February 23, 2007
INSHORE - The snook bite around the local bridges and in the Ft. Pierce Inlet has been steady. The one problem has been that the fish were either over the slot or under the slot. I only got a few reports of keepers. A Red Tail Hawk has been hard to beat this week with pinfish and select shrimp a close second. I got a couple of reports about redfish around the Round Island area. The fish were feeding on jerk baits fished real slow. For you anglers looking for trout try in 3 to 5 feet of water with a live shrimp fished under a popping cork. The West side of the river down by Midway Road has been a good place. The sheepshead and small black drum are everywhere there is any kind of structure. A small live shrimp has been the bait of choice. The area in and around the Ft. Pierce Inlet has been holding a lot of spanish mackerel, bluefish and jacks. They have been hitting on just about anything.
OFFSHORE - With the sea conditions getting better so has the fishing. I had reports of some nice cobia showing up around the Offshore Bar in 90 foot of water. We had one boat bring in two on Wednesday afternoon. Also, on the Offshore Bar there has been plenty of sea bass, snapper, and a good number of short grouper. I did get a report of a nice size wahoo -- 31 pounds -- that was caught in 240 feet of water on Thursday. They were fishing to the south of the Ft. Pierce Inlet and using a ballyhoo. The kingfish bite remains good around the 70 foot mark. A live blue runner has been hard to beat. We did have several small dolphin come into the docks today. Most of the fish were under 15 pounds and caught on a naked ballyhoo. The spanish mackerel, bluefish. sheepshead, sea bass and triggerfish have been very active along the near shore reefs.
TEEN ANGLERS - Due to the weather conditions the monthly inshore fishing tournament for the local chapter of Teen Anglers was rescheduled for this Sunday, February 25th. I will have the results next week.
If you would like to report a catch, call me at 772-201-5770 or e-mail me at cward11605@aol.com. You can also reach me on the web at www.captjoeward.com.
Capt. Joe Ward
Capt. Joe's River Charters