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Capt. Bob Bushholz
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, March 02, 2003 - 10:50 am: | |
Subject: March Forecast
March is here, bringing warmer weather to the Treasure Coast. Slowly our water temperatures will rise from the chilly 58 degrees that we experienced early in the year. Look for inshore fishing to improve dramatically, especially for snook that have been struggling to just stay alive. Pay attention this month to wind direction, which will dictate your fishing strategy. If it blows from the east, surf fishing and offshore can get “sporty” to say the least. Fishing inshore offers plenty of protected areas. As the water warms up, you will also notice an increase in baitfish inshore. Early morning flats fishing will resume so get those topwater lures ready!
Let’s start with inshore and work our way out. If history repeats itself, March could be an east shore bit zone with strong winds at times out of the southeast. Shallow water early in the morning will pick up, throwing topwater lures fro trout and snook. Try to get up close to docks on the west side or mangroves on the east side of the Indian River. By 9:00 a.m., drop to 3-4 feet with soft rubber baits in the flats. I mainly use DOA shrimp and CAL lures. Throwing both light and dark colors will produce a feeding pattern. Water clarity can dictate choice in colors. If the water is dark, throw rootbeer shrimp. In clean water I prefer a lighter color such as a glow shrimp. Live shrimp on a popping cork is another great option. The main thing is slowing down your bait presentation. Plenty of species also roaming in the flats include pompano, flounder, jacks, bluefish, redfish, baitfish and many others.
Area bridges will be holding plenty of mangrove snapper, sheephead, black drum, pompano and everyone’s favorite – snook. The snook will be an early morning or night bit along the bottom. Gulfstream’s flair hawks or red-tail hawks, dragging slowly along the bottom seems to produce the best result. If you can find mullet or pinfish, weigh them down with a 2 oz. egg sinker with 4 feet of leader. Its amazing, but a crushed mullet head planted on the bottom is very attractive to big snook.
In the St. Lucie north fork, look for deep holes around river bends. Bounce a 3/8 oz DOA rootbeer terrorize along the bottom and hold on. Some of these holes are quite deep, so work that bottom machine. Each year the St. Lucie produces some monster black drum. A few weeks ago a 60+ pounder was caught at Sandsprit Park off the bulkhead! Black drum regs are 14” minimum, one over 24”, with 5 fish maximum.
The largest pompano will be in the River, responding well to Gulfstream redfish and shrimp jigs in the grass flats of Sailfish Point and deeper in Hell’s Gate area. From the quarter bridge on the Stuart Causeway, look for the pompano brigade on the southwest section of the bridge, throwing bullethead nylure jigs. When targeting pompano you can expect to find ladyfish, jacks and blue runners as well.
Look for a strong trout bite with the early morning finally coming alive. Last month’s water temperatures all but shut down these fish until 10-11 a.m. Also look in deeper channels in the Indian River like the Dolphin Grill and Anchors Aweigh channels. Sheephead will be thick in the St. Lucie Inlet. Get your bait to the bottom in a rocky area near slack tide (after high tide is best) using a ¼ oz. trollrite and a small piece of shrimp. Before clearing the detached jetty just south of the channel is an excellent bet. This area was not disturbed during last year’s dredging. The water on the north side near Sailfish Point is now much deeper than before and less rocky. Remember sheephead must be 12” to the fork with a 15 per angler maximum. On Catch 22 we don’t keep anything under 14” and only what can be eaten in one sitting. Of course some people have a larger capacity than others in one sitting. If you’ve ever cleaned a sheephead you know that a 12” fish is not worth the effort.
Tarpon should begin to show up just south of the Stuart Causeway to the inlet as well as further north around Nettle’s Island and outside Big and Little Mud Creeks. Live bait on circle hooks or sightcasting topwater poppers, DOA baitbusters and terrorize will get their attention. As we progress into the summer, the tarpon will get better and better.
Most of the redfish have been concentrated north of the powerlines in shallow water. Reds are easily spooked, so keep it stealthy. Soft Rubber and gold spoons top the list. Further north into Fort Pierce and Vero north to the Cape have always been the most productive areas for redfish.
I normally begin my assault on tripletail around this time of year. Channel markers and bridges will hold most of them. Soft rubber and live shrimp are the baits of choice. I have an article on my website “Hunting for tripletail” if anyone would like more information on them. Last year was slightly disappointing, coming up 22 short of my goal of 100. Most of these fish until April will be under 6 pounds, with the summer catch averaging 8-12 lbs. Last year, on Catch 22, my anglers caught 8 fish over 20 lbs. Great rod-pulling action and super table fare. Remember the 15” minimum, and two per angler.
Let’s head to the surf, with bluefish and Spanish mackerel dominating the scene in close all day long. Cut bait (mackerel, mullet, ribbonfish) on the bottom attract the most attention. Normally 2 oz. will hold, but if the southeast wind picks up, 4 oz. may be necessary. Once you locate these fish, break out a small spinner, casting silver spoons or topwater lures for great fun. Don’t forget the steel leader for these toothy critters.
Look for large dark clouds in the water just outside the inlets and along the beaches. This is the time of year to play with monster jacks running 15 to 30 pounds. I ran a trip yesterday with one of my anglers hooking up to a 20 pounder on 12 lb test resulting in a half hour battle. Jigs, spoons and topwater poppers work great but nothing beats a live greenie. I would suggest beefing it up to 20 lb mainline.
Pompano will be out far, so break out the long rods. Double or triple kayle rigs with sandfleas, shrimp and clam strips is the prime choice for bait. When using these triple rigs, if you have a pompano on, let it set 30 seconds. Pompano run in schools, so why not catch 2 or 3 at a time! In the surf, expect a 2 lb. average, with the larger one inshore. There are plenty of sandfleas out there and it’s worth taking the time to get them. Nary a pompano can turn down a sandflea. For custom surf rods or any more information on pompano fishing, feel free to call my friend, Ward Woodruff, who is this area’s pompano guru. He can be reached at (772) 334-1708 and will be glad to answer any questions or build you that special rod.
Offshore should be great, with cobia topping the list. Large manta rays make their appearance this time of year and the cobia can be found cruising underneath them. It’s not uncommon to see a dozen cobia under a single ray. Keep your eyes peeled for these rays and have a 2 oz. jig ready to cast with a chunk of cut bait or large grub tail attached. When boating these fish, have a cobia club handy and a cooler open. I’ve seen some incredible damage from a thrashing 40 lb. cobia.
