January 16 ,2006 Inshore Fishing Report Jupiter/ Palm Beach, FL
Happy New Year. Well the fishing has been great due to our abnormal winter weather. The weather has been warm due to the absence of the cold fronts we usually experience this time of year. The water temperature has been averaging 71-74 degrees. With the water temps this warm the fish are active and feeding. The grass flats have been great for the Lady fish, but the Pompano bite has been slow. When the Pompano are biting the best baits have been tipped jigs, usually chartreuse in color will do the trick. The Lady fish will hit any jig bounced off the bottom. These fish are averaging 1 to 4 pounds. The Black Drum have been also taking tipped jigs up on the flats, the drum have been hanging in 2 to 6 feet of water. Trout season is now back open but they have been small to keep lately. The bigger slot sized fish are out there just have to find them. The Snook bite has been steady up on the grass flats also, the Snook have been hanging near the drop offs of the flats. The best lures have been SS minnows and ¼ jigs with soft plastics.
The Lox River fishing is still great and has been the most productive for those double digit Snook numbers. Just Last week my client Ira from Lake Worth, FL hooked into a 26 inch 6lb Fat Snook on a live greenie. The record Fat Snook is 27 inches. The Snook have been feeding all day long and the best baits for them have been live shrimp and live greenies. The Fat Snook and Common Snook are still mixed in together around the dock pilings and sea walls. Snook season is just around the corner February 1st is opening day. The Jacks are still going berserk up in the river these fish are hanging in pods and when chummed up every cast will produce a fish and the Jacks being caught are not small averaging 5 pounds and up 22lbs the biggest. The snapper bite is still great along with the sheepshead the best baits for these fish have been shrimp. A nice surprise catch up in the river was a nice Triple Tail this fish is not the smartest in the sea but they are tasty.
The Palm Beach area has been great for Snook lately. The Snook are holding tight near sea walls and dock pilings. When the sun is up and water clarity good these Snook can be spotted in 1 to 2 foot of water making for great site casting, The bait of choice is live shrimp, small finger mullet, greenies and Berkley Gulp. The Snook love the Gulp just like the Red Fish do.
The fresh water fishing is going to be great in a couple of weeks, the Largemouth Bass are going to start to spawn, this is the time to hook into that lunker. The Peacock Bass fishing is also going to fire up early this year do to the warmer weather patterns. The Peacocks will start to show up on the shell rock beds making for some great site fishing.
Well that is the inshore report for the Jupiter/Palm Beach area. If you would like to catch any of the above mentioned species give Capt. Craig Korczynski a call to book your next inshore fishing adventure. Or Visit PhlatsInshoreFishing.com, 561-644-4371, or e mail me at phlats1519@yahoo.com.
