Look for the cooler water temperatures as the cold fronts start coming down from the north. This should mean better fishing and plenty of bait fish. The trout should start gathering in the deeper pockets, channels and the cuts along the deeper side of the flats. Try using a live shrimp or a pigfish on a 1/8 or 1/4 jig heads. Start looking for the snook to move in the areas around the local bridges, the Turning Basin and around the deeper structures. They should be taking live baits fished on the bottom or a jig fished slow and bouncing off the bottom. The snapper fishing should remain steady around the channel edges both to the north and south in the river. A live shrimp will be your best bait to use. The bite in the Ft. Pierce Inlet will pick up as the fish follow the bait schools in. You will get jacks, bluefish, Spanish mackerel and even a bonito or two. These fish will hit just about anything shinny like a 1 oz. or 2 oz. spoon or a live mullet. Just look for the birds diving and you will find the fish. Along the beaches you will get the same jacks, bluefish, Spanish mackerel, some pompano and plenty of whiting. For the pompano use a strip of clam and for the whiting use fresh dead or frozen shrimp.
Capt. Joe Ward has been fishing the inshore waters of Fort Pierce for over 50 years. He provides guided fishing charters on the Indian River Lagoon in Fort Pierce, Vero Beach, Jensen Beach, Port St. Lucie and Stuart, Florida. In his "spare time", Capt. Joe and his wife Cammie dedicate their time to running Capt. Joe's Bait & Tackle (located on the Fort Pierce Inlet at the Dockside Inn and Resort) and Treasure Coast Casters, a 501(c)(3) that teaches youth about fishing and the importance of marine conservation. To reach Capt. Joe, call (772) 201-5770 or visit his website.