The weather forecast looks great for the next few days; calmer seas, mild temps, and to top it off the fishing has been pretty darn good!

Offshore- The dolphin fishing has remained very strong for the past week or two.  Lots of Mahi-Mahi hanging around in scattered depths.  150-300′ of water between Palm Beach and Jupiter Inlet continues to hold good numbers of fish.  Trolling a spread of small ballyhoo, bonita strips, squid, and small jethead lures will surely raise up a few dorado.  Any floating debris, color changes, current rips, or birds working is a good area to drag the baits over a few extra times.  A few “summertime” bonito, blackfin tuna, kingfish, or even wahoo may show up in that area as well.

For those not so interested in trolling, drifting the same area with live or dead bait will produce some dolphin as well.  Look for a good north current and clean blue water when setting up a drift.  Chumming with some chunks of sardines, squid, menhaden oil, or block chum will help get the dolphin (and other gamefish, including late season cobia) up around the boat.  Live baits, if you can catch them, will work great.  Frozen sardines(Florida variety preferably) and squid are great drift baits.  Never overlook a nice whole squid floating as a flatline as a great fish producer.

Bottom fishing has been good, and should only get better.  Mutton snapper and yellowtail snapper will be the bulk of the catch, but grouper season is open and a few have been caught.  Again, sardines are a great bait choice.  For fun mixed bag action try dropping a small yellow jig tipped with a bonito chunk or squid.  You never know what may grab onto that little jig!

Inshore- Snook season is winding down, so if taking one home for the dinner table sounds like a good idea, go get them now!  The linesiders are showing up on the beach, filling in at the inlet, and hanging around the bridges at night.  Along the beach Rapala X-Raps and small white jigs are a good choice.  Look for the snook to be cruising north and south in the first trough.  The bridges are holding good numbers of snook, and fishing at night is the only way to go.  Drifting live shrimp with the current is a great bait choice.  A flair hawk is a great lure choice for the bridges as well.

Mangrove snapper and sheepshead are hanging around the bridges as well.  Shrimp, live of cut pieces, is a great bait choice to fool those stubborn fish around the pilings.  Moonfish(aka lookdown) and sandperch have been caught around the bridges as well.

SURF/PIER- The pompano fishing has slowed down a bit, but it isn’t done just yet.  Clams and sandleas continue to produce a few bites from the pompano.  For those not into fishing bait, pompano jigs(like Doc’s Goofy Jig) may still get a few bites. Scattered schools of spanish mackerel have been moving up and down the beach and a few are always hanging around the pier.  White Crappie Jigs are a good choice from the pier for the mackerel.  The small profile matches a glass minnow nicely.  As mentioned above, the snook are showing up along the beach.  Fish low light periods for best action, or try and sight cast them in good light for a real challenge!

 Happy Early Mother’s Day to any Mom’s checking out the fishing report (Kids and Dad’s don’t forget about Mom this weekend!)

Bait Bonnets in stock, great way to add some flash to trolling baits!

Tsunami Flurocarbon Sabikis, priced right; great bait catchers!

OFFSHORE- Sailfish season is in full swing right now, and they will continue to be the main game in town.  South of Jupiter Inlet most fish will be caught using live baits like goggle eyes, blue runners, or greenies(threadfin herring).  While fishing the baits under a kite will improve your chances of catching sailfish, it is not totally necessary.  Plenty of sails are caught drifting baits from flatlines or slow trolling them from the outriggers.  Once you get north of Jupiter Inlet the livebaiters become out numbered by guys pulling ballyhoo for the sailfish.  This is due largely to the flatter slower sloping bottom north of Jupiter Inlet, which tends to spread the fish out more.  Trolling allows them to cover more ground and better find the fish.  It is pretty neat to watch the best crews work the trolling game; with two large dredges, two teasers, and four to six lines the mates never stop working.  Most sailfish will be caught between 100-200′ of water, but where the bait is you will find the fish.  Don’t be afraid to fish shallow or deeper if you find bait around.  Mixed in with the sailfish should be a few dolphin, cobia, and even some wahoo.

