OFFSHORE-  As far as winter weather weekends go...this one coming up isn't looking too bad! It's not super flat summer calm conditions, but definitely very doable compared to past weekends.  Fishing reports to start off the week have been slim (For once the wind and rough stuff came early in the week!).  The sailfish bite remains steady, with a chance or two per boat being the norm.  As I write the report 16 boats fishing the first day of the Bucc (buccaneercup.com) have released about 35 sails.  A few of the boats are trolling up north and a few live baiting locally: Overall though the numbers show if you get the baits in the water up and down the line you have a good chance to see a sail.  With Southeast winds the forecast it is likely that we could see a decent number of dolphin; along with some more Blackfin Tuna.  Look for 150-300' of water to remain a pretty effective depth range to target.  While you may find some fish out deeper; for the most part the deep side of the edge is a good place to start.  Kingfish remind scattered along the 120' ledge in good numbers.  A cobia or two have also been lurking around the same areas.  Bottom fishing reports were slim this week, but as conditions improve expect things to get much better.  

INSHORE-  Some pretty good sheepshead reports coming out of Palm Beach Inlet.  Small to medium sized live shrimp remain a top bait choice for the sheepshead.  With a smaller shrimp they don't have as much of a chance to nibble it off; they just have to go ahead and eat it.  Jupiter has been holding a few sheepshead as well, just not in the snake kind of numbers.  Inshore pompano reports were slow this week in Jupiter; with a few still being caught inshore in Stuart.  Snook season opens back up a week from today.  It's been a little slow on the snook, but warmer temps this weekend (ahead of a cold front coming early next week) will likely have them biting a little better.  The shrimp jig bite remains good at night around the bridges for the snook.  

SURF/PIER-  Overall the surf fishing has been good this week.  Early in the week with the wind blowing like crazy, the big bluefish came through the Juno Beach Pier and proceeded to just chew their faces off!  Any swimming plug, topwater, spoon, diamond jig, GT Ice Cream, etc that hit the water was promptly destroyed by a hungry bluefish.  Unfortunately it was a small window that only lasted a day.  Southeast winds have (likely) pushed them up north.  When the wind comes around and blows north look for some of them to end up back here again.  Still a decent pick on the pier of smaller bluefish, jacks, and the occasional Spanish Mackerel as the week has gone on.  Pompano reports were a bit slow this week, but a few were caught locally.  With ocean conditions calming into the weekend (and some really nice looking water on the beach right now) look for the pompano to make a little showing.  Plenty of spinner sharks along the beach right now as well.  Yes the sharks are a pain in the butt...BUT watching a spinner blow a topwater into the air is pretty entertaining.  A pretty solid pick of whiting and croakers along the 

NOAA MARINE WEATHER:
FRI...SE winds 10 to 15 kt with gusts to around 20 kt. Seas 2 to 3 ft. Period 4 seconds. Intracoastal waters a moderate chop.

SAT...S SE winds 15 to 20 kt along the coast to S SE 15 to 20 kt with gusts to around 25 kt in the Gulf Stream. Seas 2 to 3 ft. Intracoastal waters a light chop.

SUN...SW winds 10 to 15 kt with gusts to around 20 kt. Seas 2 to 3 ft. Intracoastal waters a light chop. A slight chance of showers.

Thanks For Reading,
Todd

While I don't write a lot about it, I love bass fishing: And winter time in south Florida can lead to some great fishing! (Side note...Maybe I'll start adding a freshwater section every few weeks).  Here's our buddy Rich (IG @rtfishhead) with a couple nice ones from a Lake O tournament recently.  

