SW FL-Bonita Beach: Good Action Offshore
Fishing Saturday morning, 6/21, about 17 miles out of New Pass with Dan Slavenburg and friend, Ryan, we cast live shrimp to catch eight keeper mangrove snapper and a dozen whitebone porgies to 15 inches. We released lots of smaller mangs, short red grouper, yellowtail and an almaco jack. Tuesday morning, I fished 14 miles west of New Pass with Mike and Norine Weber and Bill and Gail Carlson. We had lots of action and variety all morning, using live shrimp. Catches included three keeper hogfish, two at 13 inches and one at 14 inches, Spanish mackerel to 24 inches (we kept two and released three), ten whitebone porgies, of which we kept three, fifteen keeper mangrove snapper, and grunts. We released gag grouper shorts to 18 inches, red grouper to 19 inches, triggerfish, and a 15 inch mutton snapper. Thursday, Greg Sommeski, sons Greg, Jr. and Louis, and friend Joe Morono fished with me about 17 miles offshore. We caught a mess of mangrove snapper, kept ten of those to 14 inches and released lots more, along with whitebone porgies to 15 inches. We released Spanish mackerel to 25 inches, along with gag and red grouper to 19 ½ inches, a 17 inch true black grouper and a 15 inch mutton snapper. We used live shrimp for all.
The photo shown is of angler Sarah Hobbe with a 16 inch hogfish caught on shrimp on a recent offshore trip.
Ft. Pierce Inshore - Offshore Report
JUNE 26, 2008
INSHORE - The catch and release snook action has been good just before daylight around the lighted docks along Indian River Drive. We had several fish over the slot. Try free lining a live bait like a pinfish or a pigfish. The trout fishing has also been good at first light and just before dark. The bigger fish are taking live mullet fished in 4 to 6 feet of water just off the edges of the flats. Try the area around Big Mud Creek. I am still getting reports of good catches of snapper along the channel edges and in the Ft. Pierce Inlet and a live shrimp has been the way to go. And, if you are looking for some fun just take a small silver spoon and find the schools of spanish mackerel and bonita that are coming in the Inlet.
OFFSHORE - Not much change again this week. There is plenty of sailfish action in 75 to 125 feet of water. Most of the sails were caught on naked ballyhoo. We are still seeing a few dolphin come into the docks and they have ranged from 12 to 25 pounds and caught on a skirted ballyhoo in the green/yellow color. The fish have been scattered from 70 to 300 feet of water. The kingfish action is still good for anglers using a live bait in 40 to 70 feet of water and using a lot of chum. The night fishing for snapper has been good in 50 to 90 feet of water with cut baits like squid, sardines or cigar minnows working the best. Once again the chumming has been the key. There are still schools of bonita, jacks and spanish mackerel chasing the schools of glass minnows along the beaches.
BRAGGING BOARD - Ray Pirino caught a nice 21 pound dolphin last Saturday while fishing in 80 feet of water out of the Ft. Pierce Inlet. He was bringing up his bait to check it and the dolphin turned and followed it up then slammed it. Jimbo Wilson caught 4 snapper to 8 pounds will fishing in 60 feet of water. He was using a piece of sardine for bait.
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
Big Reds on Surface Plugs
Just back from a great bonefishing trip to Abaco and fishing on 6/19/08 with the Furino Gang we caught 3 Reds weighing about 88 lbs total on Super Spook jrs as well as a mess of ladyfish and some decent Jacks . The bahamas was good and I always look forward to my bonefishing excursions. All my bonefish were caught on a Sage 6wt tcr and a 7 wt xI2.Lots of wading and great memories.
SW FL-Bonita Beach: Reds, Snook, Snapper, Sheepies Inshore; Yellowtail & Porgies Gulfside
Monday, 6/16, I fished central Estero Bay with Scott Heiss, his brother, Steve Heiss, their Heiss, dad, Jerry Heiss, and Scott’s ten-year-old son, Nicholas. We had a good morning of fishing with live shrimp along the tree lines. Nicholas caught the biggest redfish at 22 inches (see photo) and we caught two other keepers at 19 ½ inches and 20 inches. The group also caught seven keeper mangrove snapper and we released a 26 inch snook. Paul Duguay and friends fished with me on Wednesday morning, seventeen miles southwest of New Pass. We kept about twenty-five porgies around 16 inches and released a good many more. We also caught about ten yellowtail snapper, but only one of those was a keeper, and a keeper mangrove snapper. We released gag grouper shorts to 19 inches and red grouper short to 18 inches. Brian Rodgers and Rodney Poole fished the mangrove shoreline of Estero Bay with me on a mostly rainy Thursday morning. Brian got a 20 inch redfish on shrimp and the guys lost two larger ones that ran under the mangrove roots and broke off. They also caught six nice mangrove snapper, good-sized for the bay at 11 to 14 inches, along with two sheepshead 13 and 14 inches long.
