Florida Fishing Reports

George Vogel one of my long time clients and a good buddy came down from Mass for his annual August trip and we had some good fishing From the 11th to the 18th with good catches of Shark and Bonita plus some decent Trout and Snook as well as we jumped some nice Tarpon but no luck boating them. The ladys and the blues and the Jacks filled our slow times and the only thing that stopped us this past week was Fay.

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 AUGUST 22, 2008

INSHORE - Not too much to report thanks to Tropical Storm Fay.  Last weekend we did have a good run on mangrove snapper along the channel edges of the Intercoastal.  A live shrimp or a small white bait was the way to go.  The catch and release snook action was still strong on the out going tide in the Ft. Pierce Inlet.  The bait of choice was a pinfish and fish it in the bottom.  We saw a small school of redfish but nothing could get their attention and, we tried everything.  The tarpon have been rolling in the Ft. Pierce Inlet but I haven’t had any hook-ups reported.  There were still a good number of sheepshead, black drum and sand perch around the South Bridge and a live shrimp was the way to go.

OFFSHORE - Over the weekend we had a couple of cobia - 1 was 28 pounds and the other 34 pounds come into the docks.  They were caught in 50 feet of water — 1 on a live greenie and the other on a chartreuse jig.  The kingfish bite was still red hot as all of the boats that went out came back with kings.  They were caught between 25 and 60 feet of water and a live bait was the way to go.  Only 1 sailfish reported to the south of the Ft. Pierce Inlet in 120 feet of water and it was caught on a naked ballyhoo.

BRAGGING BOARD - I got an e-mail from Robert Kinchen about the 1st dolphin his daughter and son caught last weekend.  He said that they went out of the St. Lucie Inlet on Sunday morning and headed towards the Six Mile Reef.  They came upon a weed line and decided to troll it before bottom fishing.  They headed north with no results and turned to head out to the reef.  Within 5 minutes they had on 2 dolphin and a sailfish.  Helen Kinchen - age 12 & Robert Kinchen Jr - age 9 had just caught their very 1st dolphin.  Their dad went on to say that after that they went on out to Six Mile Reef and loaded up on the vermilion snapper.  He did say that all the snapper were over 14 inches.

If you would like to report a catch you can e-mail me at cward11605@aol.com 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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 AUGUST 14, 2008

INSHORE - The reports about the redfish and trout have been good with both fish coming from the area between the North Bridge and Queens’ Cove when fishing the spoil islands on the east side of the river on the start of the falling tide.  A live shrimp or a soft plastic baits will do the job.  Try fishing in 1 to 3 feet of water of water.  The snapper and sheepshead bite has been good along the channel edges and around the area bridges.  Again, a live shrimp has been hard to beat.  The catch and release snook action has been good in the Ft. Pierce Inlet but, the bait of choice is anyone’s guess as it changes from day to day.  A small live shrimp, a pinfish, a pigfish, a big mullet to small white jigs — it’s just a guessing game right now.

OFFSHORE -  There are still plenty of kingfish in 30 to 50 feet of water and they have been feeding on live baits that are slow trolled.  And, as always there is plenty of bonita, sharks, and cuda’s steal your baits.  I did have reports of several cobia in the 30 to 40 pound range and they were caught in 50 feet of water by anglers who were bottom fishing.  Their are still a few sailfish hanging around.  I got reports on Monday about several that were to the south of the Ft. Pierce Inlet.  The bottom fishing has been good over the reefs and wrecks.  Fish either live or dead baits — it has not made much difference.  Along the beaches the tarpon have been active as well as the spanish mackerel, and the big jacks.  These fish have been following the bait schools. 

BRAGGING BOARD - On Monday on a family fishing trip our youngest granddaughter — Kaitlyn Ward - age 3 started her kingfish career when she caught her very first king and it weighed in at 15 pounds.  I am sure that she will be following her big sister –Savannah - age 8 and their dad - Rob into the SKA fishing tournaments. Our daughter in law - Tammy had a nice sailfish on but as the fish made a run for the boat it jumped across the bow of the boat and the line caught on a cleat and the line snapped.  Last Wednesday afternoon Danny Maness & Rob Ward caught a nice pair of kings.  Danny’s fish weighed in at 44.4 pounds and Rob’s weighed in at 39.8 pounds.  Both were caught in live baits in 40 feet of water.  Last week I had the results of the CENTRAL FLORIDA OFFSHORE FISHING CLUB in my report but had a problem with the pic.  Hal Kersey caught the 38.5 king.  The anglers in the photo are L to R - Hal Kersey, Hazel & Jimmie Brichetto and John Hooten.  They were fishing on the REEL PARTY.