Dolphin should be in 120’ to 250’. Last year in March, there were plenty of dolphin in the 8-20 lb. class. There’s no sense in keeping any schoolies. At the rate of growth of these fish, by the end of summer they will be worth catching again and you’ll have yourself a “real” fish. It is really aggravating to see boats coming in with multiple school-sized fish. Down in the Keys (and some a little closer to our area), there are charter boats that pose with as many as forty 3-lb. dolphin. You’d think they would be embarrassed. There needs to be a legitimate limit on dolphin (say 28”) and watch the population skyrocket in one year.
Sailfish could be in really close, depending on the bait schools. Plenty of kingfish are still in the area, inside the 6-mile reef. On the bottom, large grouper and mutton snapper with some true red snapper have shown up north of the St. Lucie Inlet. South of the inlet to Pecks Lake, the Spanish mackerel are still in residence, hitting spoons, minnow jigs, tube lures, shrimp tipped jigs. In other words, just about everything!
Remember, with all fish limit your take, don’t take your limit !!!
Our Dry Tortuga trip last week turned out to be a bust. We arrived down in the Keys by noon and had our traditional grouper lunch upstairs at Whale Harbor in Islamorada. After lunch we continued south to Torch Key to pick up live pinfish and then headed to The Yankee Capts just above Key West. Unfortunately the boat was unable to make the trip due to manifold problems. We ended up driving back to Stuart arriving home at 3:00 am. Capt. Greg aboard the Yankee Capts tried his best to fix the problem but was unable to receive the correct part needed in time. He did refund all the anglers and also handed out a free pass to be used in the future. For all you boaters out there surely know there are three things in life that are certain, (1) death (2) taxes and (3) boat malfunctions!!!!
Capt. Bob Bushholz operates Catch 22 Riverfishing out of Anchor’s Aweigh Marina in Jensen Beach fishing up to six anglers on the Indian River from Stuart – Fort Pierce while offering morning, afternoon and night trips. Both private charters and per- person rates available. For reservations or more information call Capt. Bob at (772) 225-6436 or visit his website at www.catch22fish.com.
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Capt. Bob Bushholz
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, February 15, 2003 - 7:51 pm: | |
Subject: Stuart Inshore Report- 02-15-03
Back in action after a 6-day lay-up resulting from a voltage regulator gone bad. The grass flats in the Indian River are finally showing signs of life in the morning trip with trout, jacks, ladyfish, flounder and a few snook. Water temps are creeping up, making it a lot easier to find rodbenders. The St. Lucie Inlet is holding fish, but area bridges during the day are still holding some mangrove snapper, sheephead, snook, black drum and several goliath grouper up to 15 pounds. Just returned from a Saturday morning trip with jacks, macs, snook, pomps, goliath grouper, ladyfish and sheephead.
It’s Dry Tortugas time. Next week myself and 9 other anglers from this area are heading to Key West to fish a 3-day trip aboard the Yankee Capts. This year our group has the entire stern of the boat. We depart Wednesday at 10:00 p.m., cruise 6 hours to the fishing grounds, with lines in around 4 a.m. Non-stop fishing for 30 hours catching mutton snapper and grouper is the main agenda. I’ll give you a full report on my return.
New pictures posted on my website – check them out! Tight lines everyone.
Capt. Bob Bushholz
http://www.catch22fish.com
(772) 225-6436
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Capt. David Fawcett
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, February 05, 2003 - 12:33 pm: | |
Subject: Spring
SPRING
A thousand robins just landed in my backyard reminding me to clean out my fireplace, pack up my shotgun till next Fall, reorganize my toys in the garage and go catch a cobia.
Sure.... Spring isn't yet here, but, it is not far behind and with it come some exciting transitional angling experiences.
Right now we are hearing of migrating mantas along the Beach and they are carrying cobia with them. It's awesome being amongst these graceful prehistoric "bats" and doing battle with a cobia or two but the overall experience far outweighs the piscatorial feat. Cobia are dumb as bricks, usually come in substantial sizes, don't fight worth a damn until you muscle one into your fish box and "eat" pretty good, I hear. I only enjoy them in chowder.
So.....the well seasoned angler has no need to kill a whole tribe of cobia. One will do. Then the only problem will be in protecting the hinges on the fish box and consuming 20 to 30 pounds of fish.
The BIG crevalle are also beginning to join the transitional pilgrimage. Though not in full spawn mode they are beginning to run the Beach in packs, not daisy chaining but grouping up and providing fly or conventional presentations.
I love these fish. They are tough customers, high profile and able to withstand recreational fishing pressure. It's hard to stress out a jack.
It's unfortunate the commercial sector has found a market for these fish. Has anyone noticed the paucity of lady fish over the last three years since the commercials began filling garbage pails with them.
Believe me readers. As one fishery is decimated another fishery will be annihilated. And it will be a previously lesser or less valuable commercial fishery.
Anyone for Braised Ladyfish Burgundian?
So for the while I will be playing on or off the Beach looking for cobia and crevalle, playing with the Spanish mackerel and blues and hoping to stumble on a school of permit.
Sailfishing is widely scattered and I look for just a few more "turn on" periods if the weather and currents combine to create ideal conditions before our sailfish season comes to an end. There are still a few dolphin and incidental wahoo and if the water temperature warms up a bit the bottom fishing should get hot again.
By the way, I was fortunate enough to get a chance to fish with two of my sons during the last of our season's tourneys, the inter-marina shootout, hosting 24 boats from area marinas.
The Teaser, captained by Scott Fawcett and "decked" by Erik Fawcett brought anglers Warren Landi and his gal Lisa to a "squeaker" win in the two day event, releasing three of the last day's seven fish total. The winning fish was hooked with seven minutes to go before "lines in" call.
It was certainly nice to see my boys work together. I can't believe I ever being such a hard taskmaster when my son "decked" for me ten years ago. Maybe I was a little more vociferous....Maybe I just forget.
So most of my angling endeavors will be spent off the sand and until the Estuary surpasses the high sixties I will probably remain off the Beach.
A fanatical snook client of mine had booked me a long time ago to celebrate the opening day of snook this year. Ray Volpatt, who is as keyed onto snook as a mid-western muskie zealot wanted to repeat last year's 36 pound catch with water temperature barely hitting 60 degrees. There had been reports of dead tarpon and snook floating in the Estuary and as much as I like a challenge I convinced Ray to put off snook for a week. So the following week we set out. Water temperature around 62...still the kiss of death. Right off the bat we "pull off" a snook. The rest of the trip we try every hidey hole, bridge structure and flat that could possibly hold fish.
