Hi,
This will be my first fishing report. It's March 31, 2015; 11:00 AM. I climbed down the hill from Walton Rd. (which is the nearest spot to my house) on outgoing tide, fished (with waders) 1 hr. 45 min. using 3 different DOA plastic paddletails on 3/8 lead jig-head. Water choppy but clear, wind 10-15 mph out of NE.
When I got there the tide had already gone down some and the shallow side of the sandbar was 3 1/2 feet deep. I was fishing a baitcaster left-handed because I wore out my right hand last week. Some bait and mullet shallow. Fan-casted[1] shallow to the first pier- nothing. Fished the first pier, which is a good pier, nothing. Fan-casted to second good pier, fished 2nd pier- nothing.
Went out on the other side of the sand bar to the 3rd grass flat[2]. Mullets jumping and some bait activity plus a few fish feeding- looks good. I had caught 15 or so trout here in 45 minutes last week so I was expecting good things. On the 4th cast I threw shallow to a feeding fish, tap, tap, I lifted the jig slightly and gently set the hook- the fish came to the surface and shook his head, I pulled in and released a 15 inch trout. This seemed like a good sign! Then I cast for 15 minutes in that area looking for the thicker grass and only had a swirl as I pulled my lure out of the water. I never found the4 thicker grass so I moved deeper- nothing.
I changed colors from pearl white to opaque then started casting into the wind. Bam!! Fish on - this was no dinky trout and it pulled drag twice. After a while I knew it wasn't a big trout, and after a two minute battle I lifted up a 4 lb Jack. This was my 3rd biggest Jack so far. I fished the 3rd grass flat for a total of 45 minutes-- the trout were not there- time to move. My leader was frayed so I changed it out to a new 4ft leader (40 lb. test- that's higher than the standard 20 but I don't like losing snook on piers). There was a boat sitting on my spot on the second grass bed. I decided I'd head there anyway since I didn't have long to fish (it was on the way back).
I fan cast past the deep cut between the grass flats and started moving closer to the boat parked on my next spot. I got a vicious strike and set the hook- a 2 lb Jack. Suddenly there were a few fish feeding in that area and bam!! got a huge strike 15 feet from the end of my rod. Sizzz-- went my drag, couldn't turn the fish- then I did and I lost him. Must of been a big Jack- I thought. The boat saw me catching fish and getting near them- they left before I got a chance to talk to them.
I was now in the second grass flat near where the boat had been. I could see Jack chasing bait. Suddenly I had a great strike and set the hook. Fish on- only 20 feet away and it was pulling my drag. It went shallow and then deep- a 6 lb. Jack with lots of yellow- beautiful fish. I thought briefly about keeping him to get a pic but then I'd have to fillet him and eat him- so I let him go. That was a workout!!
I got another strike but missed the fish and moved to the shallower 1st grass bed. There were lots of bait fish and occasionally a feeding Jack. I made a long cast and as soon as the jig hit I had another Jack on. This one was 1 1/2 pounds which is closer to the normal size I catch.
I headed back but stopped to fish the shallow water on the other side of the sandbar- nothing.
RESULT: No fish shallow in 35 minutes of fishing. Caught 5 fish deep (4 Jack , 1 trout)- lost a big (I think Jack) and missed two. Had two swirls as I pulled lure from the water. Fish were caught in 3-4 foot of water. Used three different DOA baits on a 3/8 jig-head. Retied once. Caught my 2nd biggest Jack today. A beautiful day on the water- saw one bottlenose dolphin, several pelicans feeding and an osprey catch a small fish.
Where are the snook? When the water warmed up the big snook moved out and have not been shallow for two weeks- at least I have not caught them. I have caught about one snook per trip but they have been small males. I guess fishing the bridges or fishing deep in a boat is the way to get them now. They spawn at the inlet in April (so I've been told). I've also been told they feed mostly at night.
1. Fan-casting is casting quickly in front of you in random directions hoping to pick-up a random fish. It's my search pattern.