If you would like to report a catch you can e-mail me at cward11605@aol.com or you can 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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The first part of the week brought lots of rain, and not just the familiar afternoon thunderstorms; it rained early mornings, into late evenings. It was mid-week before I got out fishing. Wednesday, 8/13, I fished Estero Bay with Robert & Roberta Dulberg and their children, Daniel, ten, and Rebecca, six. Rebecca was a little leery of boats in general, but quickly adapted and had a great time–especially when she got to see a porpoise and a manatee close-up. The group caught two keeper mangrove snapper and released smaller snapper, sheepshead, cravalle jack, trout and ladyfish. Robert caught two nice redfish–one, a bull at 28 1/2 inches, was released, and the other at 25 1/2 inches went home for dinner! Robert and Daniel fished again with me Thursday, joined by Robert’s brother, Mark, and his children. This time we headed near-shore to the reefs and fished there as long as we could, but it was a little sloppy out there and more than Daniel could handle after a while. So we eventually moved in to fish off the channel. We ended up with a flounder and five keeper mangrove snapper and we released smaller snapper. 

Kevin Port, son Jake, and friends Dave and John fished with me 18 miles west of New Pass, on Friday morning. Using live shrimp, we caught over a hundred mangrove snapper that were just short of keeper size for federal waters so we had to release those, along with some big ladyfish. But we did catch five keeper mangrove snapper, three keeper yellowtail snapper, three Spanish mackerel to 24 inches and porgies. http://fishbustercharters.com

 The photo shown is of mother-daughter anglers Kay and Julia Ware with a red grouper caught on shrimp and released on a recent near-shore trip to the artificial reefs.

http://fishbustercharters.com

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August 14, 2008

INSHORE:

It’s great to live and fish along the Treasure Coast!  Fishing was a little on the slow side this week, but we had fun out there on the water anyway.  Early mornings continue to hold the best opportunities for fishing.  The weather has been fantastic if you get out and back before the afternoon storms roll into the area.  Continued summer patterns will give you the opportunity to have some great fishing weather.

Fishing was on the slow side out there this week.  Redfish were on the flats one day and disappeared the next.  Trout fishing has remained on the slow side.  The summer doldrums have really kicked in!  We did manage some short snook on several days around the mangroves and docks.  Kimberly Kolz caught hers from under a dock in Fort Pierce, while Adrian Lusardi lost a couple nice hits at the same dock.  There was a definite lack of bait around the flats.  Most of the anglers fishing this week were after snapper along the channel edges.  I had several good reports of nice sized snapper from under some of the docks and north along the channel at Harbor Branch.  The southerly winds kept us from enjoying fishing south of Fort Pierce on some of the days we were out this week. 

Bridges have had some snapper, sheephead and a few reports of flounder.  The jetties at night have continued to hold snook, jacks and tarpon.  I had a few good reports of pompano along some of the beach areas on shrimp or sand fleas.  Brennan Smith was out one day and caught several nice kingfish right along the beach.  Live bait is the best way to catch them right now.

Tip of the Week:  Snook season is fast approaching!  It’s that time of year to break out the trusty ol’ snook gear and make sure it is armed and ready for action.  Checking line, rods and reels are essential to being prepared for that opening night.  It pays to get things ready now so you won’t be running around crazily trying to get prepared.  Oh….and it’s also a good idea to check that snook permit and make sure it’s still good.  Have fun this snook season!

As always, remember, fishing is not just another hobby….it’s an ADVENTURE!!

Good Fishing and Be Safe,
Captain Charlie Conner
www.fishtalescharter.com

email: captaincharlie@fishtalescharter.com

772-284-3852

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Busy week and good results with Bonita in the ocean and lots of Jacks, Blues and Ladys in the lagoon as well as a smattering of Pompano and Trout.On Monday with Bill Wright we caught quite a few Blues Ladys and Jacks on the fly while we had some chances at big Reds.On Wed with Alan Julier we had similiar action plus a couple of Pompano and Bonita. Then on Thusday with James and Ian we caught about 1oo Ladys blues and Jacks as well as a 80# BT Shark and some Boneheads. Fianally today with Rob Harris we did the same except early in the AM we caught a double header with 2 Tarpon on MirroLures at the same time. Unfortunatley for the smaller one a Bull Shark had a meal so we boated 1 !/2 Poons and had a memorable day !

Watch Sebastian Fishing Videos

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August 7, 2008

INSHORE:

We enjoyed fishing schools of redfish once again this week.  It’s a sight in itself to see anywhere from fifty to one-hundred redfish out in front of the boat.  We had some great fun and won a few battles fishing the flats of the Treasure Coast!  It might be hot and muggy, but it’s a great time of year to fish the Indian River.

