Fishing Report

Things are looking good on the fishing front.  The first “cool” front of the season pushes through this weekend and that should really fire up the fall fishing patterns.

OFFSHORE- Friday should be a nice day offshore; Saturday and Sunday may get a little bumpy to downright rough! That north-northeast breeze will be great for the fishing, but will have it on the uncomfortable side for the smaller boat guys.  With the slightly cooler temperatures this weekend the sailfish should start to get excited.  Livebaiting the edge with goggle eyes and blue runners will, as usual, be putting the most numbers up on the board.  Expect a nice push of dolphin over the weekend as well with the choppy conditions.  Trolling ballyhoo, bonita strips, or squid will be a great way to target the dolphin.  Bottom fishing has been good for the yellowtail and muttons…just have to find them.

INSHORE- Take advantage of all the bait around inshore right now.  The Intracoastal is a great spot to be looking for snook right now.  Try fishing around bridges at night for really good results.  Find a bridge with a good amount of current, light, and bait; and you will find a good number of snook and tarpon hanging around.  The ICW up north towards Hobe Sound is full of assorted fish right now.  Fishing the flats around mile marker 40-44 with some live shrimp will produce; snapper, sheepshead, ladyfish, trout, snook, jacks, and more.

SURF/PIER- Surf fishing is great right now.  All of the fall players are showing up, they are hungry, and ready to eat!  Spanish Mackerel., Bluefish, Pompano, Sharks, and more are all around right now; and they are here in good numbers already!  For those looking to travel light on the beach it’s time to break out the silver spoons and go to town.  For the bait guys go with shrimp for the mixed bag action, sardines and finger mullet for the bigger stuff!

More Detailed October Fishing Outlook coming in the next few days.

Thanks For Reading and Good LUCK!!!,

Todd

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

Yes, I know it still feels like summer; but we are moving into fall fishing patterns on the beach.  The mullet schools are still coming down the beach, and with them have come a good number of assorted species.  In the mix are the usual fall players; spanish mackerel, king mackerel, bluefish, and even some pompano.  I’m going to keep this report short (more details coming in the next few days), no need to waste your time…you should be fishing!  Now is a good time to get on the beach.  More coming soon.

Good Luck Everyone!

Snook fishing remains very good these days.  The mullet are coming down the beach (and filtering inshore) nicely, and the snook have taken notice.  Jupiter Inlet, Juno Beach Pier, and all the usual inshore bridges are holding fish right now.  Standard drill for the most part; live bait is better during the day (and at night most of the time), try and trick them with the lures at night.  If you opt for the lures, keep them looking like a finger or small silver mullet.  Good lure choices include Zara Spooks, Rapala X-Raps, Yo-Zuri Crystal Minnows, DOA Baitbusters, and Gulfstream Skimmer Flair Hawk Jigs.

Get after the snook before the bluefish show up in force.

Good Luck Everbody,

Todd

The wahoo did bite pretty good this weekend.  The pressure wasn’t as heavy as it was on the August moon, but the catches were good.  The full moon is today (Sept 12) so expect a very good bite into the weekend.  If you have the chance this is a good week to go look for a wahoo or two.  Check out my wahoo post from a few days ago for a few tips and tricks to put more of them in the boat.  Good Luck Everyone!!!

…is in full swing right now!  Here are a couple good ones we’ve seen so far.

That September full moon is starting to get close; with it should come some hungry wahoo for those venturing offshore.  The August full moon bite was good, September has the potential to be just as good or even better.  Anywhere from Jupiter Inlet south to Boynton Inlet are all good areas to look for those striped beauties.  Depth will vary, but 150-400′ should be a viable range to find them.  Methods for catching them will vary, but trolling(highspeed and regular) and livebaiting will be the two most productive.  Here is a quick look at the two best tactics.

Trolling(Highspeed)- Highspeed trolling peaks in August, and produces some decent numbers in September and October.  Lure choice will vary from angler to angler, but in general the rig stays relatively consistent. Fifty to Eight pound class tackle is a must.  Heavy reels with good strong drags, and bent butt rods are standard.  Wireline or heavy braid is the most popular for highspeeding, but some do still prefer heavy mono for the job (All will work, it’s mostly a personal choice).  From the line comes a heavy inline trolling sinker (18-64 ounces depending on tackle), 30-100′ of heavy mono shock cord, and then lure of choice.  Many different lures do well on the wahoo: Yo-Zuri Bonita, G-Fly Wolfs, Islander,…and the list goes on.  As fas as colors go; blue/white, red/black, purple/black, orange/black, and pink/white are all good choices.  Crank it up to 12-14 knots and cover some water.  Try and cover about 90-300′ of water, and don’t slow down(much anyways) till your ready to sink the gaff in!

Trolling(Standard)- Many many wahoo are caught pulling baits at standard 6-10 knot speeds.  The nice thing about fishing slower(and usually with some bait) is that it is much easier to get baits up on the surface, and get a bait or two down on a wireline, planer, or downrigger.  For this deal nothing beats an oldschool Islander and large bonita strip or split-tail mullet.  Dark color patterns seem to work best with this combo, but blue/white is also a great choice.  Same depths are great for targeting wahoo(90-300′), but if you find dolphin farther offshore, keep those deep baits out.  Wahoo love to stay underneath dolphin schools and pick off an easy meal from time to time.

Livebaiting- Nothing fancy here for catching a wahoo.  I like to set up a little on the deep side of the normal range (250-300′) over some good bottom structure.  Being a little deeper helps keep the bonita off your baits, and is a great place to look for dolphin and blackfin tuna as well.  If you can find smaller baits like sardines, pilchards, or greenies use those.  They are an easy target for a fast feeding wahoo, and provide good solid hook-ups.  Goggle eyes and blue runners are good baits, especially for big fish, but will result in some chopped baits.  If you have larger baits consider using a stinger rig, smaller baits a single hook wire leader will work out well.

The full moon is September 12, should be good this week and next week as well.  Get after them now!

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

Commercial ballyhoo season is back open, and that means fresh ones are once again becoming available.  The first batch of fish for the season are good clean looking fish in the med to med/large size range.  Great for dolphin, wahoo, sailfish, blackfin tuna, mutton snapper, kingfish, and many more!  Look for fresh deliveries usually on Thursdays or Fridays.  $12/dozen again this year.  Better pricing on large amounts.

Good Luck,

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