Ft. Pierce Inshore - Offshore Report
APRIL 30, 2009
INSHORE - There has not been a lot to talk about this week with all the strong southeast winds. The winds have everything to the south in the river almost un fishable. But, to the north around the Round Island & Queen’s Cove area I did have reports of some big trout and they were feeding on live white baits. In that same area I also had reports of small snook taking the same baits in 3 to 5 feet of water. As for the redfish — cut bait has been the bait to use. Most of the fish reported were caught from Little Jim Bridge area north to Jack island. And, the snook have been feeding in the Ft. Pierce Inlet at the end of the out going tide for the anglers using live baits fished on the bottom.
OFFSHORE - Last Thursday and Friday there was a good dolphin bite in 220 to 240 feet of water and just a little to the north of the Ft. Pierce Inlet. Most of the fish were in the 8 to 15 pound range. I did have several boats that went to the other side of the Gulfstream and came back with nice dolphin to 35 pounds and a couple of tuna that they estimated at 60 to 65 pounds. Most of this week the sea conditions were fairly bad but, again on Wednesday of this week we had several boats go out and catch a good number of dolphin. They all reported that the fish were in 380 to 420 feet of water and caught on ballyhoo. The dolphin were from 18 to 34 pounds. They all left the dock early this morning hoping to do the same thing again today.
DOCKSIDE INN’S MOTHER’S DAY WEEKEND - The Dockside Inn in Ft. Pierce will host it’s first Mother’s Day Weekend Fishing Tournament. On Saturday — May 9th there will be an offshore and a inshore tournament for the guest staying at Dockside Inn. There will also be a dock fishing tournament for the kids age 12 and under. There will be cash prizes for the inshore and offshore tournament and a BBQ on Saturday night. The deadline for signing up for the tournament is May 1st. Call the Dockside Inn at 1-800-286-1745 for more info and join in on the fun. *** The new Tiki Bar “On the Edge Bar & Grill” located on the Dockside Inn property opened on April 29th. Stop by and check it out.
TEEN ANGLERS - This Sunday — May 3rd will be the fish off for the Treasure Coast Chapter Teen Angler of the Year. The top five middle & high school Teen Anglers will be competing for this honor. Results next week.
JUNIOR TEEN ANGLERS - This Saturday is the last from shore fishing tournament for the Treasure Coast Chapter of the Junior Teen Anglers. They meet at Harbour Pointe Park in Ft. Pierce and fish from 9am until 11am. Then we award trophies for 1st, 2nd & 3rd places in the 5 to 8 and the 9 to 11 age group. There will also be a trophy for the biggest fish of the tournament. For more info on Teen Anglers or Junior Teen Anglers just go to the web at www.teenanglers.org.
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
SW FL-Bonita Beach: Red Grouper, All Kinds of Snapper, Goliath-Wrestling
Monday morning, 4/20, after a previous week of high winds and seas, I made the mistake of believing the predictions for 2-3 foot seas near-shore, with winds calm first thing in the morning. I headed to the Wiggins five mile reef with Tom & Dawn Wolfe and their son, Jordan. About 9:30 AM the wind picked up to about 15 knots and the seas ahead of the weather front moving in kicked up to four and five feet. The fishing near-shore was almost as slow as it had been in the backwaters Saturday, but we managed four keeper mangrove snapper and a couple of grunts. We released red and gag grouper shorts and a couple of spadefish. Hopefully, this approaching front might be the last of the season and we can begin to get into some calm water and good summer-time fishing.