While fishing with Steve Rial and his buddy, we ran into Charlie Norburn and his wife on the flats.  Both boats ended up fishing a nice school of reds and everyone came out a winner!  Charlie’s wife, Linda, caught her very first redfish and can’t wait to get out fishing again.  The fish have been moving so any flat around the river could be holding them on any given day.  From the Moorings south to Bear Point, you could find a school out there feeding.  Most times, they have been very shallow so watch and see what is going on around you.  DOA TerrorEyz has been the go to bait recently for redfish.  DOA shrimp or CAL grub tails will also give you an advantage when fishing for redfish.

Snook have been holding around the jetties, docks and bridges around the river.  A good night bite on the moving tides continues to keep anglers busy with catch and release snook.  The trout bite continued to be slow this past week.  They are gorging themselves on pin and pigfish, so try the TerrorEyz around the grass flats this time of year.  Lots of good size snapper reported along the channel edges this week.  Greg Schroeder reported he is catching lots of nice snapper.  The surf has held whiting, jacks, Spanish mackerel and snook along the beaches.  Can’t beat a good ol’ silver spoon this time of year!

Tip of the Week:   Patience when fishing the shallow flats can really pay off if you take the time to watch the water and learn to read what is going on around you.  It’s good time of year to get out and see what is happening around you.  Calm mornings mean that you can see just about anything moving on the flats.  Redfish can sit and feed quietly, but you can find them if you are patient and watch.  Noting where fish are feeding can help you on future adventures.  Redfish like to feed in the shallow, sandy flats and sometimes are in less than a foot of water.  It’s fun, exciting and rewarding fishing!

As always, remember, fishing is not just another hobby….it’s an ADVENTURE!!

Good Fishing and Be Safe,
Captain Charlie Conner
www.fishtalescharter.com

email: captaincharlie@fishtalescharter.com

772-284-3852

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AUGUST 7, 2008

INSHORE - The inshore fishing this week has still been on the slow side with the only action coming from the trout and redfish at daylight.  Find the schools of bait like the glass minnows on the flats and the fish will be there.  Try a small top water bait or a small live bait.  This has worked well up until about 8am.  During the last morning and early afternoon the only reports have been of snapper, sheepshead and black drum along the channel edges and they have been taking live shrimp.  I did get reports of some nice size flounder coming from the sand bars around the Ft. Pierce Inlet and to the south of the South bridge.  Most of these fish were caught on a live shrimp.  Also, a few flounder have been caught at the Ft. Pierce Jetty this week.  After dark the catch and release snook around the Ft. Pierce Inlet and the local bridges has been good for anglers using live baits. 

OFFSHORE - The offshore fishing this time of year is slow except for the bonita, cuda’s and small kingfish.  These fish have been in 30 to 50 feet of water to the south of the Ft. Pierce Inlet.  The bite has been the best just before dark and they have been feeding on live baits.  I am still getting a few reports about the sailfish in 100 feet of water.  We had one boat jump 3 on Saturday.  There were also a few nice wahoo reported in 250 feet of water and they took a ballyhoo with a black/red skirt.  The wahoo were in the 25 to 35 pound range.  The only dolphin I had reported came from 800 to 1200 feet of water.  There was only a few and none were over 10 pounds.  As the water warms up the bottom fishing has improved for snapper, grouper and seabass when fishing over the reefs and wrecks.  Also, look for a cobia to pop up in that same area.

CENTRAL FLORIDA OFFSHORE FISHING CLUB - The CFOFC held their monthly offshore fishing tournament out of the Dockside Inn on August 2nd.  It seems that kingfish was the fish of the day.  Some were caught on live baits and some on dead and in depths from 20 to 75 feet.

1st place - Hal Kersey - Reel Party - 38.5 king

2nd place - David Stone - Bad Habits II - 23.1 king

3rd place - Al Wilcox - Swamp Thing - 18.6 king

4th place - Bob McDonald - Gitty Up - 14.0 king

5th place - Brad Perez - Stock Options - 10.4 king

6th place - Shane Craig - Dread Naught - 8.9 king

7th place - Kim Harrell - Fish Tales - 7.9

8th place - Craig Toth - Afternoon Delight - 7.2 king

The next offshore tournament for the CFOFC is scheduled for September 13th.

BRAGGING BOARD - Ricky Eisen– age 10 bested his personal best last Saturday when he caught 2 kings.  One went 36.8 and the other was 34.6.  He caught them both on live baits and was fishing in about 30 feet of water to the south of the Ft. Pierce Inlet.  His dad Jesse Pfeiffer said that the fish swam up to the boat without much of a fight.