On the way back to the dock I pass Scottie who dives for Dockside Marine Service.
"Hey, Scottie! What are you seeing?
"A lot of snook that are too cold to move out of my way."
Well at least they are not all dead.
Put on your sunscreen!
Capt. David Fawcett/Free Jumper Charters
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Capt. Bob Bushholz
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, January 29, 2003 - 10:34 am: | |
Subject: February Forecast
Well, the New Year is well underway, the temperatures have been cold, but the fishing action has been hot!.Let’s begin offshore and work our way inside. Look for plenty of sailfish action between 120 and 180 feet where the water is a bit warmer. Trolled ballyhood, splittail mullet or drifting live baits will get their attention. While fishing this zone, you can expect some dolphin to bend those rods. Inside 6 miles (30-65 feet) kingfish and cobia are a definite possibility. Don’t forget those stinger hooks on your live greenies and watch your kingfish catch skyrocket. February brings plenty of manta rays in our area. Under the rays are where to target some nice cobia. Have a rod rigged and ready to cast. I like using a 2 oz. jig with a chunk of cut bait or a large white grub tail attached. We cast 20 feet in front of the ray and let the bait sink. Cobia are great fun and fantastic table fare. Use extreme caution when boating them. Have a cooler open and ready when you bring them aboard.
Near shore, Spanish mackerel action reaches its peak. Gulfstream’s flash minnows, green and chartreuse tube lures, Clark spoons, white bucktails tipped with shrimp all produce. There’s no need to cruise all the way to Peck’s Lake. Just keep your eyes open for birds and baitfish on top, and there you will find the macs. It’s more fun fishing away from the pack and you’ll probably boat more fish. It also allows you to be more sporting, using 6-8 lb. test, producing longer runs and better fishing. If the action slows down, before moving to another area, try allowing your bait to drop 20 seconds before retrieving. Many times these macs will sit near the bottom. For you small boaters, check sea conditions before departing. This month can spark northeast winds in a hurry.
Along the surf, bluefish action will dominate the scene. Normally, 2 oz. will hold the bottom using cut bait (mackerel, mullet, ribbonfish) while casting in the first trough. Whiting will also be in close. Small crappie jigs tipped with shrimp, claims or squid will catch ‘em. Usually when the bluefish are biting, the pompano are hiding. If fishing for pompano, try long-casting triple kayle rigs with a combination of sand fleas, clams and shrimp. There are plenty of beach accesses in our area. If you pull up to one and the water looks dirty, drive north or south for cleaner conditions.
Inshore, look for calm water when things kick up. Aboard Catch 22, I spend many hours on the east side of the Indian River. Calmer water always holds more baitfish, making this zone very fishable. The trout bite in February is excellent. Topwater lures up close and shallow, fishing early, will result in some great action. The mangroves on the east side or docks on the west side in the Indian River hold some gator trout between 7-9 lbs. Later in the morning and afternoon stay in 3-4 feet or near the spoil islands, throwing soft rubber baits or live shrimp. I use a combination of live and DOA shrimp and CAL lures in the grass flats during the afternoon hours.
Snook season opens February 1st and the majority will be deep, near area bridges and seawalls. Big baits like Gulfstream’s flair hawks and redtail hawks along the bottom are your best bet. You can also plant a mullet head deep and let it sit. Eventually something big will inhale it. Snook regulations remain the same with a 26-34 in. slot, 2 per person. The season for those linesiders remains open until June 1st. Choppy conditions pump up snook, making them more aggressive. When the water temperature drops, slow down your presentation. Snook get lazy and sluggish in cold water.
Area bridges hold plenty of sheephead and black drum on the bottom. Frozen shrimp on trollrites are at the top of the bait list. Most drum in the Indian River run 4-10 lbs., but the Roosevelt Bridge in Stuart historically holds bigger fish. Know your limits. Sheephead need to be 12” minimum from the head to the fork in the tail. Black drum must be at least 14” with one fish over 24”. Try the Indian Riverside Park dock for drum, sheephead and flounder. Walk to the east end of the dock where its 6-8 feet deep. If you like to wade, drive through Indian River Plantation to Bathtub Beach and park. On the riverside, there’s plenty of action with flounder to 5 lbs. feeding on live shrimp along the bottom. Casting redfish jigs on incoming tide provides nice pompano action in this area too. Okay, so you don’t want to get your feet wet, there’s an excellent public fishing pier on the river side right near the House of Refuge.
If you’re serious about flounder, take a ride north to Fort Pierce and fish the south jetty. Look for a sandbar and cast past it into the deeper water, dragging the bait up into the sandbar and watch the action. This month, flounder in the Sebastian area move south making the south jetty an excellent choice. Again, shrimp on trollrites work the best.
Last year tarpon made an early appearance just south of the Stuart Causeway and farther north just outside Big and Little Mud Creeks. It’s worth a try using live mullet, DOA terrorize and Baitbusters. In the grassy areas, a wide selection of trout, redfish, jacks, ladyfish, pompano, flounder, Spanish mackerel and bluefish are plentiful.
Tripletail remain scattered until March, but the first week of January produced 3 tripletail aboard Catch 22. Most of the early tripletail are under 5 lbs. but they still put up an excellent fight. We released 2 of the 3, all being well above the 15” minimum.
Want to load up on sheephead? Head to the St. Lucie Inlet and anchor up a half hour before low or high tide. This will give you about an hour of great fishing when the current is slow, allowing your bait to stay near the bottom. We fish ultra-lite on Catch 22, using 6 lb. test, with 12 lb. leader and small pieces of frozen shrimp on 1/0 quarter-ounce trollrites. Using a small hook and small bait will increase production. At high tide, look for a rocky bottom and you’re in the target zone. Marker #235 in the ICW is also a rocky area, holding plenty of sheephead in the winter.
Finally, Hell’s Gate in the St. Lucie and the Crossroads are hot on high outgoing tide. In Hell’s Gate, anchor up for pompano, mackerel and ladyfish or drift the Crossroads.
Capt. Bob Bushholz is an IGFA certified captain and operates Catch 22 Riverfishing out of Anchors Aweigh Marina in Jensen Beach, fishing up to 6 anglers on the Indian River and St. Lucie Inlet. Capt. Bob offers both private charters and per-person rates with morning, afternoon and night trips available. For reservations or more information, call Capt. Bob Bushholz at ( 772) 225-6436 or visit his website at www.catch22fish.com.