2. I have arbitrarily divided the grass flats on the Indian River side (deep side) of the sandbar into 6 divisons from North to South which is from Walton Scrub (North) to the Walton Rd. end (South).
Tuesday, March 31, 2015
Monday, March 30, 2015
Where to fish: Wading the South Indian River Lagoon
Hello,
So you know when to fish (when the current is moving) now--where do you fish? That all depends- and of course, there are many areas and many fisherman in the South Lagoon. Hopefully as days go by I can interview some of them. I'm certainly not qualified to give definitive information and spots but there are many.
I am writing mainly about wading, either with waders or wet-wading (also fishing the shallows from a boat or kayak). Before I look at some specific locations - let's look at the ingredients of a great spot.
What do you look for?
1) Grass beds. The grass beds attract baitfish as well as shrimp and the baitfish and shrimp attract fish that feed on them. The more grass beds the healthier the estuary. Grass beds are the best place to catch speckled seatrout. Ladyfish, bluefish, redfish, snook and jacks also frequent the grass beds.
The depth I catch fish in grass ranges from 2-6 feet. You want your lure to hit the tops of the grass and pull through. I use paddletail jigs in assorted colors usually DOA but I've also had luck with Berkley. I've also used DOA Shrimp (gold). Small gold spoons are also popular.
Look for mullet jumping, and baitfish on the surface. If you're fishing for redfish and trout you need to slow your retrieve and bump the bottom.
Water color and wind- you want some wind and I like a little color in the water.
2) Changes in depth. It doesn't take much of a change to attract fish-- sometimes just a small hole or depression will hold a fish. Sometimes a slightly deeper area in a shallow flat will hold more fish. Sometimes a shallow area in a deeper spot will hold fish. Many piers have deeper areas (dug out for boats)- these tend to be the best piers.
3) Man-Made Structure. Piers are obviously the main structure in the lagoon. There are also rocks (put down for erosion), seawalls and bridges. Don't overlook sunken driftwood and fallen piers.
4) Mangroves; Shoreline Structure. When the tide is up in the mangroves or other shoreline structure (fallen trees, stumps, etc.)- there will be fish under and around the mangroves feeding on the smaller fish hiding there.
5) Feeding fish, birds and mullet. If you look in an area and there is no activity at all- no baitfish on the surface, no mullet jumping and no birds feeding (usually pelicans and osprey) you can bet you aren't going to have much luck. If the wind is up it may be harder to see the activity but it will still be there.
Richard
So you know when to fish (when the current is moving) now--where do you fish? That all depends- and of course, there are many areas and many fisherman in the South Lagoon. Hopefully as days go by I can interview some of them. I'm certainly not qualified to give definitive information and spots but there are many.
I am writing mainly about wading, either with waders or wet-wading (also fishing the shallows from a boat or kayak). Before I look at some specific locations - let's look at the ingredients of a great spot.
What do you look for?
1) Grass beds. The grass beds attract baitfish as well as shrimp and the baitfish and shrimp attract fish that feed on them. The more grass beds the healthier the estuary. Grass beds are the best place to catch speckled seatrout. Ladyfish, bluefish, redfish, snook and jacks also frequent the grass beds.
The depth I catch fish in grass ranges from 2-6 feet. You want your lure to hit the tops of the grass and pull through. I use paddletail jigs in assorted colors usually DOA but I've also had luck with Berkley. I've also used DOA Shrimp (gold). Small gold spoons are also popular.
Look for mullet jumping, and baitfish on the surface. If you're fishing for redfish and trout you need to slow your retrieve and bump the bottom.
Water color and wind- you want some wind and I like a little color in the water.
2) Changes in depth. It doesn't take much of a change to attract fish-- sometimes just a small hole or depression will hold a fish. Sometimes a slightly deeper area in a shallow flat will hold more fish. Sometimes a shallow area in a deeper spot will hold fish. Many piers have deeper areas (dug out for boats)- these tend to be the best piers.
