go home. I also did see a couple of small black drum caught on the incoming tide — live shrimp. The outgoing tide has been a mess  due to the aforementioned tannic freshwater. The boaters off the tip in the cleaner water weren’t even catching fish. 

South jetty: Over here it is the same deal: Incoming tide, if you can find cleaner water, there may be snook and redfish around. Live mullet, pigs and croakers. The mangrove snapper are still around, but you have to hunt for them with the dirty water. Outgoing at the tip, the nasty tannic acid-stained fresh water has brought the action to standstill. Just a few catfish and puffers. 

T-Dock Area: Back here, same thing: river runoff has killed the fishing. It looks as dark as the Swannee River. Even on the incoming high tide it doesn't have a chance to clean up enough, so there hasn't been very many folks back here fishing, there's baitfish around, just no fish willing to play. 

Surf Area, both sides: The north side surf on the rising and falling high tide periods — early morning late evening —  has been fairly good. Look for mullet schools coming down the beach and fish them. There have been a lot of snook being caught, along with redfish and big tarpon. If you find mullet, cast net or fish them, or you can use 3 to 5-inch swim baits to attract a bite. Most of the snook have been too big to keep, but there have been slots mixed in with them. I also heard about blacktip and spinner sharks. It is that time of year for them to arrive with the influx of all the mullet coming down the beach. For those fishing shrimp, there have been pompano, black drum and whiting at the jetty. They should be a possibility along the beach as well. The south side surf has been a total washout with the big swell and all the fresh water coming out and flowing down the beach southward. There are mullet running southward along the beach, so big tarpon and quite possibly the sharks will be present, but not much else. 

That's all I have for this week's installment of the inlet happenings. Like I mentioned, the fishing is good, but has dropped off a bit from what it was. It will pick up when the water cleans up. Have a great week, everyone.”

—      Snookman.

From Todd @ Juno Bait Crew-Juno Beach

 INSHORE- Mullet reports increased inshore this week.  Not full on mullet run yet, but it does seem to be getting going.  The mullet tend to move (or at least show themselves on the surface) best during lowlight periods, at night, and/or when boat traffic is light.  When the mullet are up on top (especially if they are showering , and fish are exploding through them) it's the time to fish a topwater lure or flatline a live mullet on the edges of the school.  When they aren't as active getting a bait below the school tends to be a good way to go.  Primarily it will be snook in the mullet pods; with tarpon, jacks, sharks, and even the occasional redfish mixed in.  During the day seawalls, boat docks, and other similar ambush points (especially with current on them) tend to produce best.  Bridges will get the fish stacked up at night.  

SURF/PIER-  The beach came back to life this week as mullet began to show back up.  The pods are still on the smaller side, but they have been holding a good number of snook and tarpon.  The sharks have also been in the mullet pods (though for the most part the sharks tend to hold in the pods a little more offshore).  The mullet tend to be the easiest to find early morning and late afternoon.  Mid-day they tend to stretch out in a long line and the fish don't hold in them quite the same.  A live mullet fished on the edges, or under  the school tends to be the best way to go.  A large swimbait (8" NLBN or similar) can also one an effective choice.  The Juno Beach Pier has been good this week as well.  Still some pilchards hanging around.  Snook have been biting well at the pier, as well as the Spanish Mackerel.  Mangrove snappers were biting early in the week, though they seem to have slowed down a bit as the week went on.  

Fall Seminar Time with Capt. Paul Sperco

 

Just like the flyer says I will be at Bass Pro on the 27th to present a mini seminar and have a question and answer session about our fall mullet run that should be right around the corner . I was at Santa Lucea beach access on Sunday and watched 30 to 100 pound tarpon destroying pods of mullet up and down the beach . I got on the phone to a friend to let him know what was happening and he actually stopped short at Stuart Beach and found the same situation with the bait and the tarpon . I will talk about tackle, baits , locations , and times to target the long list of species that will attacking the mullet, pilchards, and hopefully the glass minnows that will be migrating our way . This won’t be one of my normal 2 hour seminars with handouts and no distinct end time but I will answer any and all questions you might have at the end of the forum . The pompano will certainly get some dedicated attention as that fishing should be getting better daily . I hope to see you there and if anyone has any questions please contact me at 609 903 8243 . I actually played catch and release with lots of short pompano the past couple of days so get ready for some good pompano action in the upcoming weeks . The Pink/Flesh Crab Fishbites have been getting most of the attention from the pompano and whiting so make sure you stock up on that color . I have been fishing that bait with my Pink Peppermint Pompano rig with the white and pink floats and it has been producing. The Snook Nook has both the Fishbites and the rigs so make sure you add them to your tackle . Good luck this week and catch em up

2 Days Trying to Catch this Gnarly Jetty Fish

JENSEN BEACH CAUSEWAY! ( MULLET RUN ) Snook gets REVENGE! TWICE!