The photo shown is of young angler, Nicholas, with a 22 inch redfish caught on shrimp on a recent inshore trip.
Ft. Pierce Inshore - Offshore Report
JUNE 19, 2008
INSHORE - The inshore fishing is still a little slow during the daylight hours but, with the full moon this week you can look for good action at night. Try finding a lighted dock in the area for the catch and release snook and also for trout. Try free lining a greenie or shrimp just inside the shadows of the light. Also, good reports of snapper along the channel edges as well as around the bridges and in the Ft. Pierce Inlet. Small white baits or small live shrimp will work just fine. The daytime action has been OK at first light for trout on top water baits. The area of Big Mud Creek seems to be producing the bigger fish from 4 to 7 pounds with a lot of fish in the 2 to 4 pound range. If you are looking for redfish you will need to look shallow and you will need to make accurate casts to the fish. Try using a soft plastic baits or a piece of cut bait like a ladyfish. There are still schools of spanish mackerel and bonita working the bait schools in the Ft. Pierce Inlet and in the Turning Basin. Try your luck with a small silver spoon.
OFFSHORE - There has not been much of a change since last week but, we expect that this time of the year. There is a lot of action one day and slow the next. I’m still getting a lot of sailfish reports and the fish have been in 95 to 125 feet of water and taking naked ballyhoo. The dolphin bite slowed way down with the only fish being reported this week coming from 125 to 350 and they have been scattered at best. Most of the fish were schoolie size — 4 to 7 pounds. I did have reports of bigger dolphin but they came from the other side of the Gulfstream. The kingfish bite has been steady along the beaches in 20 to 50 feet of water and a live bait has been your best bet. Mots of the kings have been in the 12 to 18 pound range. We did have several cobia come into the docks this week and they were caught in 90 feet of water on a live bait. The snapper fishing at night has been good for anglers fishing the 50 foot reef and chumming hard to attract the snapper. Most of the fish reported were in the 4 to 8 pound range.
CENTRAL FLORIDA OFFSHORE FISHING CLUB - The CFOFC held their monthly offshore tournament this past weekend out of the Dockside Inn in Ft. Pierce. Members of the club fished offshore on Saturday and brought back a number of fish. The reports were that they had fish from 50 out to 1100 feet of water. Alan Wilcox caught a 25.6 pound dolphin along with 9 more smaller ones. Bobby Thorlton on the Buckfin just missed out on first place when he weighed in a 25 pound cobia. Other members brought back kings to weigh.
1st place - Alan Wilcox - 25.6 pound dolphin
2nd place - Bobby Thorlton - 25 pound cobia
3rd place - Hal Kersey - 17 pound king
4th place - Dave Tindell - 15.7 pound king
5th place - Wally Schultz - 11.9 pound dolphin
6th place - Jesse Perez - 11.5 pound king
BRAGGING BOARD - Teen Angler - Kalib Guttler caught and released a snook at Taylor Creek Spillway that was a personal best for him. Kalib didn’t take the time to weigh the fish but he estimated it to be about 25 pounds. He caught it on a Yo-zuir 3-D minnow in the black.gold pattern. I got an e-mail from Linda Glass about a catch they made on June 14th out of the St. Lucie Inlet. She reported that Doug Poole, Valerie Mercer, Jeremy Glass & Chris Bowen – all of Port St. Lucie caught a 7 & 1/2 foot sailfish in 80 feet of water. They caught the sail on a live greenie and were fishing on the boat — Love To Fish. I got an e-mail from Nicole Hamm stating that on her 1st offshore trip she caught a 30 pound jack in 100 feet of water out of the St. Lucie Inlet. She was also on board the Love To Fish and they were drifting live greenie’s when she caught the jack. On Friday — David Wagner caught a 34 pound dolphin in 114 feet of water out of the Ft. Pierce Inlet. He caught him on a blue/white/pink Islander with a ballyhoo. This was a personal best for David. He was fishing on the Boatacious with Rick & Trae Sorensen and family friend Brad. They are members of the Old Salts from St. Pete and visit Ft. Pierce each year for a week of our good fishing.