3) Man-Made Structure. Piers are obviously the main structure in the lagoon. There are also rocks (put down for erosion), seawalls and bridges. Don't overlook sunken driftwood and fallen piers.
4) Mangroves; Shoreline Structure. When the tide is up in the mangroves or other shoreline structure (fallen trees, stumps, etc.)- there will be fish under and around the mangroves feeding on the smaller fish hiding there.
5) Feeding fish, birds and mullet. If you look in an area and there is no activity at all- no baitfish on the surface, no mullet jumping and no birds feeding (usually pelicans and osprey) you can bet you aren't going to have much luck. If the wind is up it may be harder to see the activity but it will still be there.
Richard
Fishing the Indian River Lagoon- Water Conditions -Tides, Time & Winds
Hi,
Having never fished salt water to any great extent (I fished in the Chesapeake Bay some when I was a teen) I started learning about tides.
There are two high tides and two low tides every day and between the high tide and low tide there is a slack tide where the water does not move. Generally the fish feed when the water is moving. What this means is you can fish a location and fish it at the wrong time and not catch anything-- then an hour later you can catch fish in the same spot.
High VS Low Tide
You want to fish about an hour after dead low tide and dead high tide. Depending on the Moon-Sun phases (another factor to consider) the water will be moving faster or slower and the high tide may be higher than normal and the low- lower than normal. The places you fish will therefore be deeper or shallower and this is important. You can't fish a shallow spot if the low tide is lower than normal. These fish will strike in skinny water but there needs to be enough water for them to hold in a shallow location.
Is an incoming tide best? That's the common thought. From what I've learned -- it doesn't matter as long as the water is moving. I've had better luck on the outgoing tides.
Tides VS Time of Day
Most fish feed more at night and fishing tends to be better at daybreak and dusk. This is even more a factor in the sweltering Florida summers- even tho I've never fished in the summer- I've been told this and will find out more this summer. So any morning or evening when the tide is moving would be the best time-- especially in the summer.
The Wind Doth Blow
Since I started fishing in December there have been only a few calm days - maybe two or three. In the morning hours the wind is noticeably less so fishing early and sometimes late can help.I have noticed that fishing during a dead calm is worse.
You want wind- this is a big ally because the wind moves the baitfish and grass and also prevents the fish from clearly seeing the lure. They can see it enough to react but not enough to tell it's artificial. You get more reaction strikes and more fish.
Direction of the Wind
If it's too windy you can expect the fish have a hard time finding the lure. If the water is shallow, 2 to 3 foot waves with breakers churning the water makes it tough going. I have caught snook in skinny water and high winds but it makes it difficult. There's a point where too much wind makes an area unfishable.
That's why you need to be able to fish different locations on the East or West side. If you have a 25 mph West wind you can fish the West shore and it will only be moderately wavy-- but the East shore will have 3 foot waves. The West shoreline in particular is elevated from Jensen Beach to Fort Pierce the whole way. That means a howling west or North-West wind will miss the western shoreline and won't create whitecaps until hundreds of yards off the West shore. The Western shoreline from Fort Pierce (and farther north to Vero) to Sewall's Point in Stuart will be calmer if there is a West wind.
If there's a strong East or North-East wind, the West side will be churned up and muddy with whitecaps and the West side may be unfishable. So during a strong East wind you may have to fish the East shore locations which include Bear point (Ft. Pierce), Blind Creek, Mud Creek and Hermann's Bay. Many areas south (West shore) are OK including those off McArthur Blvd.
I haven't tried wading north of Ft. Pierce on the West side but I know many of the areas on the East side like Jack Island are murky and silted-- not ideal for wading (good for kayaking- boating).
So the wind is good until it gets too windy then you may need to travel to find locations out of the wind. Find out the speed and direction of the wind- before you go fishing. Some days I may not fish at all because of the wind. Winds from either the North or South are hard to get away from to find a calmer area to fish. There are always areas you can get out of the wind- even if you have to fish wind-protected coves or around one of the bridges.