With rain and more wind moving in Monday night, I deferred Tuesday’s offshore trip to Thursday, hoping for less wind and better conditions then. My party scheduled for Wednesday called to cancel Tuesday night because, with winds of 15 mph out of the N, NW, they didn’t trust the forecast for 2-3 foot seas–they were probably distrustful with good cause, as the NOAA forecast has been dead-wrong all week. Thursday—finally, the day we’ve been waiting for—calm seas all the way out to 38 miles and 65 feet, where I fished with Ron Musick, Eddie Alfonso and Richard Arnett. We caught a keeper red grouper and a variety of snapper, including three keeper yellowtail, a dozen keeper lanes and eight vermillion. We also caught five keeper porgies, to 17 inches. We released gag shorts, small kingfish, yellowtail shorts and a 3-foot sharpnose shark. We caught most of those on shrimp, but the grouper ate a pinfish. Ryan Shick, two of his buddies, also named Ryan, and two other friends, Aubrey and Brad, were all in town for Ryan’s wedding this weekend, and fished offshore with me in 43 feet out of New Pass on Friday morning. We got the heavy tackle out and used blue runners as bait for the goliaths that were biting, and released three of those, one about 30 pounds, one about 80 pounds and one 5-foot long, whose weight I can’t even estimate, and who bit two blue runners on one hook. After that excitement and sore- arm action, we set our sites on some table-fare, baited with shrimp, and caught a 15 inch hogfish, a keeper yellowtail snapper, a few lane snapper, grunts and porgies. Waters were pretty calm once out past seven miles or so, but the winds were definitely picking up when we headed back in. I thought Bill Newland and his two sons, Rich and Chris, might want to reconsider their gulf-trip for Saturday, and fish inshore instead. But the threesome wanted to get at least as far as the reefs, so we braved a small craft caution and seas of 3-5 feet. We handled the rough water okay, but we were bested out of one of my best fishing spots by nine dolphin. We ended up in 40 feet where we caught a dozen keeper mangrove snapper to 15 inches, a yellowtail snapper and some porgies. We released red and gag grouper shorts, smaller snapper, blue runners and triggerfish.
The photo shown is of angler, Ron Musick, with a 23 inch gag grouper, caught on a pinfish on a recent offshore trip.
Ft. Pierce Inshore - Offshore Report
APRIL 23, 2009
INSHORE - The inshore fishing has been good with a lot of snook action in the Ft. Pierce Inlet on the out going tide. A live bait fished on the bottom is the best pattern to use. However, mots of the snook have been over the slot. The trout bite has also been good for anglers fishing with pilchards up on the flats. Trout to 9 pounds have been reported this week. I did have a few reports about small redfish around the docks at St. Lucie Village. They were feeding on live shrimp or soft plastic baits. The snapper are starting to move along the channel edges and they have been feeding on live shrimp. The channel edges to the north of the North Bridge have been the most productive. The spanish mackerel and bluefish bite has slowed in the Turning Basin and they have moved out around the South Jetty and along the beaches.
OFFSHORE - The sea conditions have not been that great since last Saturday but are improving. On the good days I had reports of a good kingfish bite in 30 to 50 feet of water and they were taking live baits. The dolphin bite has been on the slow side this week but look for that to change. The bottom fishing has been steady in 15 to 90 feet of water over the reefs and wrecks — again when using live baits.
TEEN ANGLERS - Sunday — April 19th was the last inshore tournament of the school year for the Treasure Coast Teen Anglers. They caught a lot of fish but not too many that were on the fish list. There will be a fish off for the Teen Angler of the Year on Sunday — May 3rd.
In the High School division
1st place - Pierce Holister - Westwood High - 2 lb. trout
There was no 2nd or 3rd place
In the Middle School division
1st place - Shane Surrency - Lincoln Park Academy - 2lb. 14oz. black drum
2nd place - Helen Kinchen - Stuart Middle - 2lb. black drum
3rd place - Branson Troska - Lincoln Park Academy - 1lb. 14oz. sheepshead
Biggest fish of the tournament trophy went to Shane Surrency for his black drum.