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Capt. Ed Williams
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, January 24, 2003 - 12:08 pm: | |
Subject: Fishing Report
The weather for our winter Sailfish season has been a challenge for those of us who plan to fish everyday. It seems like one cold front follows another and just about the time the weather looks like it is going to settle down another Artic Cold front brings us back to the reality of winter.
We are catching decent numbers of Sailfish when the weather gives us a break. Most days we are able to catch from 3 to 8 Sails along with a few Dolphin. On a recent trip we left the dock just after daylight and were able to catch about 3 dozen Greenies and a couple of Blue Runners just outside the inlet. We ran to a spot northeast of the inlet in 120 feet of water where we began our day. I only had one angler on the boat so I decided to fish with just 3 rods—which proved to be one of the better decision I made that day.
Several other boats were fishing in the same area and when we arrived no one was reporting much activity. Within a few minutes the PORT side outrigger snapped and we were hooked up on a nice Dolphin. I saw the fish jump a couple of times and after a bit of battle we were able to put a nice 25 pound Dolphin in the fish box. We reset back to where we had started and it only took a few minutes and we were hooked up on another fish. This time the fish stripped about 300 yards of line before we could stop the initial run. I backed the boat up after the fish for nearly an hour and a few times we were able to get it within 50 yards of the boat but I could never see what we were fighting. The battle continued with the fish being deep at times and near the surface other times. It would feel like were making good progress only to have the fish strip off a bunch of line. We finally pulled the hook on the fish. All I know is that the fish was very fast (much faster than the big Sharks we occasionally catch) and very strong—definitely a mystery fish.
Our day continued with a lull of an hour or so. I decided to move inshore a little where we found a very faint current edge. We began another “bump troll” along the edge and almost on cue one of the bait runners began screaming. I set the hook on that fish and the Sail immediately jumped. I heard the second then the third reel begin to scream and within seconds we were hooked up on a TRIPLE. Sailfish were jumping everywhere behind the boat. With one angler and three Sailfish the only thing to do was use the rod holders. Finally one of the fish jumped off which made working the remaining two much easier.
After that chaos we again set up the same pattern without the same result. We fished for a nearly an hour before we had an attack from some very small Dolphin that were closely followed by a single Sailfish that we were able to hook , bring alongside the boat and release in fairly short order. As were nearing the end of the day the action had slowed so I decided to move us a few miles to the South (closer to the inlet). We set out our baits thinking we would give it a half hour and head for home. We moved from about 115 feet of water a little east to 135 feet where we had all three rods go off at the same time. Once again it was Sailfish everywhere you look behind the boat. Fortunately two of them managed to jump off within a minute or two so we focused our efforts on catching one. The ocean conditions were very nice, the weather warm and the Sailfish action very good—another great day of fishing in the Sailfish Capital of the world.
If catching a Sailfish is of interest NOW is the time to make it happen. Good luck and remember you can’t catch’em at the dock.
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Capt. Bob Bushholz
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, January 21, 2003 - 4:08 pm: | |
Subject: Rods Still Bending
Last week’s temperatures kept many anglers indoors. We managed a few trips aboard Catch 22, again fishing deep holes and cuts. The shallow grass flats will definitely produce this time of year, with the afternoon your best bite time allowing the sun to heat things up. Both trips last week were morning departures, so we hit area bridges where water depth is at least 12 feet. Six snook to 28” along with lots of black drum running 3-9 lbs., scattered jacks and small mangrove snapper kept the anglers very busy. Trollrites with shrimp once again prevailed.
Hell’s Gate was still holding fish on high outgoing tide with pompano, Spanish mackerel, jacks and ladyfish. Most boats in this area anchor up in about 10 feet. I prefer drifting, covering more water. I guess the only time I really break out my anchor is on night trips or when I target sheephead in the St. Lucie Inlet near high or low tide when the current is slack. I didn’t make it outside the rocks of the St. Lucie Inlet last week, but rest assured the mackerel are still there and will be around for another two months.
Last week a few of us fished the South jetty in Fort Pierce with scattered flounder on the Ocean side. On the inlet side, I release a 40” snook on Tuesday that was a blast on 12 lb. test. This fish made 3 separate 50-yard runs until he finally tired out. It took a good five minutes to revive him and make sure he was released unharmed. An angler next to me had a 24” redfish, also fishing the inlet side. Everyone is eagerly awaiting the opening of snook season on February 1st. If the weather remains cold, this is the place to catch snook that are hanging in the warmer temperatures the inlets provide. Cast up current and let your bait sink. I like an hour before and after each tide when the water is slower. If it’s “ripping” simply go to a heavier jig. Also deeper water, near bridges will be holding plenty of fish. Flair hawks worked slowly along the bottom is your best bet.
If the temperatures remain cool the next month or so, there’s really no need for pre-dawn departures. Heading out by 8 a.m. or later will help you out in the grass flats. Don’t be surprised to encounter some monster bluefish (over l0 lbs.) roaming inshore. They seem to know there are some easy pickings inside.
Capt. Bob Bushholz
http://www.catch22fish.com
(772) 225-6436
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Capt. Bob Bushholz
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, January 09, 2003 - 4:20 pm: | |
Subject: Wind Settles Down
The weather this past week has been on the cold side but fishing has been just the opposite (Hot!!) On two trips, we managed to fish just outside the jetty in the St. Lucie Inlet, with a mixture of nice sheephead to 4 lbs, 10 gag grouper to 18”, small mutton and mangrove snapper, jacks, blue runners, Spanish mackerel to 4 lbs., black margate and porkfish, while also witnessing a dozen spinner sharks skyrocketing. Quite an assortment to say the least.
Inside the inlet, small jacks have dominated the scene. Scattered sheephead and pompano were caught while drifting, but nothing to write home about. The Hell’s Gate area in the St. Lucie has been hot on high outgoing tide with plenty of pompano action. If you catch 30 you may have 10 keepers, but along with the jacks, mackerel and ladyfish, there’s plenty of action.
Moving north in the Indian River, we caught our first three tripletail of the year, releasing two of them. Most tripletail this time of year run between 2-4 lbs., with the larger ones showing up after March. Last year on Catch 22, we ended up with 78, just 22 short of my 100 fish goal. My New Year’s resolution this year is to spend more time fishing for tripletail and reach the 100 mark.
