It’s hard to imagine the destruction of the oyster beds in the St. Lucie River. The firm white sandy bars and the grass flats of the Indian River Lagoon are now seriously compromised due to the water quality. I have seen 39 years of dumping Lake Okeechobee water into the St. Lucie River and this is by far the worst. I have a couple old “girlfriends” that live up in the St. Lucie River that ride out the dumping every year and I hope these 40 pound snook got out of the polluted water before it was too late. There is no question that the discharges will continue for some time and everything is subject to change if we have more rain. However, there is still good fishing in certain areas, so let’s go with a positive roll on what’s happening.
On the beach, north of the St. Lucie Inlet,there is clear water and a lot of glass minnows in the trough. With snook season opening on September 1 and the action we have seen on the beach, this would be a good place to start. Tarpon and large jacks are crashing the bait close to the beach. A three-inch crankbait with strong hooks in mirror finish is a good lure to hook up. Make sure you have a full spool of line because there has been some good size bonito zipping through the bait schools. Catch a bonito and use it as chunk bait for the many sharks that are swimming outside the surf line.
Back in the Indian River, the snook will be hanging around the pilings and fenders of the Stuart and Jensen causeway bridges. The power plant area has trout and redfish willing to eat topwater baits at first light. Switch to D.O.A. and C.A.L. jigs aft er 8 a.m. and work the flats and mangrove points.
Don’t forget to help keep the waterways clean and wear your Bullfrog.