BRAGGING BOARD - Last Thursday I had the father and son team of Bill & Tom Stephens from Ohio fishing with me. They caught and released a ton of spanish mackerel. They did bring back some for dinner that night. On Wednesday of this week I had Bill Slomka & Richard Raborn on the boat. They had a 30, 26 and 24 inch trout. We were using pilchards up on the flats. On Thursday I had Don Thigpen on the boat and we had another good trout day. He caught a 28 & 28 inch trout on pilchards up on the flats, released a nice snook and caught a 5 pound permit on a live shrimp.
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
SW FL-Bonita Beach: Nice Red Bayside; Nice Gag Offshore
Monday, 4/13, the winds kicked up again—a familiar story here for the past three weeks or so. With seas offshore building four to six feet, I recommended inshore-fishing for George Flanders and his son. The bay has been tough recently too because of muddy conditions in parts of it and grass that has blown in, but at least there are no rough seas to worry about there. We caught and released a couple of snook, sheepshead and mangrove snapper, fishing with shrimp along the tree-lines of the central bay.
Estero Bay was a little more productive, though still slow, Tuesday morning, when I fished with Mike and Norine Weber and their two young daughters, Christine and Julia. We caught a few keepers, including three mangrove snapper to 15 inches and a sheepshead. We released a couple of smaller sheepshead, crevalle jack and a small snook. Winds remained strong offshore, with small craft advisories in effect, so backwater fishing was the only game in town.
I was glad to hear forecasts of two-to-four foot seas on Wednesday. I headed to the near-shore reefs with Chuck Neumann and friends for a morning of fishing. Unfortunately, those seas were on top of a four-to-five foot swell left over from Tuesday night’s stormy conditions. Fishing was only fair, and we managed four keeper mangrove snapper, a keeper trout, a keeper whiting and grunts, all on shrimp. 
Thursday, we finally caught a break in the rough seas and had two-to-three feet mostly, even out to 65 feet, where I fished with Ron Musick, his son, Mike, and friends, Richard Arnett and Eddie Alfonso. We caught a keeper gag at 23 inches and also had the line cut by a bigger one, and released lots of gag shorts. We also caught keeper mangrove snapper to 15 inches, keeper yellowtail, keeper lane snapper and whitebone porgies. We were fishing with live shrimp and pinfish.
Friday, as winds picked up to about 20 knots again, I fished central Estero Bay with Jim Novy and three of his young children, Jimmy, Jordan and Jackie. The littlest Novy was still too small to go this year. The three who went had never been on a boat before and they had a great time catching mangrove snapper to 12 inches and releasing small snook. Jim caught the daddy-sized fish: a nice 25 inch redfish, on shrimp. (see photo)
What a difference a day makes. Conditions in Estero Bay were far from ideal Saturday morning, when I fished with Bill Keefer and friends. The winds were out of the north-northwest, the water was shallow, and the tide never came in. We fought wind, tide and boat traffic to catch and release a few snook and sheepshead. We had originally planned to fish offshore, but with small craft caution in effect, winds of 15 to 21 knots and seas of three-to-five feet beyond twenty miles, I wasn’t believing the two-to-three foot predictions for near-shore. So concluded another very windy week of fishing.
Ft. Pierce Inshore - Offshore Report
APRIL 16, 2009
INSHORE - There has been a lot of action with most of it happening between the North & South Bridges and in the Ft. Pierce Inlet. Let’s start with the Inlet — there has been a red hot snook bite on the falling tide for anglers using live baits at places like Judy Rock and the cleaning table. A lot of the snook have been over the slot. The spanish mackerel and bluefish have been stacked up in the Turning Basin and in the Inlet. They have been hitting anything shinny but I have been doing the best with live shrimp. On the days that the wind has laid down there has been a good trout bite around Harbor branch when using a D.O.D. shrimp in a gold color. This has produced more bites than any other color. On Wednesday Pat & Gwen were up and went fishing with me again. We had a great day. They caught snapper, ladyfish, blue runners and a snook. Pat lost a big snook while fishing down around Bear Point.