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
South Indian River Fishing Report
June 18, 2008
INSHORE:
Summer weather patterns have sure arrived here on the Treasure Coast. Afternoon thunderstorms loom off in the west each day. We had some really good days fishing part of the week and things slowed down to a crawl on some days out there. Get out early during this time of year and work those top water lures around the bait schools for a good chance at hooking up as the sun rises off in the east.
Trout fishing has had its up and down days lately. Live pinfish or pigfish are their favorite food this time of year, but a DOA Deadly Combo is also hard to beat. Bear Point has continued to hold lots of baitfish around the point. Queen’s Cove has also held its share of the bait. I like to drift or pole the flats during June to fish a larger area.
Redfish are out there and we had a couple good follows with Mark Murch, but they turned just before we could get a pickup. Look on flats that are one to three feet of water and are a softer bottom for them to be rooting around in. DOA shrimp or CAL jerk baits have worked well for redfish all year. Keep a stealthy approach to the flats or you might as well move on to another area. They be quick to leave if you make much noise at all.
We have still found snook around the flats and docks. James Hall of Bassmaster Magazine found a couple shorts with a DOA Bait Buster. Mark Murch also found a nice snook with the same Bait Buster. Remember to release them quickly and safely as they are out of season. Docks around the river will continue to hold snook. The inlet area will be have lots of them hanging around the bridges, docks and jetties this time of year.
Spanish mackerel, bonito, jacks and ladyfish are following the glass minnows into the inlet on the incoming tide. Mangrove and mutton snapper are around the channel edges and bridges. We found schools of snapper crashing glass minnows on the flats recently. Mackerel, bluefish and whiting have been around the surf and you might find tarpon, jacks or snook in close to the beach if the bait schools are nearby.
Tip of the Week:
Drifting the flats can prove to be very effective. Let the wind or tide move you across your favorite flat. You will cover a greater area and create much less noise. Watch for the bait schools and drift along to fish them thoroughly. It’s a fun and exciting way to fish. Have some fun out there soon!
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
Bonita Beach, SW FL-Hog, Yellowtail, Mangs, Spanish, Sharks & Reds
In celebration of Harry’s birthday, brothers Grant and Harry Kurtz, along with friends Joe and Thais Allen, fished with me Monday morning, 6/9,seventeen miles west of New Pass. The Spanish mackerel bite was strong and we free-lined shrimp for those, kept nine to 27 inches, and released lots more, along with gag shorts and blue runners. We also caught whitebone porgies and two hogfish, one of which was a keeper at 14 ½ inches. Wednesday, Van & Amy McQueen, daughter Danielle, son Peyton, Peyton’s friend Hayden Beach, and family friend Dan Neal fished with me about 17 miles out of New Pass. Amy caught a nice mutton snapper 16 inches long and the group caught a mess of Spanish mackerel to 27 inches and whitebone porgies. We released an undersized hogfish, gag and red grouper shorts, grunts and porgies, with plenty of action all morning. Friday, fishing 26 miles west of New Pass with Dave and Carol Young, we used live shrimp to catch over a dozen keeper yellowtail snapper and we released about a half dozen smaller ones. I kept moving further offshore because we were competing with porpoise at most of my spots. We also caught some good sized whitebone porgies. We released small mangrove snapper and lots of red grouper shorts to 18 ½ inches. We also had quite a shark-fest, releasing at least fifteen sharpnose sharks, all around the three foot length. I fished inshore Saturday morning in central Estero Bay with Jim Hammer, sons Cameron and Collin and friend, Erica Bensik. Thirty seconds after we anchored and dropped a few lines over, Jim hooked a big redfish but it ran under the trees, wrapped his line and got away. We caught another redfish keeper at twenty inches along with seven keeper mangrove snapper, all on shrimp.
The photo shown is of an 18 inch mangrove snapper caught on shrimp on a recent offshore trip.
South Indian River Fishing Report
June 12, 2008
INSHORE:
We have enjoyed some wonderful summer weather this week on the Indian River. There were some great days to be out fishing along the Treasure Coast. I had the pleasure of meeting some experienced anglers and a lot of fun out on the water. I love this time of year!
