Spring is here! And it brings with it lots of baitfish triggering feeding frenzies along the beaches and rivers. Keep your eyes looking for birds diving in areas such as the Crossroads, Indian River north up to the Stuart Causeway, and beaches close the inlet. The baitfish are also showing up at the Sand Pile and Bull Shark Barge, both spots about three miles from the inlet. There, you want to use sabiki rigs to catch greenies, threadfins, and Spanish sardines.
Ok, now that we have bait, let’s go catch some fish! The cobia are showing up more every day at the Sandpile and wrecks two-to-six miles out such as the three sunken barges and many more. At these spots, we use “fish finder” rigs with three-to-six-ounce egg weights with baitfish. The other method is chumming sharks to your boat, and pitching weighted baits out to “swing under the sharks”. Some other good baits are jigs tipped with squid or big shrimp. But best of all are live crabs! If battling the crowd at the Sandpile, get there super early chum up the sharks. The best chum wins when competing with other boats. Cut bonito chunks are a great ticket! When you hook your cobia, get it in the boat ASAP or the sharks will rob you.
Schools of big jacks can be found chasing bait outside the inlet. Just look for surface activity on a calm morning and cast one-to-two-ounce spoon or poppers are fun! The 15-pound jack will give you a great morning workout when you hook them.
We should see snook showing up close to the inlet as the water continues to warm up and they prepare to spawn. May is the last month of snook season and usually the best time to target keepers. Drifting by the “Hole in the Wall” with a live pilchard on a knocker rig or fish finder rig is a classic method.
FORECAST BY: Capt. Giles Murphy
Stuart Angler Bait & Tackle
(772) 288 – 1219
www.stuartangler.com
giles@stuartangler.com
Fishing Charters – (772) 475–4857