OFFSHORE - Not too much to report this week with the windy conditions. The few boats that went out reported sloppy seas and not a lot of fish. I did get reports of a few kingfish being caught in 30 feet of water to the north of the Ft. Pierce Inlet. Also, a handful of small dolphin in 200 feet of water and they were caught on a naked ballyhoo. One boat had a handful of snapper to 4 pounds and they were fishing over the reefs in 15 feet of water and using cut baits.
TEEN ANGLERS - This Sunday will be the last inshore tournament for the Treasure Coast Chapter of Teen Anglers. They will meet at Jaycee Park at 6:30am on Sunday and fish until noon. If you would like more info on joining Teen Anglers or becoming a volunteer — just go to the web at www.teenanglers.org
BRAGGING BOARD - Jesse & Leslie Pfeiffer have been getting a lot of snook in the Ft. Pierce Inlet. Most of they were released as they were over the slot. A live bait fished on the bottom was the way to go. On Sunday Robert Kinchen & Robert Jr. had a good number of fish while fishing around the bridges in Ft. Pierce. They caught snapper to 12 inches, bluefish, pompano and sheepshead. They were using live shrimp.
MOTHER’S DAY WEEKEND FISHING TOURNAMENT - The Dockside Inn in Ft. Pierce will host it’s first Mother’s Day Weekend Fishing Tournament. On Saturday — May 9th there will be an offshore and a inshore tournament for the guest staying at Dockside Inn. There will also be a dock fishing tournament for the kids age 12 and under. There will be cash prizes for the inshore and offshore tournament and a BBQ on Saturday night. The deadline for signing up for the tournament is May 1st. Call the Dockside Inn at 1-800-286-1745 for more info and join in on the fun.
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
SW FL-Bonita Beach: These are the times that try Captains’ souls…
Just ahead of another cold-front predicted to come through our area Monday evening, Bill Oswald and his eight-year-old daughter, Grace, fished Estero Bay with me Monday morning, 4/6. We had some gusts of wind but nothing like the winds expected on Tuesday, and it was a generally pleasant and productive morning in the backwaters. We kept two sheepshead and six mangrove snapper and we released about an equal number of smaller ones. Grace was keeping score on the number of fish caught and proudly proclaimed herself the winner, with a total of nine.
Tuesday morning the winds that were promised became a reality. I had already cancelled an offshore trip for that day, given the predictions. I had tentatively scheduled a backwater trip, but with winds of 25-30 knots, fishing anywhere seemed more like an exercise in aggravation than anything pleasant, so I cancelled the backwater trip also and remained in port for the day.
After the front moved through and the winds shifted direction, Wednesday brought some shallow conditions in Estero Bay. Grassy, muddy waters made for some tough fishing that morning with Kevin Mathies, his young sons, Tony and Louie, and the boys’ grandfather, Louis. We managed quite a bit of catching but not a lot of keeping. We released seven undersized snapper, five crevalle jacks, two snook and a few sheepshead, and we caught two keeper whitings at 15 inches each.
Bill Oswald, who fished with his eight-year-old daughter in Estero Bay with me on Monday, fished the backwaters again with me on Thursday, this time with ten-year-old son, Will. We released mangrove snapper, cravalle jack, a 20 inch snook (see photo) and a big bat-ray, all on shrimp.
Friday, David Posz and ten-year-old son, Jacob, wanted to catch some table-fare, and I wasn’t sure Estero Bay would offer much of that—It had been tough fishing in the bay all week. Predictions of two-to-four foot seas close-in lured us to try the near-shore reefs. In reality, seas were four-to-five feet there, but we hung in there and caught five keeper mangrove snapper, an 18 inch bluefish and some grunts. We released ladyfish, red grouper shorts, two flounder that were just short of keeper size, and a moonfish.
