Post by catch22 on Jul 29, 2004 5:27:23 GMT -5
As August nears, expect much of the same weather pattern (HOT!). So far this year, the majority of the rain has remained west of I-95 with easterly breezes keeping most storms inland. But, don’t be lulled into a false sense of security. Keep your eyes peeled if fishing in the afternoon. The last thing you want is to be caught in the open water when the lightning starts flying. The inland waters by 10 a.m. have reached 89 degrees. If you are targeting trout, get out there early (5-8 a.m.) with your favorite top water plugs in shallow water. After that, back off to 3-5 ft. with soft rubber or live shrimp. Most of my charters this year have departed at 8:00 a.m. with an average of 4-5 people fishing, so I have been staying away from the shallow grass for the most part. I found out many years ago that fishing a large group in shallow water after 8:00 a.m. doesn’t produce good results. Trout can spook easily and having 5 people casting is like setting off hand grenades. I did have two early departures last month with small groups and did really well with trout over 8 lbs., jacks and ladyfish.
The water quality inshore has been excellent. There are areas where you can see bottom that could not be seen for many years due to the Lake Okeechobee discharges. We have been fortunate the last several months with few or no discharges, but that could change any minute unless the pressure is kept on the politicians to “keep our water clean”. As you go north in the Indian River, between Nettles Island and the Power Plant, visibility is unbelievable! Remember the area in the general vicinity of marker 209 is a slow current zone located right between St. Lucie & Fort Pierce Inlets. The reason is that as you near the power lines, the current changes direction (you are now picking up the Ft. Pierce Inlet current flow). Once you’re north or south of the area, you’ll notice some more water flow.
Structure fishing so far this summer has been great, keeping up with last year. Last week I noticed a decline in baitfish (glass minnows) around bridges and markers. Diving birds and porpoises have been a rare sight. This is not uncommon. Each year you will have slow periods lasting a week or so. I’m sure things will pick up shortly. My charters up to July 20th pr produced lots of flounder, tripletail, snapper and black drum and made fishing very exciting. A combination of live shrimp (if you can find them), frozen shrimp, or a DOA or Glo & Root Beer lures have worked best. We did release two tripletail over 20 lbs. in July, both caught on a pearl DOA CAL lure. In the deeper water (around bridges) several snook to 12 lbs. and Goliath grouper under 10 lbs. are inhaling ½ oz. jigging sthingys. It’s amazing how many goliaths are inshore. This year alone we have released over 80. (REMEMBER, both species are catch and release). Capt. Joe Massaro from Stuart designed some sthingys about a year ago and let me tell you, “they work well”. You will want to stock up on that tackle for the winter mackerel and pompano bite as well. The sthingys hold up great to the toothy Spanish macs. You can contact Capt. Joe at 772-286-0702.
Moving to the St. Lucie Inlet, tarpon & snook are the targeted species. Pick up live baits outside on sabiki rigs and anchor up or drift with circle hooks. Snook season is closed until September 1st, so catch and release a “few” fish and treat them gently. Each year you’ll notice boats around the jetties targeting these spawning linesiders. Do yourself and the fish a big favor and don’t target them all day. They are here for a reason – to spawn – not to be hammered by “so called sport-fishing anglers” that cannot catch a snook when the season opens and they’re not sitting ducks.
Outside the rocks along the beaches, tarpon, jacks and permit are possible. Don’t be surprised to see cobia in close also. Last week we released two “cobes” under 33 inches, keeping one 20 pounder. When spotting cobia on top, try a pearl DOA shallow running Baitbuster.
The ocean has been cold most of July, with cold up-dwellings present. I have gone over a few pockets at 73 degrees. The bait situation lately has been decent with plenty of sardines and greenies around. Just because you see 100 boats in one area doesn’t mean everyone is catching bait. Most times it’s counter-productive. A small school may surface and within 5 seconds there are 10 boats spooking them. Try running outside the boats and load up on a school of your own. Remember, there might be a nice sized kingfish under the bait.
Inside 60 feet, the bonita have been plentiful with scattered kingfish and cobia action. I’ve been outside a few times resulting in some decent catches.
Stay Cool,
Capt. Bob Bushholz
www.catch22fish.com
(772) 225-6436
The water quality inshore has been excellent. There are areas where you can see bottom that could not be seen for many years due to the Lake Okeechobee discharges. We have been fortunate the last several months with few or no discharges, but that could change any minute unless the pressure is kept on the politicians to “keep our water clean”. As you go north in the Indian River, between Nettles Island and the Power Plant, visibility is unbelievable! Remember the area in the general vicinity of marker 209 is a slow current zone located right between St. Lucie & Fort Pierce Inlets. The reason is that as you near the power lines, the current changes direction (you are now picking up the Ft. Pierce Inlet current flow). Once you’re north or south of the area, you’ll notice some more water flow.
Structure fishing so far this summer has been great, keeping up with last year. Last week I noticed a decline in baitfish (glass minnows) around bridges and markers. Diving birds and porpoises have been a rare sight. This is not uncommon. Each year you will have slow periods lasting a week or so. I’m sure things will pick up shortly. My charters up to July 20th pr produced lots of flounder, tripletail, snapper and black drum and made fishing very exciting. A combination of live shrimp (if you can find them), frozen shrimp, or a DOA or Glo & Root Beer lures have worked best. We did release two tripletail over 20 lbs. in July, both caught on a pearl DOA CAL lure. In the deeper water (around bridges) several snook to 12 lbs. and Goliath grouper under 10 lbs. are inhaling ½ oz. jigging sthingys. It’s amazing how many goliaths are inshore. This year alone we have released over 80. (REMEMBER, both species are catch and release). Capt. Joe Massaro from Stuart designed some sthingys about a year ago and let me tell you, “they work well”. You will want to stock up on that tackle for the winter mackerel and pompano bite as well. The sthingys hold up great to the toothy Spanish macs. You can contact Capt. Joe at 772-286-0702.
Moving to the St. Lucie Inlet, tarpon & snook are the targeted species. Pick up live baits outside on sabiki rigs and anchor up or drift with circle hooks. Snook season is closed until September 1st, so catch and release a “few” fish and treat them gently. Each year you’ll notice boats around the jetties targeting these spawning linesiders. Do yourself and the fish a big favor and don’t target them all day. They are here for a reason – to spawn – not to be hammered by “so called sport-fishing anglers” that cannot catch a snook when the season opens and they’re not sitting ducks.
Outside the rocks along the beaches, tarpon, jacks and permit are possible. Don’t be surprised to see cobia in close also. Last week we released two “cobes” under 33 inches, keeping one 20 pounder. When spotting cobia on top, try a pearl DOA shallow running Baitbuster.
The ocean has been cold most of July, with cold up-dwellings present. I have gone over a few pockets at 73 degrees. The bait situation lately has been decent with plenty of sardines and greenies around. Just because you see 100 boats in one area doesn’t mean everyone is catching bait. Most times it’s counter-productive. A small school may surface and within 5 seconds there are 10 boats spooking them. Try running outside the boats and load up on a school of your own. Remember, there might be a nice sized kingfish under the bait.
Inside 60 feet, the bonita have been plentiful with scattered kingfish and cobia action. I’ve been outside a few times resulting in some decent catches.
Stay Cool,
Capt. Bob Bushholz
www.catch22fish.com
(772) 225-6436