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Fishing Report for Ft. Pierce, Florida
Capt. Joe Ward
December 27, 2007
Fort Pierce - Saltwater Fishing Report
DECEMBER 27, 2007
INSHORE - The inshore fishing over the holiday was pretty good for the most of the week. I got good reports of catch and release trout and snook action around the flats and they were chasing the schools of glass minnows. The fish were on the flats to both the north and south in the river. Just look for the birds and the bait and fish will not be far away. Try throwing a soft plastic bait, live shrimp and a live greenie over the schools of bait in 3 to 4 feet of water. Just a reminder -- trout season is still closed until January 1st and snook season is closed until February. Also, around the bait school you will find plenty of jacks and ladyfish to keep you busy. I am still getting reports about a good number of redfish up around the Jack Island area and also in Queen's Cove. The best bite has been on the high tide. Reports coming from around the local bridges and in the Ft. Pierce Inlet have been about the nice flounder being caught on a live shrimp and a Trol-rite hook. Also, in that same area there have good reports of spanish mackerel being caught on small silver spoons. Look for a mixed bag of fish coming from along the channel edges.
OFFSHORE - The seas were not that nice over the weekend but are getting better each day. Still getting reports of dolphin and sailfish action in 150 to 170 feet of water to the south of the Ft. Pierce Inlet when trolling a ballyhoo or a rigged mullet. The sailfish bite on Wednesday and Thursday picked up. Several wahoo were reported on Wednesday in 210 feet of water and were caught on a purple/black wahoo slayer rigged with a ballyhoo and fished on a down rigger. Still some kingfish in the 70 to 90 feet and they have been feeding best on live baits that are slow trolled. Also, in that same area there has been plenty of small sharks. The bottom fishing for snapper and grouper has picked up a little on the full moon when fishing over the reefs to the north of the Ft. Pierce Inlet. There is plenty of jacks, spanish mackerel and pompano along the beaches to keep you busy.
TEEN ANGLERS - Last Saturday we held the monthly inshore fishing tournament for the local chapter of Teen Anglers after having to cancel it from the Sunday before due to bad weather. Well, the weather was not much better this week. We had rain most of the morning and sun for only about 45 minutes. The Teen's caught fish -- some in good numbers but it was the fish on the list that didn't want to cooperate. We only had 4 Teen Anglers weigh in a fish!
In the Middle School Division
1st place - Shane Surrency - Lincoln Park Academy - 2lb. 7oz. sheepshead
No other fish were weighed in this division.
In the High School Division
1st place - Tyler Moyher - Lincoln Park Academy - 1lb. 14oz. black drum
2nd place - David Brasher - Florida Learning Institute - 1lb. 11oz. sheepshead
3rd place - Jordan Martinez - Westwood High - 12oz. mangrove snapper
Biggest fish of the tournament went to Shane Surrency for his sheepshead.
The next monthly inshore tournament will be held on Sunday -- January 20th with the mandatory meeting on Saturday -- January 19th. If you would like more info on joining Teen Anglers or being a volunteer just go to the web at www.teenanglers.org
BRAGGING BOARD - I got an e-mail from Brett and Jeff Liggett. It stated that we fishing last Sunday and got 3 dolphin and 1 sailfish. Caught all fish between 120 - 185. Caught the Sailfish on naked ballyhoo on a long line with mono. The 3 dolphin where caught on ballyhoo with green and white skirts. The dolphin where small ranging from 9-15 lbs. The sail was about 76 inches and took about 30 minutes to get to the boat. We were fishing on 40' Sportfisher -- Final Chance. On Wednesday Capt. Al Bernetti on the "B" lead his charter to a 1 for 3 on sailfish and 2 for 4 on dolphin. His e-mail stated that we started due East of the Inlet, 70 ft of water, Richard Bradley, Richard Kelly, Suzanne and I. We found bait in about 85 ft of water east of the 2nd bar, but it was being worked hard by bonito and after a Chinese Fire Drill with the Bone Heads we moved deeper to 174 ft, just more bones and Barracuda, then I noticed the Stuart Fleet to the south in about 150 ft of water. We worked a small rip full of life, turtles, porpoise, and bait for the rest of the day, we had a sailfish in the spread for a good 10 minutes( it felt like), but he would go from the left flat to the right flat, he was lit up but would not eat, finally he faded, then on the next pass up sea we had Ritchie's 1st sail come in, she ate and we released her. Cap. Al did say that there were too many bones and cuda's!
DOCK FISHING TOURNAMENT - The Dockside Inn & Resort -- 1160 Seaway Drive in Ft. Pierce will hold another Dock Fishing Tournament on January 25th and 26th. The catch and release snook tournament will be held from 9pm on Jan. 25th until 6am on Jan. 26th. The regular dock tournament will be held from 7am until 4pm on the 26th. There is a division for men, women and children. There will be prizes and a BBQ on Saturday after the dock tournament. All you have to do to fish this tournament is be a guest at the Dockside Inn & Resort on these dates and you will also get a 20% discount off your room. For more info an to make your reservations you can call Dockside Inn & Resort at 1-800-265-1745.
If you would like to report a catch you can e-mail me at [email protected] or call me at 772-201-5770. You can also reach me on the web at www.captjoeward.com
Capt. Joe Ward
Capt. Joe's River Charters
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