Bottom fishing has remained pretty good over the last few weeks.  Still some good catches of yellowtail, mutton, and mangrove snappers coming in.  The grouper are biting, but remember they are out of  season and have to go back now.  Mixed in with the good stuff will be assorted grunts, triggerfish, and porgies as well.  Plenty of stuff around to chew on some sardines or squid fished on the bottom right now.

INSHORE-  The fishing is getting better in the Intracoastal(ICW) these days as the water cools off a little bit.  Fishing the ICW north of Jupiter Inlet will provide a nice mixed bag of species with some pompano, jacks, ladyfish, trout, bluefish, snook, and mangrove snapper all possible catches.  Live shrimp will be the most productive natural bait, while Doc’s Goofy Jigs and soft plastic jerkbaits get the nod in the artificial department .  The Loxahatchee River remains hit or miss action wise.  Munyon Island has a good number of trout hanging around, with some nice size females mixed in.  Snook season is closed, but if your into catch and release most bridges have some fish(including some big females) hanging around.

SURF/PIER- The pompano are starting to show up in some decent numbers along the beach.  Most of the fish have been north of Jupiter Inlet, but they are headed south.  Every cold front will get them coming south in a hurry.  Other action remains spotty. A few bluefish, blue runners, jacks, croaker, and whiting are around…but the mild winter has not pushd any big numbers of fish down the coast…YET!!!

GOOD LUCK EVERYONE!!!

Nice looking fresh ballyhoo available this weekend, $12/Dozen.

OFFSHORE- Offshore fishing pressure has been on the light side the last few weeks, but the fishing has been good.  The fall push of dolphin has been starting, and those putting in the time are finding some decent schools of fish.  While they may be anywhere up or down the line, most of the dolphin have been between 300-600′ of water.  Weedlines, structure, rips, and floating debris will all be holding dolphin, but they are almost as likely to be out swimming freely in open water.  This is the time to cover some water and put out the trolling spread.  Trolled ballyhoo, small trolling feathers and jethead lures, and trolling squid will all account for a few fish.  Keep a few small baits out for the little football size blackfin tuna swimming around.  The bonita are starting to thin out, and the sailfish will begin to slide in to the ledge as the northeast winds start to blow.  Wahoo catches will not be like August, but a few are still hanging around.  Split-tail mullet are a great choice for the wahoo this time of year.  Inside of the ledge the snapper fishing has been good.  Find the cleaner water and put the time in, some snapper will no doubt end up in the box.  Sardines, squid, and bonita chunks will all be good bottom fishing baits.

INSHORE- The mullet are still flowing inshore, and the snook and tarpon are liking the easy meals.  Find the mullet schools and you will find the fish, its really that easy inshore right now.  I still like lures in low light periods and at night, live bait during the higher light periods.  While the snook fishing is the highlight inshore this month, others are around as well.  Tarpon, jacks, and a few redfish are following the mullet schools as well.  The local bridges are still holding a few mangrove snapper, sandperch, and blackdrum.  Lastly on the inshore front, the toady cult is starting to move…you know who you are.

Surf/Pier- The surf/pier fishing has been very good over the past few weeks.  We still have good schools of bait around, lots of fish, and some nicer weather.  While the bluefish are starting to show, they haven’t run everything out of town just yet.  Snook fishing along the beach and at the pier is still good.  The pompano are starting to show.  Sandfleas, shrimp, clams, and Doc’s Goofy Jigs will be your top bait choices for the pompano.  Bluefish and spanish mackerel will really start to fill in nicely over the next few weeks.

Good Luck Everyone,

Todd

Good Morning and Happy Labor to Everyone. Shop Hours today will be 6am-4pm.  Here is a quick update of what has been going on this weekend.