If you would like to report a catch you can e-mail me at cward11606@aol.com 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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 JULY 31, 2008

INSHORE - The inshore fishing has been good this week in the cooler hours of the day — 6am to 10am and from about 5pm until dark.  Try using top water baits for the trout and the catch and release snook around the docks along South Indian River Drive and at Bear Point.  To the north try Harbor Branch or around Queen’s Cove.  After about 8am fish live baits like a pinfish or a shrimp under a popping cork in 2 to 5 feet of water which seems to be the best spot.  The redfish bite has also been good when using soft plastic baits or a small live pinfish.  There have been good reports of redfish from Round Island down to Queen’s Cove.  There has also been some reds along the shore line at Bear Point down to Big Mud Creek.  There has been a lot of snapper along the channel edges, around the local bridges and in the Ft. Pierce Inlet.  Try fishing with a small live bait or a small live shrimp.  Also, there has been a fairly good black drum bite in those same areas. 

OFFSHORE - Anyone want a kingfish?  They haven’t been hard to find.  Try fishing a live bait like a pilchard , blue runner or a mullet in 20 to 50 feet of water along the beaches.  I am still some reports of cobia in 50 feet of water and sailfish in 100 to 125 feet of water.  Several wahoo were reported this week and they were caught in 350 feet of water on a red/black skirted ballyhoo.  The bottom fishing has picked up for anglers fishing in 90 feet of water and using live baits or chunks of squid.  The late afternoon bite has been the best after the rain storms pass.  And, along the beaches look for schools of big jacks, spanish mackerel and even a tarpon or two.  Just look for the birds and the schools of bait.  On the first day of mini season the boats that went to the north of the Ft. Pierce Inlet came back empty.  The ones that went south all got their limits.  No monsters were brought back to the docks.

BRAGGING BOARD - Savannah Ward limited out on kingfish last Saturday.  She also caught her dad’s limit too.  Her biggest fish was 24 pounds.  Keith Thurman & Ron Lyman were out with me on Friday and Ron had an 11 pound trout.  This was a personal best for him.  They also caught variety of snapper, black drum and sheepshead.  Jesse Pfeiffer was bottom fishing in the Ft. Pierce Inlet on the incoming tide and limited out on mangrove snapper.  He was using small white baits and never had a fish under 20 inches.

If you would like to report a catch you can e-mail me at cward11605@aol.com 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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August 1, 2008

INSHORE:

Continued hot and muggy weather around the Treasure Coast this week has bought thunderstorms and rain around the area most afternoons.  Fishing early or late in the day will give you the best opportunities out on the river.  It’s hot out there, so drink plenty of fluids throughout the day. 

Redfish was our main target all week.  Earlier in the week, the schools continued to feed on the shallow flats and we had some great success.  The schools left the flats by the end of the week, but should appear any day again.  Soft plastics, like DOA TerrorEyz or shrimp work best if fished along the bottoms slowly on the flats.  Live pinfish work when nothing else will get them to eat.  Gary Cruz was out with me earlier in the week with son, Devin, and nephew, Shane Murphy.  They guys combined for a total of seven redfish in the 27″ to 30″ range.  By midweek, the schools had left the shallows for deeper waters.  Joe Vennarini and Debbie Stange each caught a snook this week.  Debbie also caught a huge ladyfish that day.  Joe broke in his new rod and reel with a big jack crevalle.  Bob Bergen and Charlie Norburn joined me to seek out some redfish.  It was a fun week on the river, even if the reds had moved out of the flats.  We will get them next trip!

There are still lots of snook around the inlet, docks and bridges of the inlet.  Night fishing and fishing the tides has been good with live baits.  There are a few Spanish mackerel around the river and I have seen some bonito in the turning basin.  Not the frenzy of a few weeks ago, but you can still find some out there feeding.  Trout fishing was slower this week.  Your best chance is at first light with top water lures.  There are so many pinfish and pigfish out there, it’s hard to tempt one with anything else right now.  Some of the best action has been for snapper around the channel edges and structure.  The sizes have been decent and make a great meal.  Surf fishing has been mostly some whiting along the beaches.

Tip of the Week:
  There are a number of things to remember with fishing this time of year.  Fluids, sunscreen, sunglasses and hats are all important to keeping safe in the hot temperatures and high sunlight you face out there.  Prepare before you get on the water and continue taking in fluids and using sunscreen throughout the day.  It can make your day enjoyable and reduce the risks of too much sun.

As always, remember, fishing is not just another hobby….it’s an ADVENTURE!!

Good Fishing and Be Safe,
Captain Charlie Conner
www.fishtalescharter.com

email: captaincharlie@fishtalescharter.com

772-284-3852

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