Moon Phases
Like the moon rises and sets and there are certain moon phases that exert more tidal flow than others. You can catch fish at any time if the water is moving (between low and high) but certain moon phases are better than others. Usually a full-moon (withing a few days either way) is a better time to fish than other moon phases.
Calculating Tides
There are several online tide charts at Tides4fishing.com and Stuart Rod and Reel Association-- most of these deal with the high tide in the Atlantic Ocean at St. Lucie/Jensen Beach/Stuart. This is not the same as the tide in the Lagoon!!! Around the Jensen/Stuart Bridges add 3 hours. This is critical for fishing the Lagoon. Also the tidewater near the mouth of the St. Lucie River (at the inlet) will change sooner than at the Bridges (several miles away).
I'm not sure of the exact figures on tidal changes in different locations yet but the water is pulled out of the South Lagoon in different places. The water at the Midway location (also Bear Point), for example, is pulled out of Ft. Pierce while the water from the St. Lucie River and nearby areas in the Lagoon goes out the St. Lucie inlet to the Ocean.
Richard
Having never fished salt water to any great extent (I fished in the Chesapeake Bay some when I was a teen) I started learning about tides.
There are two high tides and two low tides every day and between the high tide and low tide there is a slack tide where the water does not move. Generally the fish feed when the water is moving. What this means is you can fish a location and fish it at the wrong time and not catch anything-- then an hour later you can catch fish in the same spot.
High VS Low Tide
You want to fish about an hour after dead low tide and dead high tide. Depending on the Moon-Sun phases (another factor to consider) the water will be moving faster or slower and the high tide may be higher than normal and the low- lower than normal. The places you fish will therefore be deeper or shallower and this is important. You can't fish a shallow spot if the low tide is lower than normal. These fish will strike in skinny water but there needs to be enough water for them to hold in a shallow location.
Is an incoming tide best? That's the common thought. From what I've learned -- it doesn't matter as long as the water is moving. I've had better luck on the outgoing tides.
Tides VS Time of Day
Most fish feed more at night and fishing tends to be better at daybreak and dusk. This is even more a factor in the sweltering Florida summers- even tho I've never fished in the summer- I've been told this and will find out more this summer. So any morning or evening when the tide is moving would be the best time-- especially in the summer.
The Wind Doth Blow
Since I started fishing in December there have been only a few calm days - maybe two or three. In the morning hours the wind is noticeably less so fishing early and sometimes late can help.I have noticed that fishing during a dead calm is worse.
You want wind- this is a big ally because the wind moves the baitfish and grass and also prevents the fish from clearly seeing the lure. They can see it enough to react but not enough to tell it's artificial. You get more reaction strikes and more fish.
Direction of the Wind
If it's too windy you can expect the fish have a hard time finding the lure. If the water is shallow, 2 to 3 foot waves with breakers churning the water makes it tough going. I have caught snook in skinny water and high winds but it makes it difficult. There's a point where too much wind makes an area unfishable.
That's why you need to be able to fish different locations on the East or West side. If you have a 25 mph West wind you can fish the West shore and it will only be moderately wavy-- but the East shore will have 3 foot waves. The West shoreline in particular is elevated from Jensen Beach to Fort Pierce the whole way. That means a howling west or North-West wind will miss the western shoreline and won't create whitecaps until hundreds of yards off the West shore. The Western shoreline from Fort Pierce (and farther north to Vero) to Sewall's Point in Stuart will be calmer if there is a West wind.
If there's a strong East or North-East wind, the West side will be churned up and muddy with whitecaps and the West side may be unfishable. So during a strong East wind you may have to fish the East shore locations which include Bear point (Ft. Pierce), Blind Creek, Mud Creek and Hermann's Bay. Many areas south (West shore) are OK including those off McArthur Blvd.
I haven't tried wading north of Ft. Pierce on the West side but I know many of the areas on the East side like Jack Island are murky and silted-- not ideal for wading (good for kayaking- boating).