40 Years of Snook Fishing In 54 Minutes (Mullet Run 2024)

Sebastian Inlet Report with The Snookman

 

The snook bite is on!

"Good morning, all my Sebastian Inlet anglers and sightseers. I hope you had a great weekend and dodged the rain showers. I need to start this report off with dismay and concern about the condition of the north jetty. People seem to forget that fishing on this jetty is a privilege, not a right. Park management can revoke this privilege if  you violate the rules and impact the jetty, marine resources, or  the safety of your fellow anglers. It is, and has been an ongoing problem on the jetty. Now that the fishing action is picking up and drawing more anglers, litter has increased exponentially. People are stuffing junk into the monofilament recycling tubes despite their being marked for monofilament only;   and there has been a blatant disregard for our marine resources: bait fish caught in the cast nets are dumped out and left on the jetty to die. Take what you need and please return the rest to the water alive and unharmed! The rules are posted by the beach warning flags. Please read them. The volume of trash  discarded all over the jetty needs to stop as well. Use the available trash cans or carry your trash home with you. This isn’t my first post about this problem. Park management can lock the north jetty gates if the team decides they have had enough; they will close and lock the gates and NOBODY will be able to fish! If everyone does their part to help keep the jetty clean and presentable, we won't get to that point. If you see someone littering or breaking the rules, say something, or call the north ranger station @ 321-984-4852, and they will send someone out to resolve the issue. Thanks everyone for your help and support! Now on to the good stuff!

The fishing at the inlet over the weekend has been on fire for a change! Lots of fish of all species were being caught throughout the entire inlet, and plenty of baitfish as well to keep them excited. So here we go with the action spots. 

North jetty: Over here there has been good action on both tides, with the incoming being the better tide as the water has been cleaner, and there is more room to fish the inside; whereas the outgoing everyone stacks up at the tip. Live shrimp on the incoming has been the bait of choice for the snook and reds. Several nice catch-and-release redfish were caught over the weekend, but the hot action was on the snook! Lots of really nice slot snook were caught over the weekend as of Friday, with Saturday being the hot day for them. In the time I was at the jetty, I witnessed about 12 to 15 slot fish landed, averaging 29 to 31 inches in size, with quite a few overs and unders returned to the water. Sunday was a tad slower, but still there were quite a few slot fish taken home. Other species I saw caught over the weekend were black drum, lots and lots of Spanish mackerel on live greenies, and nice mangrove snappers around the rocks at the tip and around the pilings. Lookdowns on live greenies at the tip. They’re also catching  some nice bluefish, and they are early. The ones I saw were in the 2 to 3-pound range, on cut bait on the beachside. On the outgoing tide at the tip, they were catching some big snook on live mullet, too big to keep, along with quite a few catch and release redfish too. But the focus was on the cubera snappers. Ever since the schools of mullet have been around the tip of the jetty, they decided they wanted to play! Several fish were caught over the weekend on live mullet fished around the rocks at the tip, with one big one that I know of that a friend of mine caught, the fish was 30 inches long! Monster cubera! Another species hanging around to play have been the big jack crevalles, they will eat anything you throw out, from live bait, cut bait to artificials. 

South jetty: The action has been hot here, especially snook. Incoming tide has been the best time to fish for them from the tip all the way back to the bridge. Live baits of any kind will bring a bite, but the croakers have been the bait of choice. Lot of small fish under the limit, quite a few over slot, but there were quite a few slot fish taken home. Redfish have been mixed in with them for that added fun factor, along with the big jack crevalle. For those fishing the incoming along the shoreline for mangrove snapper, the bite is still going on with dead or live greenies, and shrimp. Most fish I saw were 10.5 to 11 inches, with some pushing the 12 inch size. On the outgoing tide at the tip the action is all about the jacks, blue runners, black margates, some mangrove snapper, and I even saw a couple of nice pompano in one angler’s bucket! 

T-dock:  Back here the action is a bit slower, not too much going on as there aren't very many people fishing back here. But those that are here are catching small mangroves around the dock pilings on greenies, either live or dead. Also, there are lots of annoying puffers around to keep the kids entertained. The snook action has been slow, again not very many guys fishing back here due to the action being so good out on the jetties. 