Saturday, winds calmed and seas laid down for the first time all week, allowing me to get out about nineteen miles with Joe & Sue McCollough, daughter, Cynthia Day, and twin grand-daughters, Amanda and Lauren. We used live shrimp and caught keeper mangrove snapper to 18 inches, a 16 inch keeper hogfish, a dozen nice whitebone porgies, all around 15 inches, and some big grunts. We released a smaller hogfish, Spanish mackerel and grouper shorts.
The photos shown are of angler, Don Washa, with a porkfish, caught on shrimp on a recent offshore trip. (Porkfish are actually quite tasty and this one was pretty good-sized) and of young angler, Will Oswald with a 20 inch snook caught and released on inshore trip this week.
Ft. Pierce Inshore - Offshore Report
APRIL 10, 2009
INSHORE - The inshore fishing has been good now that the strong winds have gone. There has been a lot of big trout feeding on white baits along the spoil islands to the north of the North Bridge. Most of the fish reported have been from 6 to 9 pounds. The redfish action has been on the slow side. Most of the fish that were reported came from the docks along St. Lucie Village and are being caught on gold spoons or soft plastic baits. Fish the shallow ends of the docks. The snook bite has been on and off until Thursday when it turned on. The best bite has been on the out going tide with live baits fished on the bottom. I got reports of several slot size snook being caught and a large number of over the slot being caught and released.
OFFSHORE - The sea conditions have not been great but on Wednesday they started to lay and the reports started coming in. The kingfish have been active in 30 to 40 feet of water and they are taking live baits. Also, along the beaches there has been plenty of spanish mackerel and bluefish taking just about any kind of bait. I did get reports of scattered dolphin in 250 to 300 feet of water to the north of the Ft. Pierce Inlet. The dolphin have been taking both naked and skirted ballyhoo. I had a boat at Dockside Inn made a tuna run to the other side on Thursday and they had 5 tuna to 40 pounds and 2 dolphin to 20 pounds. All were caught on live baits.
TEEN ANGLERS - Last Sunday — April 5th was the rescheduled inshore tournament for the Treasure Coast Chapter of Teen Anglers. The next inshore tournament will be held on Sunday — April 19th at Jaycee Park in Ft. Pierce. If you would like more info on Teen Anglers or would like to be a volunteer just go to the web at www.teenanglers.org
In the High School Division
1st place - Dillon Roberts-Louria - Ft. Pierce - Westwood High - 3lb. 10oz. redfish
There was no 2nd or 3rd place.
In the Middle School Division
1st place - Maxwell Higgins - Port St. Lucie - Palm Pointe at Traditions - 2lb. 5oz. trout
2nd place - Branson Troska - Ft. Pierce - Lincoln Park Academy - 1lb. 15oz. bluefish
3rd place - Helen Kinchen - Stuart - Stuart Middle - 1lb. 14oz. trout
Biggest fish of the tournament trophy went to Dillon for his redfish.
BRAGGING BOARD - On Friday Bill Burrow’s caught a 7lb. 30 inch trout. He was fishing the spoil islands to the north of the North Bridge. On Sunday Bill Lawson visiting here from Daytona and fishing on the REEL PURSUIT caught a nice 30 pound bull. He was fishing in 325 feet of water and using a ballyhoo. Also, on Sunday Jesse & Leslie Pfeiffer got into a school of kings. Jesse’s king weighed 41 pounds and Leslie’s weighed in at 32 pounds. They were fishing along the South Beach and using greenie’s.
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
SW FL-Estero Bay & Bonita Beach Reefs
Monday, 3/30, looked like it might have to be an inshore day when I heard the marine forecast the night before. But by early morning, the forecast had changed and it was looking calm enough to head to the reefs. I fished there with Dave Kempston, his sons, Alex, Brennan and Connor, and Alex’s friend, Griffin. Using shrimp, we caught a dozen keeper mangrove snapper to 17 inches, most of them in the 14 to 17 inch range. We also kept five sheepshead, all about 15 inches. We almost had a red grouper, but he was just a bit short at 19 ½ inches so we had to release him, along with gag shorts, Spanish mackerel and blue runner.
