As the weather get cooler, the fishing gets hotter! Here on the Treasure Coast, we see lots of seasonal changes for inshore fishing. The snook have moved back up river where they stay for the winter in more brackish water. They can be caught fishing bottom baits along the bridges and deep channels. Lots of big snook are caught using First Light Jigs. The technique for using these 1-to-2-ounce jigs involves casting up-current and retrieving down-current at a speed that keeps your jig very close to the bottom. No jigging action necessary. These snook will sit belly-down on the bottom where the water is usually warmer during the colder months. The snook will usually be close to the bridge abutments to get out of the current. We also find snook sitting along seawalls that face the sun in the morning back in the St. Lucie River. For those snook, we use topwater lures and flies to simply cast close parallel and pop down the wall.
The pompano have started showing up along the beaches for surf-casting using 9-to-12-foot rods. For bait, we use sand fleas, clams meat, shrimp, and flavored Fishbites artificial bait strips. Pompano surf-casting rigs have 2 or 3 hooks with 3-to-5-ounce pyramid weight or “sputnick” weight on the bottom. Incoming tides is much preferred with fishing from the beach for pompano. The pompano will also come inshore and school up on the flats. Inshore, we use jigs, sand fleas, and shrimp.
The Spanish mackerel are also showing up along the beaches and the well-known Peck Lake Reef where hundreds of anglers and commercial fishermen can be found throwing jigs and gotcha lures. It’s a great type of fishing for family members and inexperienced anglers to easily get hooked up!
FORECAST BY: Capt. Giles Murphy
Stuart Angler Bait & Tackle
(772) 288-1219
giles@stuartangler.com
www.stuartangler.com
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