In the grass, we did catch some trout and for the most part they were hitting DOA glo shrimp on 6 lb. test, in some very tough conditions with stiff winds. Last week was black drum week near the Stuart Causeway and 10 cent bridge, catching over 40 between 3 and 10 lbs. Frozen shrimp on the bottom on trollrites have been deadly. Along with the drum you can find mangrove snapper, sheephead and snook, but most of the snook were under the slot.
Hopefully this wind will settle down a bit, allowing the small boaters to have some fun with the Spanish mackerel along the shoreline.
Just returned from a Thursday morning trip with Walter Yackel and John Mayer. We did manage to run out to Peck’s Lake and had a blast with Spanish Mackerel up to 4 pounds throwing an assortment of jigs. After an hour or so we headed back inside fishing the 10 cent bridge and catching 8 black drum to 8 pounds along with mangrove snappers and jacks. The twosome from New York had a great day catching an estimated 60 fish!
Capt. Bob Bushholz
http://www.catch22fish.com
(772) 225-6436
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Capt. Ed Williams
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, January 05, 2003 - 10:55 pm: | |
Subject: Fishing Report
During the last couple of weeks we have been catching a few Sails on nearly every trip. We are not catching the number of fish that we are hoping to catch this time of year but we are catching a few. In addition most days we catch Dolphin along with all the King and Spanish Mackerel you want. Live bait has not been available most days so we are focusing our efforts on trolling ballyhoo. This is working in our favor most days as the fish are not concentrated and when we find a few they generally give us a chance trolling dead baits.
A recent trip was typical of what we are experiencing. We managed to catch a few live baits and as we were running offshore we found some warm water (where the water temperature increased by about 2 degrees). As I was looking around we saw a free jumping Sailfish so we put out the baits. As we were putting out the second line we had a strike on the first line we had just put out. It was a Sail that turned on the bait, struck it with his bill and knocked the bait off the hook. We watched as he chased the bait around and finally ate it—not exactly what we had hoped would happen. As we were watching this action the second fish came up and ate the second line we had just put out. We hooked this one and within a few minutes were able to release him unharmed. That action was followed by a Dolphin that could resist an easy meal and a Shark who ate one of our precious live baits. We continued fishing and had several King Mackerel bites, another Sailfish that was interested but decided not to eat. While we were hooked up on the first Sailfish a couple of other boats that were fishing in the area also caught Sails. Shortly after that flurry of activity the action slowed and we went some time without any action. I am sure the fish were there they just quit eating. This has happened frequently during the last couple of weeks—a strong bite followed by a period of no activity.
The Sailfish season is coming along nicely. As soon as the large pods of bait make their appearance the Sails will make a strong appearance and we should be catching double digit numbers of Sails some days. Last year this happened about the 11th of January so I have my fingers crossed it will be repeated this year. If you want to catch a Sailfish now is the time to get out there and it will happen for you.
If just catching fish is your objective, take some light spin tackle south of the inlet and catch Spanish Mackerel. One afternoon a few days ago we decided to give it a try for a few minutes and it was a fish on every cast. We caught a bunch of fish that weighed between 5 and 8 pounds and it was a blast.
Good luck and remember you can’t catch’em at the dock.
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Capt. David Fawcett
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, December 20, 2002 - 4:47 pm: | |
Subject: Sailfish
TIS THE SEASON
The sailfish season that is.
Punctuated by rough seas, high winds and a fickle bite by a run of exceedingly small sails, some as small as 15 pounds, we have just concluded two of the season's premier bill fish tournaments. The last one, Stuart Sailfish Club's Light Tackle Tournament, enlisted one of the smallest fields in many a year with only 28 boats vying for top honors. The final tally was an even one hundred fish for the four day event, less than one fish per day per boat. Tough sailfishing.
But, wouldn't you know it. Two days following the tournament's end the fish began snapping and instead of one fish per boat days we have been experiencing six to ten fish per boat days with another half dozen misses. I guess there still allot of small fish around. They are much harder to hook up. But...that's sailfishing. Ain't it GREAT!
Still plenty of kings around with a scattering of dolphin, an occasional wahoo...I'm having some tonight...and that's about the blue water scene. Inshore look for blues and plenty of mackerel with pompano on the Beach and inside, though I don't think the pompano are here in any great numbers as yet. Look for snook on the Bridges, the Turning Basin and on lighted docks. Start probing the deeper cuts for trout as winter settles in, but, it's sailfish season and if the weather permits that's where I'll be.
CHIRROSIS OF THE RIVER
Well the red tide has dispersed but the Army Corps and SFWM have begun dumping The Lake on us again, and, if my guess is right, they will continue dumping for many more weeks, maybe even months. This prophecy is based on the fact that the Kissimmee chain is overfilled. I have never seen my duck and snipe haunts so inundated. So...when they, the powers that be, report that the Big O is at 15.4 feet high...they are not relating the entire picture of our water management problems. They have conveniently eliminated the 10 inches of water that fell last week on the system to the north. Now, I don't know how this translates on the height of the Big Lake but my guess would be that if they brought the Kissimmee chain's impoundments down to acceptable levels, and, my guess is that they will have to, the Big O would be up to catastrophic levels and BIG DUMP II will be conceived. How many fish, turtles, manatees, sea grasses, marine mollusks and birds have to die before the Water Gods cease and desist?
Put On Your Sunscreen!
Capt. David Fawcett/Free Jumper Charters
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Capt. Bob Bushholz
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, December 20, 2002 - 11:00 am: | |
Subject: Stuart Inshore Report- 12-20-02
Outside the St. Lucie Inlet and southbound towards Peck’s Lake, Spanish mackerel are running 2-5 lbs. and thick. Green and chartreuse tube lures, Gulfstream Minnow jigs, clark spoons and white bucktails tipped with shrimp are all working. Using 8-12 lb. test with 20-30 lb. leader with produce more strikes than steel. Just outside the jetty rocks are scattered sheephead, black margate, mutton snapper and bluefish. Trollrites and shrimp on the bottom with a vertical jig are producing well.
Inside the inlet, if you can get past the 2-3 lbs.jacks and blue runners, you have a shot at some nice pompano to 4 lbs. Gulfstream’s redfish and shrimp jigs tipped with shrimp on the bottom do the trick. Dead smack in the middle, look for boats anchored up in 5-6 feet. I prefer drifting, allowing me to cover more area, plus I’m away from the pack. Pompano have been running good at times in the Crossroads also. We tried Hell’s Gate and the Sailfish Flats but there wasn’t much going on there except for some ladyfish action. The pompano brigade, fishing from the Quarter Bridge, jigging nylures, are finding some pomps (mostly small) along with plenty of ladyfish, jacks and blue runners.
