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Fishing Report for Ft. Pierce, Florida
Capt. Joe Ward
August 18, 2004
Fort Pierce - Saltwater Fishing Report
August 19, 2004
INSHORE - The inshore action is still on the slow side due to all the fresh water run off coming from Taylor Creek. This is making the water look like coffee. The hottest spots have been the area's spillways for catch and release snook and tarpon. We had snook to 40 inches and tarpon to 50 pounds being reported all week. Most of the fish were caught on live mullet that were fished close to the spillways.
The trout action has been OK for the anglers who were fishing the high tide when the water is at it's cleanest. Pigfish have been the bait of choice and you need to fish them in 3 to 6 feet of water. The bite has been steady most of the morning and again in the mid afternoon until dark. Only a few redfish were reported and they came from the Queen's Cove area at first light. Most of the red's were caught on crabs.
The snapper bite remains good in both the Ft. Pierce and St. Lucie Inlets and all along the channel edges of the Intercoastal. Try using a live shrimp or a small white bait. Also, don't forget to fish around all the area's bridges where the snapper, sheepshead, black drum and flounder bite has been steady all week.
If you are looking for tripletail then you will need to go to the south of the Powerlines of the Nuclear Power Plant and down into Martin County. I have been getting reports of tripletail to 17 pounds coming from that area. Most of these fish were caught along the channel edges as were a few flounder.
In the surf there are plenty of whiting being reported to the south of the Nuclear Power Plant. Anglers fishing the falling tide have had the best luck. Also, Look for jacks and small sharks along the beaches.
OFFSHORE - Not a lot to report but most of the offshore action has been from the kingfish in 30 to 50 feet of water and around the bait pods. The problem has been that the bonita, cuda's and sharks are working the same bait pods and making it hard to catch a nice king and get the whole fish back to the boat before the cuda's and shark try to make it their lunch.
Along the beach there have been reports of spanish mackerel starting to show up. Try trolling a small spoon and remember to use a small piece of wire leader if you don't want to get cut off. There are still a good number of tarpon being reported up and down the beaches and as well as at the mouth of both Inlets. Big, live mullet are hard to beat when fishing for these fish. Tarpon to 125 pounds were reported on Tuesday just to the north of the St. Lucie Inlet in 25 feet of water.
The wahoo and dolphin have been around if you want to hunt them down. I only had a few fish reported this week and they came from 130 to 160 feet of water and the wahoo were in about 240 feet of water. There was not a strong bite reported anywhere along the Treasure Coast. If you were one of the lucky anglers that were in the right place at the right time then you got one of the few fish that were caught.
Bottom fishing has also been tough but still some snapper, flounder and seabass were reported in 30 to 90 feet of water out of the Ft. Pierce Inlet and around the Six and Eight Mile Reefs out of the St. Lucie Inlet. Finger mullet and squid have been producing the most fish.
If you would like to report a catch, call me at 772-201-5770 or e-mail me at [email protected]. You can also contact me on the web at www.captjoeward.com
Capt. Joe Ward
Capt. Joe's River Charters
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