With the summer coming to an end, the fishing should start improving for inshore anglers. September, as you well know, is the start of snook season and it should be good with plenty of action coming from places like the Fort Pierce Inlet, the local bridges and the grass flats.
For the inlet and bridges, try a live pinfish, pigfish or a white bait and fish it on the bottom. It will take a heavy weight in the inlet: 6- to 8-ounces, a 40-pound fluorocarbon leader about 3-feet long and a good 5/0 hook. Around the bridges, use the same set up but use a light weight: 1- to 2-ounces. Free lining the above-mentioned baits on the flats and around the docks will be your best bet. If it is trout you are looking for, try places like Bear Point, Queen’s Cove or the flats to the north of Harbor Branch. The tackle is simple, a live shrimp fished on a #6 Kahle hook or under a popping cork.
The redfish bite should still be good for anglers fishing around the mangroves on the high tide. Try a piece of ladyfish or a crab on a 2/0 hook with a 20-pound fluorocarbon leader and a small split shot, which should be plenty of weight. Snapper should still be active along the channel edges both to the north and south in the Intracoastal. Use a live shrimp or a small white bait and a small bottom rig with a #2 hook and a 1/2 to 1-ounce weight with a 15- to 20-pound fluorocarbon leader. Make sure the leader is at least three-feet long; the longer the better.
FORECAST BY: Capt. Joe Ward
Capt. Joe’s River Charters
(772) 201-5770 or (722) 461-1335
Email: CWard11605@aol.com
www.captjoeward.com