The area bridges remain hot with snook, black drum and mangrove snapper. Last week on Catch 22, we caught 21 black drum to 7 lbs. along with snook and mangroves.
Haven’t fished the grass at all, but the New Year is right around the corner, bringing with it the opening of trout season, promising some great rod-bending action.
Happy Holidays!
Capt. Bob Bushholz
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Capt. Ed Williams
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, December 09, 2002 - 11:39 am: | |
Subject: Fishing Report
The fishing continues to be good here in Stuart. On most of our trips we are catching Dolphin (Mahi-Mahi), lots of King and Spanish Mackerel and a few Sailfish. We are beginning the Sailfish tournament season and based on the first few days of tournament fishing it looks like we have a lot Sailfish just to the north of our area. Most of the participants in the tournaments are running miles to the north and they are enjoying some very good Sailfish action. A couple of days ago 36 boats caught and released 109 Sailfish. The next day the same group of boats caught 31 fish---that’s Sailfishing. This is the time of year we expect the Sailfish action to pick up here in Stuart. While most of the Sailfish are being caught a little north of our immediate area it looks like before long we will have big lots of Sailfish available in our immediate area.
Frequently I have inquires about how I fish for Sailfish. Here in Stuart most of the charter boats troll (dead bait) and use live bait—depending on the conditions, availability of live bait, etc. Live bait is highly effective when you can fish it in an area where the fish are concentrated. If the fish are not concentrated then I like trolling dead bait because it allows me to cover more area and often times locate where the fish are concentrated. Most of the experienced fisherman who regularly fish for Sails can make a dead ballyhoo look very much alive. I like both methods and given the right conditions both produce good numbers of Sails.
Since we are approaching the height of Sailfish season I want to devote a paragraph or so to protecting these magnificent fish. Capt. Ray Roser wrote an article entitled Improving Sailfish Survival Rates for Cyberangler. It is an excellent article, based on his experiences over many years of fishing. If you have an interest in Sailfishing it is worth your time to read this article. It can be found at http://cyberangler.com/articles/rosher/ . I won’t repeat the entire article but a few points that I hope everyone who fishes for these great fish will consider. If you are going to fish with live bait definitely use circle hooks—they improve your hook up ratio and nearly every time they hook the fish in the corner of its mouth rather than deep inside the fish. Regardless of the method you are using to catch fish (dead or live bait) don’t allow excessive drop backs when the fish takes the bait—this approach drastically reduces the number of fish hooked deep and does not impact the number of fish you catch. Don’t fight the fish until it is totally exhausted. As soon as you detect the fish is starting to tire get to it and release it. Release the fish without taking it out of the water. When people pick the fish up and drag it across the transom it virtually assures the fish will not survive. Don’t dig around for the hook if it is not visible. Cut the line as close to the fish as possible and release it. If the fish is tried when you are releasing it, swim the fish alongside the boat until it shows some signs of renewed energy. When leadering the fish be careful not to put to much pressure on the leader/fish. Imagine being tied to a 60 pound leader and having someone jerk on it until it breaks—that approach will really damage the fish. Catching any Billfish is always a great thrill no matter how many you have caught. This year I am fortunate to have had several hundred Sails caught on my boat—each one has been as much of a thrill for me as for those who actually caught the fish. Lets all do our part to protect these magnificent fish for future generations to enjoy.
The Sailfish season is upon us, good luck and remember you can’t catch’em at the dock.
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Capt. Bob Bushholz
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, December 06, 2002 - 10:22 pm: | |
Subject: Winter Wonderland
River fishing remains strong, especially in the deep water around area bridges where resident mangrove snapper, black drum and snook top the list. Outgoing tides have been more productive, but there are still plenty of fish hitting during any tide movement. Live shrimp on 1/8 oz. trollrites have been working great on 12-lb. test. The drum have been running between 3 and 8 pounds, providing some excellent rod-bending action. Most of the snook caught during the daylight hours have been undersized, with the big boys being caught at night. One good snook fillet would sure taste pretty good after all that turkey!
I haven’t fished the grass north of Jensen Causeway lately since trout season is still closed and I really don’t like to target off-season fish. The trout season re-opens January 1, and if you elect to seek out the trout during the closed season, please crimp the barbs on the hooks or lures and release them in good shape. DOA’s rootbeer and glo shrimp worked slowly will catch a bunch. When releasing these fish make sure you wet your hands to minimize the damage to the trout. One Catch 22 charter did spend a little time in the grass further south in the Sailfish Flats looking for some pompano. It’s been a hit or miss and after dedicating a half-hour on two separate trips with minimal results, the obvious plan was to fish elsewhere. A few guides did report pompano catches, but they seem scattered and scarce, with no real size showing yet. I did witness some small pompano being caught off the Quarter Bridge, but they were mixed with the ever-present ladyfish. Larger fish in better numbers should be arriving shortly and sand fleas on a pompano rig or redfish jigs will probably produce the best results along with Nylure jigs off the bridges.
There are plenty of jacks in the Inlet to 5 lbs. that keep the anglers on their toes and the rods bent, along with ladyfish, flounder, bluefish, black margate and snapper of all species and sizes. The Spanish mackerel have been plentiful just outside the detached jetty, south to Peck’s Lake. Last week a few of my charters saw better action than others, fishing similar tides and seas. Go figure!?! On Tuesday, we fished one hour near the detached jetty, catching over 25 “macs” to 3 lbs. Thursday I ran all the way to Peck’s Lake and just found a few scattered around. I expect the “mac” attack to strengthen beginning in the next week or so and it should remain strong into March.
There’s plenty of fish action right now and I hope everybody takes advantage of it and has some real angling fun.
Capt. Bob Bushholz
http://www.catch22fish.com
(772) 225-6436
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Capt. David Fawcett
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, December 03, 2002 - 6:53 pm: | |
Subject: MUSINGS
RED TIDES IN THE SUNSET AND OTHER COLD WEATHER MUSINGS
Just as our lagoon reaches acceptable water quality limits due to the lack of runoff, the Treasure Coast is hit with a red tide outbreak which not only is killing marine life but also irritating Beachgoers with symptoms akin to allergic reactions of coughing, watery eyes and sneezing. The sooth sayers say that it will probably dissipate with current and offshore winds. This is questionable, though the Sebastian area seems to be improving while southerly reaches are increasing in virulence.