Parish and Chantel Murphy were down over the weekend and we hit the waters of the Indian River at first light. Parish topped off the day with a 26″ trout and 26″ redfish from the flats. Chantel had a huge trout hit her top water lure just beside the boat, but only left us a big wake as it left us quickly. The the week, I spent at the DOA Outdoor Writers Festival in Jensen Beach. Met some top notch anglers and writers from around the state of Florida. Scott Allgood and Spencer Hobby spent a day on the water and met the challenge of the shallow water flats. Scott boated three snook up to 26″ and two redfish that were 26″ and 31″. Spencer showed his skills by catching a 20″ gag grouper and two trout of 23″ and 26″ for the day. We had a short day with James Hall and Mark King and managed a few short snook and some angry jack crevalle in a few short hours on the water. We used all DOA Lures and proved they produce fish! It was a fantastic week out there! Look for some of the photos on next weeks report.
Some large trout have been holding on the grass flats. Bear Point, Queen’s Cove and Harbor Branch have been productive. Try a DOA Deadly Combo for some good trout action. Spencer worked one with a glow shrimp for his two gator trout. Parish hooked up with his on a DOA CAL jig head with a jerk bait for his gator.
There are still some small redfish schools cruising around the area. We landed two reds on top water this week. Parish had one inhale a Skitterwalk and Scott with his ever faithful DOA Bait Buster proved they would eat one also. Look in the shallows and you might see a few tailing on the flats. Stealth is a must this time of year. Soft plastics on the flats can work great this time of year.
We found some snook holding around some of the docks and mangroves this week. James nailed a couple of shorts and Scott landed three…..all on DOA Bait Busters! Remember…snook season is closed, so get a quick photo and release them safely.
Lots of mutton and lane snapper on the river. We found schools of snapper feeding on the glass minnows. You can find lots of snapper along the channel edges and all the Spanish mackerel and Bonita you want around the inlet on the incoming tides. The beaches have held tarpon around the bait schools along with mackerel, bluefish and jacks.
Tip of the Week: Think about slowing down your ride with the price of gasoline. Running slower can save a lot of gas in a years time and will only keep you from those fishing spots for a few minutes longer. Keep your motor tuned each year and change your spark plugs several time a year to keep your engine running efficiently. The gas prices will only keep going up and you can save some money by managing your trips. Plan your trips to minimize traveling whenever you can. Slow down a little and save some money!
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
Ft. Pierce Inshore - Offshore Report
JUNE 12, 2008
INSHORE - The inshore fishing has picked up this week with a good trout bite at date break on top water baits. The bigger trout have been coming from the south end of the Intercoastal from the Midway Road area south to the power lines. There has been a steady redfish bite around the spoil islands to the north of the North Bridge and on the high tide. Soft plastic baits or cut bait has been working the best. Look for the mangrove snapper all along the channel edges as well as around the local bridges and in the Ft. Pierce Inlet. Live shrimp or a small pinfish are both working well. If it is spanish mackerel you are looking for just go to the Ft. Pierce Inlet or the Turning Basin on the incoming tides and you will see all the big schools and throw a silver spoon for the best results. I had several reports of tarpon in the Ft. Pierce Inlet just after dark. But, they are feeding on the schools of small glass minnows and it makes it very hard to entice them with any other baits.
OFFSHORE - There has been plenty of sailfish action this week in depths fro 75 to 125 feet of water. Most of the fish reported are being caught on ballyhoo and to the south of the Ft. Pierce Inlet. The kingfish have been providing steady action for anglers fishing in 30 to 50 feet of water and most of the kings have been from 12 to 25 pounds. Live bait has been taking most of the kings. The dolphin bite has been slow and scattered at best. The fish I have seen this week were small — from 5 to 10 pounds and these were caught on ballyhoo. The bottom fishing for snapper ad grouper has been good over the reefs in 50 to 80 feet of water. Most anglers have been chumming and using cut baits. The Boils have been producing some over the slot snook for catch and release. Also, a few permit and tarpon there too.
BRAGGING BOARD - On a recent trip out of the Ft. Pierce Inlet Josh Kersey said that he and the crew on the Seawolf made a run to the other side of the Gulfstream in search of some big yellowfin tuna. After hours of catching small blackfin and skip jacks they decided to start dolphin fishing. They had several fish in the 30 pound range and the biggest dolphin they had ever seen — it was 60.5 pounds. He said it was the best dolphin trip they have ever had. Other anglers on the Seawolf were Hal Kersey, John Hotten, Donnie Phillips & Paul Tousignant. I got an e-mail and picture from Karen Plante. She said that they went out of the Ft. Pierce Inlet in their pontoon boat and were fishing with live mullet. She said that something hit her bait and the fun began. After a 20 minute fight she had a 30 pound kingfish to bring back to be weighed.