Surf area, both sides: The north side has been all about the mullet running down the shoreline in the surf. Big snook, redfish, tarpon have been dominating, along with big jack crevalle — not to mention it's time for the blacktip and spinner sharks to show up with the bigger schools of mullet. The south side surf has been pretty muddied up from the SSE winds, and the leftover NE swell we had last week making things ugly. The only thing I saw and heard about were the kitty fish, puffers and bonnet head sharks. If the water does clean up, and we are getting into the fall season, and the water cools down a bit, the pompano just might show up, as I saw two nice ones caught on the south jetty over the weekend. 

So, there you go, folks. Another great report for all, and it will only get better from here as the water cools down and cleans back up. It was showing 86 along our coast this morning. Get your gear, bait, water, snacks and catch dinner or a memory. Remember, take a big bag of patience along with you because it will get crowded at times! Have fun and be safe.” — Snookman

Beach Fishing With Paul Sperco Palm Beach/Martin County Area

 

Activity is picking up along our local beaches . The permit and pompano showed today in some pretty good numbers but unfortunately when the numbers increase so do the numbers of sharks . Randy had the hot hand as he landed two of the three permit he had hooked up and I also had one on but the hook pulled right after its initial run . Another friend of ours that was just fishing south of where we set up also landed a permit . If you have never hooked one of these exciting game fish from the surf, now is the time to get up on the sand . We hooked two on rigs fished with plain Fishbites . One with Yellow Crab and the other with Pink/Flesh crab . The other two bit on EZFlea Fishbite tipped with a live sandflea . Four permit hook ups in the space of sixty minutes is some pretty good fishing . When the permit shut off I caught a keeper pompano and released three or four more . The bites picked up as we neared the high tide mark and that’s when the sharks showed up . I managed one more keeper but had to get to the position of only using two rods as the sharks were on your fish immediately. After getting bit off another six or seven times we packed it up . The only reason we stayed for that many shark offs was the hope was for this pack to back off as the pompano were sitting right in front of us and the strikes were instantaneous. We also managed to land ladyfish, whiting , and croaker . Remember these fish are coming from the north so don’t because to try some of the beaches up towards Fort Pierce and Vero . There’s plenty of mullet north of us that are on the way and look for the pompano bite to keep increasing on a daily basis . The bulk of our bites came from the 40 to 60 yard mark today . Stagger your rods as far as distance to locate the area that the permit and pompano are holding . Things are heating up so get your Fishbites, sandflea rake, the fleas were thick today, and pick a beach and give it a shot . Good luck this week and catch em up . Snook Nook is stocked up with all of the Fishbites baits so stop in and stock up .

From Todd @ Juno Bait Crew-Juno Beach

 INSHORE- Snook fishing remains good inshore.  A few trickles of finger mullet have shown up, though the biggest push of them isn't here just yet.  The early season pods are some of the best to fish, as the snook and tarpon have not completely gorged themselves yet on the easy meals.  During the day the snook will stack up around ambush points (seawalls, boat docks, etc) and let the current bring the mullet schools to them.  A night the snook will gravitate towards the bridges, again letting the current bring the bait to them.  Snook, and to a lesser extent tarpon, are super lazy and would prefer to exert as little energy as possible to chase down a meal...in other words, the current is your friend!  Live mullet are a top bait choice during the day.  Lowlight periods a topwater (Yo-Zuri Hydro Pencil or Topknock pencil) is a killer choice for the snook.   At night (especially around current in deeper water) a flair hawk style jig is a great way to go for the snook.  

SURF/PIER-  Mullet reports drastically have tapered off after our first little push of fish.  A few small pods around, but the big numbers are still up the coast a bit.  Snook fishing remains good along the beach and at the Juno Beach Pier.  Still a good amount of smaller baits around and the snook are keyed in pretty good on them, and live shrimp as well.  In addition to the snook, a good number of Spanish Mackerel have shown up at the pier to chomp up the small baits.  The Macs will no doubt bite best early in the morning and then again late in the afternoon.  Anytime you have a good number of Spanish Macs around you can no doubt have a big kingfish around as well.  Starting to hear a few more pompano reports on the beach.  Conditions look good for the pomps to bite headed into the weekend.  