But how did it originate in the first place? We know that it has been moving steadily southward and that the algae bloom is acceptable up to 5,000 parts per liter of seawater. The last tests revealed more than a million parts per liter and it has taken up residence along Martin County Beaches and is inching into the Hobe Sound area. I guess this is not acceptable, but, after it goes away and the dead fish and watery eyes are forgotten this occurence will join the ranks of "The Big Dump". If it's not there... don't worry about it. We are so much the ostrich.
Well, today marked the beginning of our sailfish tournament season with Finest Kind Marina's Quickie.
A total of 18 boats enlisted in the fray and by 3 p.m. 54 sails had been brought to boat and released in this dead bait tourney. Not a bad kick-off for the season. Immediately following this tournament comes Pirates Cove Sailfish Classic, beginning Thursday and ending Sunday, and, following immediately behind, the Stuart Sailfish Club Light Tackle Tournament. These competitions will be followed as the season progresses in our area by the Pelican Yacht Club Invitational, the Sailfish Point Yacht Club Invitational concluding with the newly created Marina Shootout at the end of January. Of course, interspersed with our area tournaments will be another dozen or so competitions just south of us. So...it's a full platter and it appears that the entrees are exceptional, so far.
I happened by my marina the other day and one of the dockmasters was cleaning a couple of dolphin, which couldn't have weighed more than a pound and a half apiece, given to him by a resident angler. I can understand why the angler donated the fish as he should have been embarrassed to clean them in public.
"This guys a great fisherman," grinned the happy dockmaster. "He always gets me dinner."
NO HE'S NOT A GREAT FISHERMAN. GREAT FISHERMEN ARE STEWARDS OF THEIR RESOURCES!!!!
This semantical dichotomy reminds me of Helen Hunt, a gorgeous, great actress...but...she has a Picasso profile. At one angle she appears to be an innocent school girl. At another... the Witch of Escarole. But I can easily tolerate Helen Hunt. I cannot tolerate "great fishermen".
IN CONCLUSION
So the Lagoon is in A One condition and the sailfish season is getting off to a good start. More and more of our winter species are moving into the Lagoon and it is easy to bend a rod on anything up to and including big croaker, flounder, trout, ladyfish, bluefish, mackerel, black drum, reds, snook and crevalle. We even witnessed a pod of big tarpon moving over the Sailfish bars the other day. These fish are moving out. Spanish are in the Inlet, Lagoon and settling into Peck's Lake along with some decent kings and blacktips. Pompano are beginning to cause a stir also but I am just catching one or two while not specifically targeting them.
Offshore it is sailfish, kings, surprisingly low numbers of little tunny for this time of year and a scattering of dolphin, wahoo. Bottom fishing for snapper and grouper will remain good this month on all area reefs and wrecks. Pay attention to your depth sounder.
Put On Your Sunscreen!!!!
Capt. David Fawcett/Free Jumper Charters
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Capt. Bob Bushholz
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, November 26, 2002 - 10:20 am: | |
Subject: Stuart Inshore Report; 11-26-02
Water conditions remain fantastic, which translates into great fishing. For the past few weeks the St. Lucie River has tints of green all the way up to the 10-cent bridge. Salinity levels that were almost non-existent are quickly bringing with it fish that vacated the area by late June. This “clean water” should stay here (hopefully) until next June. If we could just get the “powers that be” to recognize that Mother Nature takes good care of the inland waterways and if left to her own devices, could probably maintain excellent conditions all year long.
The trout bite has remained strong up and down the Indian River. The big question is “how do the trout know the season is closed?”. One trip during the past week resulted in releases of 17 trout up to 4 lbs., fishing the west side near Walton Road. Another trip, with a private one-person fare, produced 8 nice trout released fishing the east side near the bird platforms just south of the Power Plant. Both DOA’s root beer and glo shrimp were used, working them slowly in the grass on 6 lb. test with no leader. There’s nothing like hooking up a good fish on light tackle.
I’ve still done a bit of searching for the pompano. Only a half-hour or so in the grass flats, spoil islands and in the Hell’s Gate area. So far I haven’t spotted any serious concentration, but I’ve heard several reports about pompano in the Sailfish Point area, Power Plant and the “quarter bridge”. Many of the pompano being caught from the bridges are small, but the big guys should be arriving shortly. By December (next week), I expect the action to heat up and stay hot until March.
Snook have been deep near area bridges and seem to be attracted to live baits on the bottom and jigs like the Red Tail Hawks and Gulfstream Flair Hawks. Make sure you feel the bottom and you’re in the right zone. Ft. Pierce Inlet has been holding some nice snook, while the shallower St. Lucie Inlet has been a little slow for these fish.
Haven’t made it to Peck’s Lake lately since the surf conditions have been pretty nasty, but as soon as it flattens out, you can expect to see the Catch 22 doing some serious surf fishing. There’s been some scattered mackerel in the Inlet area and rivers, but nothing to brag about. Still plenty of mangrove snapper and black drum around area bridges, with sheephead starting to show up nicely. During the winter months aboard Catch 22, we spend time catching large numbers of sheephead right in the St. Lucie Inlet. In case you didn’t know, sheephead make great table fare (pure white and flaky), but the size limit is 12” to the fork and believe me, you’d rather have a 15-16 inch fish since they have a huge stomach to fillet around, but are well worth the effort. Keep the tackle light and fish slack tide with 6-lb. test, ¼ oz., 1/0 trollrite and a small piece of shrimp on the tip. It’s not unusual during the winter months to hook-up with 40-50 fish during a day, but remember not to keep more than you can eat in one sitting. Fresh fish is the best and when you get hungry again, go fishing again. We have just gotten a favorable decision from the Florida Wildlife Commission regarding the seine net issue, so let’s prove that recreational anglers are not “fish-mongers” and keep the stock healthy.
Have a great Thanksgiving everyone, and let’s go fishing!
Capt. Bob Bushholz
http://www.catch22fish.com
(772) 225-6436
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Capt. Ed Williams
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, November 23, 2002 - 10:26 am: | |
Subject: Fishing Report
Now that the offshore water temperatures have cooled a little the fishing action has really improved with lots of Dolphin (mahi-mahi) along with good numbers of Sailfish and all the Spanish Mackerel you want to catch.