Offshore- “Mixed Bag” is the only way to really describe the fishing offshore.  A few dolphin have been caught in 250-500′ of water off Jupiter Inlet. Best bet for the dolphin is to get out and start looking and troll a of assorted spread of small jethead lures, tuna feathers, bonita strips, and squids.  Out with the dolphin should be some scattered blackfin tuna, and maybe even a wahoo (although those striped beauties may be anywhere from 70-1000′ of water).  Speaking of wahoo, this week coming up ahead of the full moon should be really good for them.  Break out the high speed lures for one more go, get those split-tail mullet and horse ballyhoo ready, and get after them.  Fish the outgoing tides, if possible, around Jupiter and Lake Worth Inlet for a chance or two at a wahoo.  Depth varies, but 120-250′ is a good starting point.  Snapper fishing, muttons and yellowtails mostly, has been fair for those spending the time at it.  The biggest surprise has been the nice number of keeper grouper caught over the past week.  Sardines, squid, ballyhoo, and bonita chunks are all good baits to put out on the bottom.

Surf/Pier/Inshore- Snook are still the main species on everyone’s mind, and for the most part they haven’t disappointed too bad.  Snook fishing remains good at the Juno Pier, Jupiter and Lake Worth Inlet, and many area bridges(that is mostly a night time thing).  Bait selection has been key, so be sure to stock up on a variety of fresh bait to offer those tricky linesiders.  In other news inshore….well I don’t have a whole lot else to report.  The Juno Pier has had a decent little push of early season Pompano and a few good size Spanish Mackerel.  Doc’s Goofy Jig for the Pompano, small live bait for the Macks.

More updates as I get them!

Thanks for reading,

Todd

The surf/pier fishing is really starting to come to life these days.  Here are a few of the highlights.

Mullet Run Update- While Hurricane Irene may have caused one hell of a mess up north, it helped get the mullet moved down to south Florida a little bit ahead of schedule.  With the mullet (and if you have been reading the last few posts you know this) come a whole host of top level, and not so top level, predators.  Snook, Tarpon, Jacks, several types of sharks, large jacks, redfish, kingfish, and others will be following the schools of mullet down the beach.  Most often the mullet will be schooled up the tightest early in the morning and then again late in the afternoon.  This is the time the predators take full advantage of the easy buffet line.  Large noisy top-water plugs will get a little play in these low light periods, but nothing beats the real thing in this case.  With so much food around, it is a good idea to try and set  your bait apart.  Try fishing outside of the school or underneath with a livey, use a fresh dead mullet, or even a nice fresh chunk of bait.  I prefer to use a heavy mono leader for this fishing, usually 50-80lb, but will switch over to wire if the toothy critters show up in big numbers.  The nice thing about fishing the fall mullet run, is it turns everywhere into a potentially good spot.  The usual good spots; Hobe Sound Beach, The Refuge, Blowing Rocks, Jupiter Inlet, Carlin Park, Double Roads, Juno Beach Pier, Pierless, and Ocean Reef Park are all good spots to start looking for the mullet.  Mullet Run Fishing Tip- Travel light on the beach, the more mobile you are the easier it is to follow the bait schools.  Very often one school in particular will be holding the most feeding fish.  Be able to follow that school, and you can stay with the fish.

Pier Outlook- Fishing has been good for a nice assortment of species on Juno Beach and Lake Worth Pier these days.  All of the above listed species are possible catches these days.  Very often predators following the mullet schools will use the pier as a jumping off point or staging point for attack on the mullet.  Should you find yourself in between mullet schools, and other baitfish options are slim, be sure to have some kind of chunk bait to fish underneath.  This is a good way to pick up a snook or redfish hanging out underneath the pier.

In other news, the fall species are already making a nice showing.  The past week has seen a nice little run of pompano at Juno Beach Pier.  Doc’s Goofy Jig in gold, pink, and orange have already began pulling in some nice keeper pompano.  Ladyfish and a few bluefish are hanging around to steal a few of those jigs as well.  Spanish and some nice Cero Mackerel are around, but the bite seems to be day to day.

Good Luck Everyone,

Todd