[dropcap]L[/dropcap]ook for bait pods in the Indian River and inlet area and the tarpon will not be far away. Calm mornings will give away the presence of bait schools riding the tide up into the river and the big three tarpon, snook and jacks will ambush the bait to suit their style. Deploy a 10-inch mullet out the back of the boat with a 7/0 circle hook and 60-pound leader, put the reel in baitrunner mode and go with the three-second count and start to reel slowly to set the hook. This method will work very well on the big three. Use a 3/8-ounce Root-Beer D.O.A. Terror Eyz for the roll and pitch method. Remember to throw ahead of a rolling tarpon, then let it sink and twitch it back real slow. The Ten Cent and Roosevelt bridges are a good place to get out of the sun /heat and can be very productive fishing the pilings and bridge fenders for black drum, snapper, croaker, goliath grouper and snook. Depending on the salinity count at the bridges, it can be a Chinese fire drill on rods going off or so slow that you cannot buy a bite. Towards the St. Lucie Nuclear Power Plant on either side of the river there has been a good bite on big snook and trout. I go with walk the dog style plugs like a Skitterwalk or Zara Spook in the early morning hour then switch to D.O.A. CAL jigs on 1/8-ounce heads. There has been a lot of big mullet up that way; usually the reds will follow close to the mullet schools. Lobster season is open this month so go out and enjoy some of the best lobstering in the state. Snorkel shallow or dive deep, lobsters are hiding under the rocky ledges. Many 8- to 10-pound bugs are caught off Treasure Coast waters every season. Look for porkfish swimming in, out and around the reef, this will usually indicate a good ledge for lobster to be hiding.
Keep the waterways clean!