Snook-Nook Fishing Report

 

With Snook season reopening Today the 1st and our annual fall mullet run, September is one of the best months to fish inshore here in our area! Our mullet run seems to be starting a bit earlier this year as we have already begun to see schools of both finger mullet and large mullet throughout the river. The run isn’t in full swing yet and it will only continue to get better as the month goes on. Fishing the mullet run can be a bit frustrating at times due to the amount of bait around, you really need to make your bait stand out to increase your chances of getting bit. If you are fishing with artificials, don’t be afraid to use bigger profiles as well as surface baits that make commotion on the surface to make your presentation stand out. Fishing your lure on the edge of the bait pods can result in more bites as well. You will have plenty of opportunities for an artificial bite throughout the day if you are able to stay with the bait pods. If you are fishing with live mullet, one of the best techniques you can try out to make your bait stand out while maintaining a natural presentation would be to use a small float on your line. The float will provide enough resistance for your bait to slow it down and give it more of an injured presentation making it a much easier target to get hit. You can also fish a bait on the bottom with a lead or even a dead bait underneath a pod of mullet as a lot of times you will see Snook cleaning up on the bottom.

The Snook fishing has remained steady as of late. There are still some fish in and around the inlet, but a lot of the Snook have begun to move away from the inlet and work their way back inshore. Fishing the causeways as well as docks and seawalls in both the St. Lucie and Indian River are good places to look for them. Fishing the seawalls with larger live mullet or top water plugs can be a blast this time of year! Fishing at night in the shadow lines at the causeways and in dock lights will present plenty of opportunities as the Snook will wait for the mullet to come into the light and ambush them. If you want to fish north of the power plant, you’ll be able to find Snook on the flats as well as up in the mangroves. Casting top waters in the morning before the sun gets high and transitioning over to soft plastics after that will be one of your most effective strategies if you’re heading up there. You may even run into some trout or redfish as well. 

Snook won’t be the only target for anglers during the mullet run, plenty of people will be out chasing Tarpon. There have been a lot of Tarpon around already and we should begin seeing even more of them as more schools of mullet push into our area. You can look to find Tarpon north of the power plant around Little Mud and Bear Point, around the causeways, in the crossroads, in the inlet, up in the North Fork as well as out on the beaches. You should be able to see them rolling or airing out on mullet. The larger live mullet will be one of your best baits to use, if you are seeing a good flush of crabs on an outgoing tide, you can switch over to crabs. You can either free line the crab or mullet or fish it with a float. There have been plenty of the big triple digit fish around so be ready for a battle! Along with the Snook and Tarpon there have been plenty of big jacks around cruising the channels and seawalls hunting down schools of mullet. 

Aside from all the mullet run excitement, Black Drum, Sheepshead, Mangrove Snapper, Triple Tail, Bonefish and Pompano have been caught. Black Drum have been caught at the Roosevelt Bridge on shrimp, chunks of crab as well as fiddler crabs. We had a pretty good Black Drum bite there last year too with some bigger fish caught. Sheepshead and Mangrove Snappers have been caught around structure such as channel markers, docks and the bridges. There have been some Triple Tail caught north of the Jensen Causeway on channel markers and crab trap buoys. Bonefish have been caught on the Sailfish flats on jigs, fly and pieces of shrimp. The east side relief bridge at the Jensen Causeway has been holding some Pompano that anglers have been catching on jigs. 

Surf Fishing Report 

Our summertime Whiting and Croaker fishing has slowed down a good bit. There are still a few to be caught in the first trough on pieces of shrimp and Fishbites, you will want to focus on fishing the incoming tide if you’re on the hunt for them. We’ve had some Pompano actually showing up on the beaches which is typically uncommon this time of year. They have been caught by those fishing the long rods 70-90yds off the beach in the deeper troughs. Capt. Paul Sperco has been catching them on the Pink/Flesh Crab Fishbites. Like the Whiting and Croakers, you will also want to focus on the incoming tide if you’re looking to catch a few. Bonefish, Palometta and a good amount of short Pompano have been caught as well from the surf. We have also had a good amount of Sandfleas on the beach too for those looking to load up for the winter. 

The beach can turn into a National Geographic like scene during the mullet run and it is truly a sight to see. Tarpon, Snook, Sharks, Jacks and a variety of other predators will be feeding on schools of mullet as they work their way down the beaches. It is always wise to check the beach before hauling all your equipment because a half a mile of distance can be the difference from a lifeless beach to that National Geographic feeding frenzy. If you are able to locate the schools of mullet you will typically find the fish. Live mullet, NLBN paddle tails and straight tails, Hogy swimbaits, Rapala X-Raps, Yozuri Crystal Minnows and spoons are all some of the top choices for those looking to get in on the surf mullet run action. 

