OCTOBER 1, 2009
INSHORE - The inshore fishing has slowed down some this week. The trout bite went from red hot to only a few fish being reported. Most of the reports came from anglers fishing at Bear Point and at Harbor Branch. Soft plastic baits in the dark colors has been the best. There are some small redfish being caught and released around the docks along South Indian River Drive. Try a live shrimp or a small crab. The snook bite has been good for anglers fishing the lighted docks in the Ft. Pierce Inlet after dark and it seems that a finger mullet has been the bait of choice. The number of snapper being caught has gone down but the size of the fish has gone up. I had reports of snapper to 3 pounds coming from along the channel edges to the north of the North Bridge. A small live white bait has been the best bait with a live shrimp coming in second.
OFFSHORE - The offshore fishing has also been on the slow side this week. The best action has been the kingfish and they are taking a slow trolled live baits in 20 to 70 feet of water. Mixed in with the kingfish you will also find bonita, cuda's and sharks. I am still getting reports of scattered dolphin in 100 to 300 feet of water. They have been taking ballyhoo. There has also been a good number of blackfin tuna in that same area but, they have been fairly small. The news on the sailfish has been the same -- lots of free jumpers and only a few hook ups in 100 feet of water tot he south of the Ft. Pierce Inlet and most are taking ballyhoo. Look for plenty of sea bass, triggerfish and snapper over the reefs and wrecks.
JUNIOR TEEN ANGLERS - This Saturday -- October 3rd is the regular scheduled from shore fishing tournament for the Treasure Coast Chapter of Junior Teen Anglers. The Juniors will fish from 9 to 11am and then we will award trophies and goodie bags. If your child is between the ages of 5 and 11 and you would like for them to fish with the Junior Teen Anglers you can call or go to the web at www.teenanglers.org for more info.
BRAGGING BOARD - I got an e-mail from Robert Kinchen stating that he took his kids out on Saturday and that his son -- Robert, Jr. out fished them all. He caught three nice sized snapper. It seems that Robert, Jr. and his sister Helen also caught a few mangrove trees and a channel marker platform. Robert went our by himself on Sunday and had a lot of small trout hitting a 2 inch sliver spoon. He went down to Walton Road and on his first cast with a live finger mullet he had a snook slam it. It wrapped a piling and broke off. He also said there were a lot of redfish down there.
If you would like to report a catch you can e-mail me at cward11605@aol.com or call me at . You can also reach me on the we at www.captjoeward.com
Capt. Joe Ward
Capt. Joe's River Charters