OFFSHORE-  Fishing remained good offshore this week; with a nice mixed bag assortment.  Best action on pretty much all species will be in 90-300' of water.  While you may hear of a few dolphin out deeper (and with the exception of swordfish and golden tiles), a large part of the action will be in or around the edge at 150'.  Sailfish action remained fair to good, with most boats at least seeing a fish or two.  Numbers on the sails seemed to be a little better down to the south (Lake Worth Pier to Boynton Inlet); but still a fair amount of fish from Palm Beach up to Jupiter.  The trolling boats up north (Like Fort Pierce and north) continue to pick away at the sails as well.  In other words the sailfish are scattered up and down the line; get lucky and land on the right pod or good general area and you may really be able to bang out the releases quick.  With a cold front pushing through this weekend; conditions look ideal for a great sailfish bite...fingers crossed it goes off!  Mixed in with the sails have been a fair number of dolphin, a few cobia, good number of kings, and some nice Blackfin tuna.  Live baits (goggle eyes and small blue runners) under the kite are a great way to go for all of the above species.  Threadfins, pilchards, or sardines (any of them you can find or buy right now) all make good choices for the flatlines.  Snapper fishing has been fair on the bottom.  The usual assortment of mutton and yellowtails have made up most of the catch.  Out deep the swordfish bite has been good when the weather allows.  Season is back open for golden tiles; been some good ones around when the weather allows.  Squid is always a top bait choice for the tilefish.  But those willing to crank a lot can catch some nice tiles on slow pitch jigs  (Check the pic below from Captain Jeff www.gofishjupiter.com of a really nice Golden Tile on JYG Pro Stryke!)  

INSHORE-  Inshore reports were a bit slower this week, but still some fish around.  Pompano reports inshore seemed to slow (or maybe people stopped talking!) in the river.  A cold front into the weekend will likely get them biting again.  A brightly colored Doc's Goofy Jig is a great way to go for the pomps.  In addition it will also entice strikes out of jacks, ladyfish, and honestly just about anything else around!  Sheepshead action improved drastically in Palm Beach and to a lesser extent Jupiter Inlets this week.  Live shrimp remain a solid bait choice for the sheepshead.  A few weeks away from snook season opening back up.  Catch and release action on the snook has been a bit slow.  It takes a little more work, finesse, and time to get them to bite with cooler water temps.  Pay extra attention to tides and keep the baits on the smaller side for the best action with the snook.  Doesn't mean the snook won't bite a bigger bait or lure this time of year; you just have to be much more patient and expect fewer bites.    

SURF/PIER-  It wasn't a record setting week along the beach this week; but fishing overall was decent.  Some big schools of big bluefish around the past few days.  Best action on the bluefish has been late afternoon.  GT Ice Creams, diamond jigs, and loud noisy poppers have all been good lure choices.  Watching a big bluefish come up and smash a topwater is about as cool as it gets.  Just be ready to get those blues in quick; the sharks are around and making quick work of any blues stretched out for an extended period of time.  They don't exactly leave these days; but it's about time to really start seeing the numbers of blacktip/spinner sharks blow up over the next few weeks.  Targeting the sharks with topwaters is another really good adrenaline rush! Best acton on them will be early morning and late afternoon.  Pompano reports were a little slim this week.  A few pomps around, but didn't hear of any big numbers to speak of.  Spanish Mackerel action is good at Peck's Lake (Conditions will likely change that going into the weekend) with plenty of limits coming up.  A Gulfstream Flash Minnow or Clark Squid spoon are both great lure choices for the Macs.  

NOAA MARINE WEATHER:
FRI...Winds W winds 10 to 15 kt. Seas 2 to 3 ft. Period 4 seconds. Intracoastal waters a light chop. A chance of showers.

SAT...N winds 20 to 25 kt with gusts to around 30 kt. Along the coast, seas 4 to 6 ft, occasionally to 8 ft. In the Gulf Stream, seas 5 to 7 ft, occasionally to 9 ft building to 6 to 9 ft, occasionally to 11 ft. Intracoastal waters a moderate chop.

SUN...NE winds 15 to 20 kt with gusts to around 25 kt along the coast to NE 15 to 20 kt in the Gulf Stream. Seas 5 to 8 ft, occasionally to 10 ft. Intracoastal waters choppy in exposed areas.