Beach Fishing With Paul Sperco Palm Beach/Martin County Area

 

Had an opportunity today to meet Randy up on the beach for a couple of and throw the pompano rods out . All in all it was a fun couple of hours as our catch list included catch and release palometa , short pompano, numerous bonefish, and four nice keeper sized pompano that found their way to our cooler . High tide was around 4 pm today and the majority of the bites came between 130 and 330 . The other nice part of the day was the showing of the sandfleas . They came up the entire few hours we were on the beach . We fished right here in Jensen Beach and talking to a couple of friends who have fished the last couple of days the fleas have been on most of the beach accesses from Glasscock to Stuart Beach . Late afternoon is prime time to rake the fleas and now is the time to get some for the freezer for the upcoming pompano season . Pink/Flesh Crab Fishbites was the ticket this afternoon with or without a live sandflea. As far as the mullet schools that made a preliminary showing last weekend, they were nowhere to be found from Glasscock to Stuart Beach . There’s plenty of them north of us and as they move south the surf action will really heat up . All of the fish were holding 70 to 90 yards off today and the ease of reaching them with Mark Burford’s Over The Bar 13 footers was a piece of cake . Some of those bigger bonefish will certainly give you the hope that there’s a nice pompano on the other end when they hit your bait but either way they are fun to catch . Please get them released as quick as you can as they are somewhat fragile . Good fishing from the beach is coming . Good luck and catch em up .

Sebastian Inlet Report with The Snookman

 

The bite is back in time for a busy Labor Day weekend

“Good morning, all my Sebastian Inlet fishing junkies; I hope you all had a great weekend, despite the rain and humidity. Good news! The fish are biting better than they had been. I feel that the water temperatures and quality PLUS the influx of baitfish have sparked things up considerably. There are still quite a bit of mullet of all sorts of sizes around the inlet and the surf area, along with a lot of greenies and pilchards all around the north jetty. Also, in the back of the inlet the small and bigger mojarra are around the t-dock area and along the shoreline, so getting bait isn't a problem. The bait shops are starting to get some bigger shrimp for a change. I knew the day was coming when the fishing would pick up; it was just a matter of timing. There were a variety of species caught throughout the inlet on both tides, but the incoming tide was the better time to fish. The outgoing tide at first turn is clean, but the freshwater runoff from the Sebastian River that follows is murky. Here’s where the action is:

North jetty: Over here all, or MOST of the action has been on the incoming tide on both sides of the jetty. Last week (Wednesday through Friday), the snook bite on live shrimp and mojarra was outstanding! Quite a few snook were hooked, but most were broken off on the rocks and dead lines around the jetty; the resident monster goliaths ate many, but several were landed and released. Along with the snook were catch-and-release redfish. Spanish mackerel were caught on freelined greenies on the beach side of the jetty. Quite a few nice fish were caught, with several anglers getting their limits of 15 per person. Also, the mangrove snapper bite has picked up as well, but the majority of them are smaller at 10 to 10.5 inches; however, I did see a few in the 12 to 13 inch range. Another species making a showing are the mutton snapper. Many were caught on the jetty, but most are just short of the 18-inch minimum to keep. They have been biting a bit in the previous weeks, but last week and over the weekend they bit better. Cooler water temperatures and that last offshore storm blew them in from the inshore reefs, along with the baitfish schools. Also, small numbers of cubera snappers were caught on live mullet at the tip of the jetty. Those I have seen and heard about have been in the 22 to 28 inch range. Nice fish, and a bear to deal with when you hook one! The outgoing tide has been a little slower due to the fish moving out further and the water quality going down, but snook and reds have been caught, along with the snappers. Live shrimp, live mullet and live greenies have been the baits of choice. And the good news is that the action  continued through last weekend. It hasn't been as action-packed as last week, but it was still on the up and upside with everything being caught that I mentioned. 

South jetty: Over here it has been the same thing: The incoming tide was a bit wild as well, with snook, redfish, jacks and mutton and mangrove snapper playing well! Live shrimp, mojarra and small croakers for the snook and reds, small live or dead greenies and mojarra for the snappers. Just a little note about the mutton snappers I have seen caught by myself and others, they prefer dead bait over live bait. Outgoing tide at the tip of the south jetty is all about the black margates, blue runners, jacks, and the mutton and mangrove snappers. Again, over here too, most are under the legal size to go home, but several nice ones have been caught, the mangroves that is, the muttons are too small over here too. Dead and live shrimp, cut bait are the key to success over at the tip. Also there have been a few bonnethead sharks caught in the beach/surf area on all baits. 

