DECEMBER 7, 2006
INSHORE - The catwalks of the South Bridge has been a good place to fish for the land locked anglers. They have been reporting good catches of sheepshead, snapper, flounder, croakers, sand perch and a few nice size black drum. Most of the fish were caught on a live shrimp. The trout both to the north and south in the river have been in the deeper holes along the flats. Remember that trout season is still closed and you need to handle the trout as little as possible. There has been a good snook bite at night when fishing around the North Bridge on the tide change. A live hand picked shrimp or a pinfish has been the best baits to use. Also, a good number of juvenile snook along the flats at Bear Point. The spanish mackerel, jacks and bluefish have been very active in the Ft. Pierce Inlet as they work their way into the river.
OFFSHORE - Most of the news this week has been about the sailfish. One day they caught a good number of sails and not the next. Also, with the seas being big it has made it harder for the smaller boats to get out. Over the weekend there were a few reports of spanish mackerel, bluefish and jacks along the beach. I got a couple of reports of kings in 30 to 50 feet of water and most were 15 pounds or under. On Saturday there was a fairly good dolphin bite in 130 to 190 feet of water. Most of these dolphins were caught on ballyhoo with a green and yellow skirt. Also, on Saturday there was a good snapper bite along the Offshore Bar in 90 feet of water.
JUNIOR TEEN ANGLERS - The second from shore Junior Teen Anglers tournament was held on Saturday -- December 2nd at Harbour Pointe Park in Ft. Pierce. You could not have asked for better weather but it would have been nice if the fish were a little more corporative. In the 5 to 8 age group 1st place went to Savannah Ward - age 6 - Lawnwood Elementary in Ft. Pierce, 2nd place was Brennen Tessier - age 8 - Glendale Elementary in Vero Beach, and 3rd place went to Luke Sealey - age 5 - Jensen Beach Elementary. In the 9 to 11 age group we only had one fish weighed and it got a 1st place trophy for Dylora Kohler - age 9 - Village Green Elementary in Port St. Lucie. The biggest fish of the tournament went to Brennen Tessier for the snook he caught and released. The next Junior Teen Angler tournament will take place in February of 2007. For more info on Junior Teen Anglers or Teen Anglers just go to the web at www.teenanglers.org
TEEN ANGLERS - The next inshore fishing tournament for the local chapter of Teen Anglers will be held on Sunday -- December 17th at Jaycee Park in Ft. Pierce. The teen's will fish from 6:45 am until 12:00 pm. They will weigh their fish and receive trophies for 1st thru 3rd place in the middle school division and 1st thru 3rd place in the high school division. There will also be a trophy for the biggest fish of the tournament. For more info go to the web at www,teenanglers.org
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