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Fishing Report for Ft. Pierce, Florida
Capt. Joe Ward
December 4, 2003
Fort Pierce - Saltwater Fishing Report
December 5, 2003
INSHORE - One thing is for sure, there is plenty of wind to contend with. The catch and release trout action has been good just about everywhere in the river that you could get out of the wind and find some clean water. The most productive places have been Round Island, Midway Road area and Big and Little Mud Creeks. Live baits like greenies or shrimp have been hard to beat. I got an e-mail from Pat O'Hare stating that he and his brother-in-law fished the grass beds off of Middle Cove and caught and released 14 trout to 22 inches. They were using a Clouser minnow and a chartreuse Terror Eyze jig. On Thanksgiving Day they fished Herman's Bay and landed 8 snook in the 20 inch range, 2 small redfish and several trout. Pat said that every grass bed had fish on it on the incoming tide. The most productive fly for them was a green Clouser topped with a black crystal flash.
Snook action is slow but it is steady with a few fish being reported around the Turning Basin, at all the bridges along the Treasure Coast and in both the Ft. Pierce and St. Lucie Inlets. Live pinfish were the top bait to use unless you had a small croakers.
The channel edges are full of just legal size snapper mixed in with sheepshead, black drum and a few spanish mackerel. The pompano are starting to show up but you have to be in the right place at the right tide to catch a limit. Most of the serious pompano fishermen aren't telling you when and where they are catching them but we do know the bait of choice is still a sandflea or small live shrimp. You might want to try places like Bear Point where I skipped several nice pompano this week.
If it action you want then try the Inlets and the Turning Basin. They are full of jacks and spanish mackerel and they are hitting everything from spoons to jigs to live baits. All you will need to do is drift around and you will find them. The flounder are working their way in from the jetty with reports of nice size flounder coming from the catwalks of the South Bridge in Ft. Pierce.
This Sunday (if the weather holds) will be the 2nd Inshore Fishing Tournament for the local chapter of the Teen Anglers. The Teen's will leave from Jaycee Park at 7am and fish until noon when the weigh-in starts. If you are interested in becoming a Teen Angler just go to the website at www.teenanglers.org and check it out. Also, if you would like to support Teen Anglers you can go to the website for more info.
OFFSHORE - Before the winds picked up this week there was a good dolphin bite all along the Treasure Coast from Vero Beach south to Jupiter. Most fish were caught in 80 to 155 feet of water. On Friday we had 4 dolphin over 25 pounds come into the docks. All were caught on small ballyhoo.
The kingfish action remains steady in 60 to 90 feet of water when using live baits. There were a few wahoo reported in the same area. The sailfish were coming from 150 and out but with sea conditions deteriorating and the weather we are supposed to have it does not look good. If snapper and grouper bite before Monday was good all along the Offshore Bar in 90 feet of water. Cut baits landed the most fish. There are plenty of spanish mackerel, big jacks and bluefish scattered up and down the area's beaches.
If you would like to report a catch call me at 772-201-5770 or e-mail me at [email protected]. You can also reach me on the web at www.captjoeward.com
Capt. Joe Ward
Inshore Fishing Guide
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