T-Dock area: Back here the fishing hasn't really picked up much, even though the bait is all around — just not a lot of folks back here fishing. Either tide, fishing around the dock pilings they are still catching the smaller mangrove snapper on live and dead cut greenies, and also some of the small mutton snapper as well. Most of the muttons caught, though, have been in the area about 20 to 30 feet away from the dock. With all the tiny minnows around the dock there are some nice Spanish mackerel for those fishing small white or green feather jigs, and freelining live greenies. With the mullet coming into the inlet, expect some big jack crevalle to be following them. Use large silver spoons tossed out to the channel or fish the big mullet freelined on a 4-5/0 hook. The snook bite has been hit-or-miss, depending on the water quality. The incoming tide around the area has held some clean water along the shoreline east and west of the dock, and some of the guys fishing live croakers and mojarra have been catching a few, most of which have been over the 32-inch maximum to keep. The arrival of cooler water and the spawning season ending soon should wake them up and get them to bite better. You just have to be there when they decide to have a party!  

Surf area, both sides: The mullet are coming from the north surf area, down the beach. The bigger swells from last week were hampering the action, but has calmed down greatly, so look for schools of mullet in the surf. If you find some, fish it with either a medium-sized swim bait, or if you have a cast net, net some and fish them!  As autumn and the mullet run nears — and snook season opens on September 1 — it could get pretty ‘fishy’ out there with snook, reds, tarpon and sharks and the BIG jack crevalle. For those fishing the beach for the small fare, whiting and croakers are being caught on live and dead shrimp. South side surf has been  dirty  due to the outgoing water flowing south along the coast. It gets roughed up from the surf and sucked back in on the incoming tide. The day use area of the park has been producing mangroves snapper, black margates and some of the small mutton snappers, along with lots of catfish and bonnet head sharks. 

 So, there we go, my friends, a really good report for a change. I knew that when we enter this season with cleaner and a bit cooler water, AND the baitfish showing up, the fishing would improve. Please note, snook season opens up on Sunday, September 1, and closes December  15. One fish per person daily can be kept with the size limit min 28 inches to max 32 inches, with the tail pinched. Expect big crowds this holiday weekend. Try to be courteous and patient  when you visit the inlet. Please adhere to the posted rules and regulations. Fishing at the jetty is a privilege, not a right, and can be taken away at any time by the park management! Get out there, catch dinner or a memory, but above all, have fun and be safe.” — Snookman.

From Todd @ Juno Bait Crew-Juno Beach

 INSHORE-  Snook season opens Today; welcome news to anglers hopeful for some fresh snook fingers.  Overall snook fishing has been very good, with no reason to believe it will slow down into the weekend.  Mullet have started to show up inshore (not full on yet, but a decent amount), and the snook are keyed in on them big time.  During the day live mullet fished along seawalls and under boat docks is going to be the best bet for the snook.  At night live mullet are also a solid choice, with flair hawk jigs and bigger swimbaits also being good choices.  When the snook have the mullet schools pushed up on top (likely at sunrise and sunset) a topwater lure will also be a great choice.  Some midsized tarpon and jacks will also no doubt be tagging along with the mullet.  A handful of mangrove snapper reports this week inshore; but most interest this weekend will no doubt go to the snook and mullet.  

SURF/PIER-  A few early pods of mullet showed up this week, with hungry tarpon in tow.  Snook, and a few bruiser jacks, have been mixed in with the mullet as well.  It is not full on mullet run yet, so it takes a lot of looking to find them.  Setting up  in one single spot is not the ideal strategy for the early pods; instead be ready to move (sometimes a long way!) with them.  A live mullet fished on the edge of the school, or kept slightly separated from the school will help improve the mullet run lottery odds.  Fishing a mullet under the school can also be a good way to go.  The small early season pods are often some of the best to fish, and can provide some of the best shots at getting big tarpon bites.  The Juno Beach Pier snook bite remains good, and will no doubt draw a lot of interest this weekend with season opening.  Pilchards are still hanging around the pier, and will provide a good bait choice for the snook.  If the mullet pods get pushed in around the pier the snook will likely switch over to them.  Spanish Mackerel action has been very good around the pier as well.  Freelining small live pilchards is a good way to go fort the Macs, as is a white crappie jig.  A few early season pompano around on the beach, and east winds in the forecast for the weekend could help push in a few more.