The inshore fishing should be red hot along with the water temps. With snook season closing on June 1, there will still be some good catch and release action around the Fort Pierce Inlet when using live baits and fishing them on the bottom and bouncing them as you drift or free lining them when fishing around the rocks. The trout bite should be as good as it gets with the trout taking topwater baits like a Zara Spook or a Top Dog Jr. at first light and just before dark. Try places like Bear Point, Pete Stone Creek or the area around the Mooring Flats. During the day try a live shrimp fished under a popping cork or a D.O.A. Shrimp and fish in three-to-five feet of water in those same areas.
It is time for the snapper bite to really pick up along the channel edges, both to the north and south in the Intracoastal Waterway. A live shrimp on a 20-pound fluorocarbon leader and a #2 hook with a ½-ounce weight should do the trick.
The tripletail should also be showing up around the channel markers. Try your luck with a ¼-ounce Troll Rite and a handpicked shrimp. Remember, let the tripletail take the bait. They have a small mouth, so don’t pull it away from them, you need to give them a little time to take the shrimp.
Look for the tarpon to arrive at places like the Fort Pierce Inlet, turning basin, Big Mud Creek and the Mooring Flats. Try free lining a live bait like a mullet or a pilchard with a 6/0 hook. Best times will be just around first light and again just before dark.
FORECAST BY: Capt. Joe Ward
Capt. Joe’s River Charters
(772) 201-5770 or (722) 461-1335
Email: CWard11605@aol.com