So the wind is good until it gets too windy then you may need to travel to find locations out of the wind. Find out the speed and direction of the wind- before you go fishing. Some days I may not fish at all because of the wind. Winds from either the North or South are hard to get away from to find a calmer area to fish. There are always areas you can get out of the wind- even if you have to fish wind-protected coves or around one of the bridges.
Moon Phases
Like the moon rises and sets and there are certain moon phases that exert more tidal flow than others. You can catch fish at any time if the water is moving (between low and high) but certain moon phases are better than others. Usually a full-moon (withing a few days either way) is a better time to fish than other moon phases.
Calculating Tides
There are several online tide charts at Tides4fishing.com and Stuart Rod and Reel Association-- most of these deal with the high tide in the Atlantic Ocean at St. Lucie/Jensen Beach/Stuart. This is not the same as the tide in the Lagoon!!! Around the Jensen/Stuart Bridges add 3 hours. This is critical for fishing the Lagoon. Also the tidewater near the mouth of the St. Lucie River (at the inlet) will change sooner than at the Bridges (several miles away).
I'm not sure of the exact figures on tidal changes in different locations yet but the water is pulled out of the South Lagoon in different places. The water at the Midway location (also Bear Point), for example, is pulled out of Ft. Pierce while the water from the St. Lucie River and nearby areas in the Lagoon goes out the St. Lucie inlet to the Ocean.
Richard
Sunday, March 29, 2015
Fishing The South Indian River Lagoon
Hi,
This is a series of articles about fishing the South Indian River Lagoon -- part of which is the inter-coastal waterway that stretches from Vero Beach to Fort Pierce to Port St. Lucie where it merges with the St. Lucie River and down to the Jupiter inlet.
Map of the main inlets of the Indian River Lagoon (click to enlarge). The area I'm covering is mainly between The Fort Pierce Inlet and The St. Lucie Inlet.
I recently moved to Port St. Lucie and my neighbor got me started fishing in December 2014 after I got some waders form my birthday in late November. I was an avid bass fisherman for a few years in North Carolina and caught a few bass in the lakes of Port St. Lucie but it wasn't until I tried wading in the lagoon that I became hooked.
First let me say I am new to fishing the Lagoon and by no means an expert of any kind. This is simply a way of documenting my experiences and hopefully others can benefit from me as I learn. I hope to document my fishing for a year beginning in April 2015.
The first few articles will recap my experiences from December 2014 until March 2015 and then I will do some daily blogs. The areas I am fishing stretch from Fort Pierce to Port St. Lucie and Stuart.
I do not keep many fish, throwing 99% of them back. Hopefully I'll get a camera for some pics since photos would better document the fish.
I am using artificial lures only and may dabble with live shrimp or mullet at some point but this will mostly be fishing with artificial lures. Right now I have experience fishing at limited amount of lures- mainly DOA plastics on a jig and DOA Shrimp. I'll be exploring different lures throughout the year but plan to limit the selection to about a half-dozen.
Here are the fish caught so far with some approximate numbers:
1) Jack (Crevalle Jack) hundreds with the largest around 8 lbs.
1b. Blue Runner (similar to Jack but smaller) I caught one today (3-29) about 2 1/2 lbs.
1c. Pampano (they are easier to catch in deeper water around the bridges) - I've caught one over 3 lbs on the grass flats
2) Trout (Spotted Seatrout- part of the drum family)- I've caught well over a hundred- probably 15 is my best for a day (3 hours or so). I caught one that was surely over 5 lbs and dozens in the 2 to 3 1/2 lb range. Most are small- between 12 and 16 inches. Their have been reports of boaters catching as many as 100 in a day- with 20-30 trout not uncommon.
Nice Spotted Seatrout
3) Snook (Common Snook) over 40 with the largest around 9 lbs (this is a guess). For a while I was catching 5-10 snook a day and losing a good number as well. I've caught 4 that I guesstimate were over the slot (28-33 inches)
4) Redfish - I've caught 2 and lost 1 (the biggest being around 5-6 lbs) but I've never fished specifically for them.