Thanks For Reading,
Todd
​
It's a lot of cranking when you drop a jig over 600' down...of course with results like this it's worth it! ​

OFFSHORE-  Sailfish action remained fair to good offshore this week.  As I write the report (early afternoon on Thursday) 50 boats fishing the Silver Sailfish Derby have released right at 60 sailfish.  For the most part the last few weeks have played out at about the same rate...at least a bite or two for most, with a few seeing four or five.  The sails have been along the edge in 130-175' of water for the most part from Palm Beach to north of Jupiter Inlet.  Best spot on the sails has bounced around a bit; but the Juno Beach Pier to Jupiter Inlet drift day in and day out seems to produce the bites.  Mixed in with the sails have been a handful of dolphin, a pretty solid number of kings (maybe just a shade shallower than the sails), some nice Blackfin tuna, and the occasional Cobia or wahoo.  The nice thing about the winter time fishing is it is typically best in 150-300ish' feet of water.  You may find some fish around a little farther offshore; but for the most part the best action starts not long after you slide off the edge.  Bottom fishing was good this week.  A nice assortment of porgies, snapper, grunts, and other bottom species in 80-100' of water.  Squid and sardines are the top bait choices on the bottom.   

INSHORE-  Fair fishing inshore this week; with a good little mix of action.  A fair scattering of sheepshead around the ICW and Loxahatchee River this week (As well as a few starting to show up in the Inlets as well).  Look for docks, seawalls, and bridge pilings with good barnacle growth and the sheepshead likely won't be far behind.  Live shrimp remain the top bait choice for the sheepshead, with sand fleas also being a good option.  Pompano reports seemed to jump up a bit inshore this week.  The Loxahatchee River and ICW (Jupiter Island to Home Sound) both seemed to have a handful of pompano.  A pink or orange Doc's Goofy Jig is a good way to go for the pomps.  The nice thing about the Goofy jig is it also tends to produce a good bycatch of jacks, ladyfish, and honestly a whole bunch of other species.  A 3/8oz Doc's tends to be the right size inshore.  Snook fishing was a bit slower this week.  Still fair bite on the 3" NLBN or Thumper Shrimp for those really putting the time in at night on the right tides.  

SURF/PIER-  Fishing was pretty solid again this week along the beach and on the Juno Beach Fishing Pier.  Pompano reports jumped up nicely this week; with both some decent numbers of fish and good size fish in the mix as well.  Along the beach it's the usual assortment of baits (sand fleas, clams, fresh shrimp, and FishBites) getting the bites.  Some pompano (not huge numbers, but more than a few) also coming over the rails at the Juno Beach Pier on both bait and bright colored Doc's Goofy Jigs.  Some big schools of BIG bluefish along the beach early in the week.  A GT Ice Cream, large swimming plug (Rapala X-Rap or Yo-Zuri LC Minnow), or noisy topwater popper are all good lure choices for the bluefish.  Fair number of croaker and whiting around in the first trough.  Fresh pieces of shrimp has been the bait of choice for them.  About time for the topwater shark bite to get going...won't be long now!   

NOAA MARINE WEATHER:
FRI...S winds 20 to 25 kt along the coast to S 20 to 25 kt with gusts to around 25 kt in the Gulf Stream. Seas 3 to 5 ft, occasionally to 6 ft. Period 5 seconds. Intracoastal waters a moderate chop. A slight chance of showers and tstms in the morning.

SAT...SW winds 15 to 20 kt becoming W NW. Seas 2 to 4 ft, occasionally to 5 ft. Intracoastal waters a moderate chop. A slight chance of tstms in the morning. A chance of showers . A chance of tstms.

​SUN...E NE winds 10 to 15 kt with gusts to around 25 kt. Seas 3 to 5 ft, occasionally to 6 ft. Intracoastal waters a moderate chop. A chance of showers with a slight chance of tstms.

Thanks For Reading,
Todd


Joel (IG@ FLswimbaiter.420) with a chunky hybrid...When the freshwater spillways open out west these guys are a lot of fun to catch!