Keith Erickson and friends fished central Estero Bay with me Tuesday morning. We almost had a couple of nice reds, but one broke off and we lost the other before we could boat him. We did catch a 17 inch sea trout, two keeper mangrove snapper and two keeper sheepshead for the box.
Wednesday morning was a tough call on gulf versus bay, with the time-line of this windy front uncertain. Jerry and Denise Demars and grandson, Jake, managed to get a morning of fishing at the reefs about 5 miles off Bonita Beach before it got too sloppy out there. We caught six keeper mangrove snapper, keeper Spanish mackerel, a 15 inch flounder and large grunts. We released under-sized triggerfish, grouper and sheepshead.
Decisions on fishing offshore were made easier on Thursday, when seas of three-to-five felt were predicted within twenty miles. I cancelled my offshore trip for that day. I did likewise on Friday, but ended up re-booking the morning for an inshore catch-and-release trip with Gary Mozina, his friend, Mike, and Mike’s eleven-year-old son, Eric. There was a stiff wind blowing all morning and the fishing wasn’t as good as it had been in the bay earlier this week. We released four sheepshead, a few mangrove snapper and ladyfish.
Saturday morning, seas were relatively calm but there was a good sized swell left over from the windy front, so I fished near-shore at the reefs with Rob Wessels, his daughter Sydney, son, Tanner, and friend, Kristi Whalen. We did well with live shrimp for snapper and sheepshead, ending up with fourteen keeper snapper to 15 inches and four sheepshead, all 17-18 inches.
The photo shown is of angler, Terry Vallely, with a 14 inch hogfish, caught on shrimp on a recent gulf trip.
Ft. Pierce Inshore - Offshore Report
APRIL 2, 2009
INSHORE - The inshore fishing has been good for the anglers fishing for trout. The best reports are coming from around the spoil islands to the north of the North Bridge for the anglers who were using live baits like greenie’s or mullet. The next bait of choice was a live shrimp fished under a popping cork. Try fishing in 2 to 4 feet of water on the falling tide. The snook fishing remains steady in the Ft. Pierce Inlet and the bite has also been on the falling tide with a live bait fished on the bottom. Over the weekend there was a very good snook bite up in Taylor Creek. Most of the snook were over the slot but one boat brought back 2 keepers. The schools of redfish are starting to show up around places like Jack island, the Mooring Flats and the old stand by — Bear Point. Try a gold spoon or a soft plastic bait like a D.O.A. Bait Buster. The bottom fishing along the channel edges for sheepshead, black drum and grouper has slowed way down but, there has been a few fish reported around the bridges and they were taking live shrimp.
OFFSHORE - Now that the sea conditions are better — there are more reports coming in. Most of the boats were reporting scattered dolphin — mostly peanuts — starting in 120 feet of water out to 160 feet of water. I have also gotten reports of rays moving through the area and holding some cobia. Most of the rays were in 60 to 100 feet of water. Look for the kingfish in 60 to 80 feet of water and they are feeding on live baits. The boats that are bottom fishing in 30 to 90 feet of water are reporting good catches of sheepshead, sea bass and snapper and all are taking a live shrimp or pieces of squid. Along the beaches look for school of spanish mackerel, bluefish and big jacks as they are working the bait schools.
MOTHER’S DAY WEEKEND FISHING TOURNAMENT - The Dockside Inn in Ft. Pierce will host it’s first Mother’s Day Weekend Fishing Tournament. On Saturday — May 9th there will be an offshore and a inshore tournament for the guest staying at Dockside Inn. There will also be a dock fishing tournament for the kids age 12 and under. There will be cash prizes for the inshore and offshore tournament and a BBQ on Saturday night. The deadline for signing up for the tournament is May 1st. Call the Dockside Inn at 1-800-286-1745 for more info and join in on the fun.
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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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