5) Bluefish- I've caught 2 around 3 lbs and lost at least one more- never fished for them.
6) Ladyfish (part of the Tarpon family)- I've caught over 50 and lost as many. They are slimy and not much fun taking off the hook. They were in my area of the Lagoon in late December until early March. Have not caught them recently.
7) Spanish Mackerel - I have only caught two and they were caught within 10 minutes of each other. Both were small- less than two pounds.
Other fish: I've caught one flounder (15 inches), a 2 lb. catfish, a toadfish, a mullet and one thin round fish with brown markings that was similar to a walleye (not sure what it was).
Flounder
The best fighters are snook and ladyfish- in my opinion. Jacks are tough also but they usually don't jump so they stay on longer.
Richard
This is a series of articles about fishing the South Indian River Lagoon -- part of which is the inter-coastal waterway that stretches from Vero Beach to Fort Pierce to Port St. Lucie where it merges with the St. Lucie River and down to the Jupiter inlet.
I recently moved to Port St. Lucie and my neighbor got me started fishing in December 2014 after I got some waders form my birthday in late November. I was an avid bass fisherman for a few years in North Carolina and caught a few bass in the lakes of Port St. Lucie but it wasn't until I tried wading in the lagoon that I became hooked.
First let me say I am new to fishing the Lagoon and by no means an expert of any kind. This is simply a way of documenting my experiences and hopefully others can benefit from me as I learn. I hope to document my fishing for a year beginning in April 2015.
The first few articles will recap my experiences from December 2014 until March 2015 and then I will do some daily blogs. The areas I am fishing stretch from Fort Pierce to Port St. Lucie and Stuart.
I do not keep many fish, throwing 99% of them back. Hopefully I'll get a camera for some pics since photos would better document the fish.
I am using artificial lures only and may dabble with live shrimp or mullet at some point but this will mostly be fishing with artificial lures. Right now I have experience fishing at limited amount of lures- mainly DOA plastics on a jig and DOA Shrimp. I'll be exploring different lures throughout the year but plan to limit the selection to about a half-dozen.
Here are the fish caught so far with some approximate numbers:
1) Jack (Crevalle Jack) hundreds with the largest around 8 lbs.
1b. Blue Runner (similar to Jack but smaller) I caught one today (3-29) about 2 1/2 lbs.
1c. Pampano (they are easier to catch in deeper water around the bridges) - I've caught one over 3 lbs on the grass flats
2) Trout (Spotted Seatrout- part of the drum family)- I've caught well over a hundred- probably 15 is my best for a day (3 hours or so). I caught one that was surely over 5 lbs and dozens in the 2 to 3 1/2 lb range. Most are small- between 12 and 16 inches. Their have been reports of boaters catching as many as 100 in a day- with 20-30 trout not uncommon.
3) Snook (Common Snook) over 40 with the largest around 9 lbs (this is a guess). For a while I was catching 5-10 snook a day and losing a good number as well. I've caught 4 that I guesstimate were over the slot (28-33 inches)
4) Redfish - I've caught 2 and lost 1 (the biggest being around 5-6 lbs) but I've never fished specifically for them.
5) Bluefish- I've caught 2 around 3 lbs and lost at least one more- never fished for them.
6) Ladyfish (part of the Tarpon family)- I've caught over 50 and lost as many. They are slimy and not much fun taking off the hook. They were in my area of the Lagoon in late December until early March. Have not caught them recently.
7) Spanish Mackerel - I have only caught two and they were caught within 10 minutes of each other. Both were small- less than two pounds.
Other fish: I've caught one flounder (15 inches), a 2 lb. catfish, a toadfish, a mullet and one thin round fish with brown markings that was similar to a walleye (not sure what it was).
The best fighters are snook and ladyfish- in my opinion. Jacks are tough also but they usually don't jump so they stay on longer.
Richard
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