CONGRATULATIONS - Just a quick congrats to our granddaughter — Savannah Ward & Team Pursuit on her win in St. Augustine last Thursday. Savannah – age 8 — was fishing in the Kingbuster 400 in the Junior Division. Her king weighed 22.45 pounds and she took second place out of 100 kids. Not a bad birthday present for her.
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
Tortugas Tales and Goliaths on Bonita Beach Reefs
I left Sunday morning, 6/1, for Key West, where six of us spent the night before taking off for the Tortugas on a boat we chartered. For once, I was the charter’s customer rather than the captain. Fishing that area has always been on my list of things to do but, in all these years, I had never managed to do it.
We all had visions of 25 pound groupers and huge mutton snapper like we had heard about from others who had fished the Tortugas, But when we hooked up with our captain, he informed us that bottom fishing hadn’t been so good lately and that our best bet was going to be trolling for dolphin (mahi). So we trolled by day and bottom fished at night. We left Key West about 12:30 in the afternoon on Monday, June 2nd. We began trolling about an hour later, and 45 minutes after that, we put lines out. Suddenly, a sailfish appeared on a flat line—I looked up and saw the bill of the sail fish—It had hit the wire in front of the lure, then kinked it and was gone. Fifteen minutes later, we had four take-downs with dolphin on all four lines. We continued to catch 30 inch-plus schoolies for about two hours, then we headed out to 2600 feet in search of granders. We trolled and picked up a few more smaller dolphin until about 8:30 PM, and ended up on the “Pill Box,” where we anchored in 70 feet about fifteen miles from the Marquesas. There, we caught some nice, twenty-inch yellowtail snapper and a few mangrove snapper and released a few short grouper.
At first light, after watching the sun rise over the Atlantic, we free-lined bait and fished for yellowtail, but we ended up with three cero mackerel instead, to 35 inches. We ate a quick breakfast and headed out deeper to troll in 35o feet. Fifteen minutes later, three lines went down, all with skipjack tunas. We trolled a couple more hours with little action. All of a sudden, a rigger knocked down on the port side of the boat—A 350 pound blue marlin was greyhounding toward the boat, screaming the line off the reel! Unfortunately, the fish was about six times faster than the boat we were in. Its bill wrapped the 80 lb. leader and snapped it (of course, it had hit one of the smaller reels.) Still, the sight of that marlin was a heart-pounding, once-in-a-lifetime experience for all of us. That fish was just 30 yards off the side of the boat. It covered 200 feet in two leaps, completely out of the water, just like I have always seen on T.V.
We trolled along and ended up with a 25 pound bull dolphin as our biggest catch, but limits of quality dolphin from five to fifteen pounds were caught by all (photo below.) We elected to anchor up early, about 35 miles west of the Marquesas to indulge in a fresh fish dinner in calmer water where we could cook. Then we anchored up for another night of yellowtailing. We caught fifteen nice yellowtail and a few more mangroves and released lots of smaller keepers before the sharks closed in on us.
We were up Wednesday morning at first light again ready to troll but we awoke to squall-lines and rough conditions so we decided to start the five hour journey back to Key West, where about three hours of fish-cleaning awaited us. All in all, it was a great time with good friends, great fishing and an adventure to remember always.
With my feet planted on terra firma for a day, I was ready by Friday to resume my regular, local fishing. I fished the artificial reefs off Bonita Beach Friday morning with William Smith, son Walker, daughter Audrey and friend, Aaron Peets. We used shrimp at first to catch our table-fare—nine Spanish mackerel to 25 inches, and we released blue runners and cravalle jacks. Next, we baited with blue runners for some sport-fishing for goliath grouper. We released two of those, a 60-pounder caught by Walker and a 100-pounder caught by Aaron.
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Fishing Blog- Web Updates - Nov. 4, 2009
- Salmo Sting Review - Salmo Lures
- Salmo Chubby Darter Review - Salmo Lures
- Salmo Bullhead Review - Salmo Lures
- Salmo Hornet Review - Salmo Lures
- Shrimp Tease Review - Creme Lures
- Killer Diller Shrimp Review - Creme Lures
- Jerk N? Shrimp Review - Creme Lures
- Devil?s Tongue Review- Saltwater - Creme Lures
- Creme Shrimp Soft Plastic Lure Review - Creme Lures