OFFSHORE-   Nicer weather early in the week allowed more people to get offshore; and the reports overall were pretty good.  Sailfish action remains consistent; with pretty much everybody putting the kites up seeing at least a few fish, and quite a few boats getting five or more bites.  Not exactly ideal sailfish conditions for the weekend; but Sunday looks like it could possibly be good for the sails.  The West Palm Beach Fishing Club "Silver Sailfish Derby" is next week; so expect more than a few boats to really start poking around over the next few days.  Live goggle eyes and small blue runners under the kite will be the top bait choice for the sails, while threadfins are a great choice on the flatlines.  Good scattering of kingfish along the 120' ledge.  Most of the kings have been in the 5-10lb range, with a handful of bigger ones around as well.  The full moon did produce a few wahoo to end the year(Our friend Peyton with a nice one pictured below!)  Blackfin Tuna action, including some really good sized ones, has been very good this week.  Action on the Blackfins has been better north of Jupiter Inlet; but still some to the south as well.  Bottom fishing has been pretty good again this week.  A good mixture of mutton snapper, yellowtails, porgies, and throwback groupers coming up off the bottom.  Sardines and squid remain the baits of choice on the bottom right now.   

INSHORE-  A mixture of inshore action this week.  Cooler air temps did seem to bring a nice little push of sheepshead and occasional black drum inshore.  Little better fishing up to the north(Stuart and north), but the ICW in Jupiter and Loxahatchee River did also have a few fish around.  A live shrimp on a light jighead or simple fish finder rig is the best option for the tricky bait stealers.  Boat docks and seawalls with some barnacle growth are good areas to start the search for the sheepshead; especially when they have dark bottom and close proximity to deeper water.  Mixed in with the sheepshead will likely be a few mangrove snapper, big sand perch, and ever present catfish.  The Loxahatchee River did have a few pompano around this week, with a 3/8 Pink Doc's Goofy Jig being a top lure choice.   Catch and release snook fishing was fair this week.  Not a wide open bite on the snook; but those putting in the time have been catching a few.  The shrimp jig (or a 3" NLBN) bite has been pretty good at night; with outgoing tide being the best bet in most cases. 

SURF/PIER-  The first part of the week saw some pretty nice weather; and with it came a good mixed bag of action along the beach and at the Juno Beach Pier.  Pompano reports improved, with a decent scattering of fish being caught up and down the beach.  It didn't seem that any location in particular was red hot for the pomps; more of a scattered pick as they moved up and down the beach.  On the beach sand fleas, clams, and FishBites remain the bait of choice.  Not many pompano at the pier this week, although a handful did come up on bright colored Doc's Goofy Jigs.  Spanish Mackerel action has also improved this week.  The Macs have been biting up north at Peck's Lake and also decently at the Juno Beach Pier.   On the Juno Beach Pier a white crappie jig or small diamond jig will be excellent lure choices.  Very good croaker/whiting bite one day at the Pier this week, with live shrimp being the top bait choice.  Some big bluefish around the past week as well.  The sharks have the bluefish only feeding selectively; so it has been talking a little work to get the bites out of them.  About time for topwater shark action to really get going...won't be long at all now! 

NOAA MARINE WEATHER:
FRI...Along the coast, E winds 10 to 15 kt becoming 20 to 25 kt. In the Gulf Stream, E winds 15 to 20 kt with gusts to around 30 kt. Seas 4 to 5 ft, occasionally to 6 ft. Period 7 seconds. Intracoastal waters choppy in exposed areas.

SAT...Winds S SW winds 20 to 25 kt with gusts to around 35 kt. Seas 5 to 7 ft, occasionally to 9 ft. Intracoastal waters a moderate chop. A slight chance of showers in the morning. A slight chance of tstms. Showers likely.

SUN...W NW winds 10 to 15 kt becoming N NW. Seas 2 to 4 ft, occasionally to 5 ft. Intracoastal waters a light chop. Showers likely in the morning. A slight chance of tstms. A chance of showers.

Thanks For Reading,
Todd

Our friend Peyton (IG @thep3yton) with a nice wahoo to wrap up 2023!!!