Warming March temperatures will bring hot fishing to the Indian River Lagoon and the forks of the St. Lucie River. The water is clearing up nicely, and the big fish will head for the shallows on sunny days to wait for schools of bait circulating with the tides. Reports from the South Fork are promising.
Look For Snook: When water temperatures reach the upper 70s, snook will head from the inlet and the deeper water to their spring haunts. On a good warm day, slot snook will be cruising the shorelines and bunching up around piers, mangroves and shoreline structure. You can fish shallow inside the sandbar as the tide turns to outgoing. I like a pearl white paddletail on an 1/8- or 1/16-oz. jighead. Fish slowly around the pier pilings, letting the jig hit the bottom. I love wading in the spring (Walton/ Midway), but a flats boat will work too.
Look For Trout: The trout bite is still good around Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute and north. Some smaller trout have been caught south around Bear Point area. The grass is mostly gone, but the pockets of grass you find are holding trout. The fish are scattered on the flats along the east side up near Round Island’s Starvation Bay, Queen’s Cove and The Moorings.
Look For Pompano, Bluefish, Mackerel: The cold-water fish are still here but will be moving out soon. Pompano are still around and are being caught off and around the bridges and channel edges on pompano jigs and jigs tipped with shrimp. I like fishing the edge of the channels and flats near the St. Lucie inlet on outgoing tide. Bluefish are still around, and some are resident fish. I caught three around the bridges (Jensen/Stuart) in the last month. Small schools of mackerel are moving along the deep channels to the inlet. Both mackerel and blues like small spoons, shallow crankbaits and fast-moving jigs.
Don’t Forget The Ladies, Jacks: Ladyfish have been very active. Once you find some bait, chances are the bite will be on. I’ve had some great action on the shallow flats with some 4-lb. ladyfish that will bust your line. After two or three fish, you better retie. The jacks have been on again, off again. I’ve caught 20 in a day and one the next day.
Look For Black Drum, Sheepshead: Some nice black drum and sheepshead have been caught free-lining (very little weight) live shrimp around the bridges on incoming tide. There are lots of small mangrove snapper around, so use a smaller hook.
Look For Redfish, Flounder: I’ve been catching small slot reds on the flats around the bridge channels with DOA paddletails. They’ve also been near piers on the west side by the power plant lines.
It’s a great time to go fishing. Even if the wind’s up, there’s always a place to get out of the chop.
Richard Matteson is staff writer for Stuart Rod and Reel Club.