As I am writing this report the temperature is in the 40’s and the wind is blowing hard from the north—perfect for Sailfish.
On one recent trip we started our day fishing for Spanish Mackerel. As we approached an area south of the St. Lucie inlet where the birds were working you could see the fish jumping and chasing bait. For the next hour or so it seemed like we caught a fish on every cast. Finally my crew decided they had enough of that action so we moved offshore 3 or 4 miles to where a fairly nice weed edge and temperature change was present and began trolling ballyhoo for Dolphin. Within a few minutes we started catching Dolphin and could see lots of them in the water. These were small fish so after a few strikes we decided to move further offshore to look for bigger fish.
As the day progressed the action slowed and we had a period of a couple of hours where all we did was cut a trail in the ocean. We were fishing some excellent looking conditions but no fish. Finally one of the gentlemen on the boat announced he could “whistle up fish” so he was immediately invited to demonstrate his skills. He whistled and within seconds a Sailfish was billing the short flat-line. A nice drop back and he was hooked up. Within a few minutes the Sailfish was along side the boat and released. Immediately we got set up again and started back on the troll. Just to test the “whistle up fish” approach I invited him to whistle again and as he was beginning his fish whistle we had a Dolphin attach on every line—I was impressed! We completed our day by using some light spin tackle and casting to Dolphin. I can hardly wait until he comes back to fish with me and I can watch him “whistle up” fish.
The following day was much the same. We began our day catching a few Spanish Mackerel then ran offshore to about 150’ of water. We started tolling and within minutes we were hooked up on a large Dolphin. After a long hard fight we some how managed to pull the hook on the fish just before it got into gaff range. We continued trolling and caught another very nice gaffer Dolphin along with several smaller fish. The action was good but the wind had started blowing hard from the North so the seas began getting a little rough for my crew. Since we had two young anglers on the boat we went back to the Spanish Mackerel hole and found them really on the bite. For the balance of our day we caught them on nearly every cast. This was a day when the weather prediction made you want to stay home--I am glad we decided to give it a try as the fishing was great.
I am asked nearly every day when are the Sailfish going to be here in good numbers? With the cool weather we are having I am expecting that to happen very soon.
Good luck and remember you can’t catch’em at the dock.
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Capt. David Fawcett
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, November 14, 2002 - 11:44 am: | |
Subject: Winter Forecast
SO YOU WANT TO CATCH A FISH
I suspect the easiest fish to catch these days would be a trout but that season is closed and I rarely, if ever, attack these fish unless my fare specifies an affinity for them. Oh, it would be nice if there was a bunch of five pounders around but that's not the case. But... if you still want to catch a trout you should try the grass and spoil islands from Jensen on up and as the water continues to cool with our never ending parade of cold fronts these days begin looking for trout in their deeper holding areas like the cuts into Outrigger Harbor or Anchors Aweigh.
I hear pompano are in and one might guess it by the number of commercial boats anchored up on the Inlet shoals. They are also in Hell's Gate and I heard of a school being "skipped" on the Bear Point Flats, but , I haven't caught a pompano yet or seen the bridge boys out in force. So wait a couple of weeks.
I had a "snook only" trip the other day. The cooling waters have started to move these fish around and as we settle into winter start looking for snook on deeper structure...the deep bends in the North Fork, all our Bridges, the Turning Basin and lighted docks at night for the smaller fish. We did manage to go two for three on the Rosy and saw a 20 plus live baited off the Ten Cent Bridge. So stick to the Bridges and these fish are always more active at night.
Bluefish, crevalle, Spanish mackerel, ladyfish, et al... A "here today, gone tomorrow" game, but these fisheries will only improve with winter. The Spanish haven't settled into Peck's Lake as yet. It's just a matter of time.
Sailfish. It's only a couple of weeks and the sailfish season will officially begin with a string of tournaments that will carry it into February. Even now the contending tournament boats are running shakedown trips to finely tune their tournament tactics as well as get a handle on what the sailfish are doing. Several boats have even made the 110 mile run to Daytona in order to intercept a reported body of fish. The results have been mixed and the bite sporadic. One might even surmise that there is no concentrated body of fish as yet. They are scattered from here to hell. We can only hope that they soon will find their comfort zone and consolidate, but, you can bet that the majority of tournament boats will head north to the prescribed limits for the first contest.
As our dolphin fishing slows our king mackerel fishery remains fairly consistent. There have been a goodly number of "snakes" on the Numbers and other sections of reef along our coast and some 30 to 40 pound fish have been taken on the periphery of structure. We took a 36 pounder just north of the David T last week. These loner fish like to hang of the edges of bait holding structure whether it be patch reef, wrecks...even the Kingfish Hole.
Speaking of bait...there has been none for the last week. Even the 14 Shoal (they finally replaced the red nun) is grudgingly giving up sardines and when you do find them watch out for the mackerel and cudas and bring plenty of gold hook rigs. Be prepared to go on the troll.
Put on your sunscreen!
Capt. David Fawcett/Free Jumper Charters
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Capt. Ed Williams
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, November 13, 2002 - 10:13 am: | |
Subject: Fishing Report
The fishing this Fall has been interesting and challenging at times here in Stuart. The last few days provides a good insight to the fishing we have been experiencing during the last few weeks. Last Thursday a cool front passed through our area. Friday we had fairly rough sea conditions and those who ventured out caught a few Dolphin.
Saturday was a near perfect day. We left the dock shortly after daylight and made the short run to the inlet and before long we were in about 100 feet of water where a nice current edge had formed that included some grass and debris. We deployed the outriggers and within a couple of minutes had part of our spread out. While we were getting everything situated the first strike came on the starboard outrigger. A quick drop back and we were hooked up on a Sailfish. The shotgun went off and by the time the angler got to the rod the fish had dropped the bait. After considerable coaxing, including having the bait picked up and dropped several times, we managed to hook up the second Sailfish. By this time the first Sail had thrown the hook and we were only fighting one fish. Before long he was along side the boat and we released him unharmed. A nice start! We continued fishing north along the edge and caught several nice Dolphin. It seemed like every few minutes we would have a Dolphin attack and we managed to catch a few and let a few go. The edge we were fishing ran out to the northeast so we were fishing deeper and deeper. In about 200’ feet of water a Sail came up on one of our lures and managed to get slightly bill wrapped. As soon as he realized something was not right he made a jump across our spread and managed to get free of the lure. We got a nice look but no fish. The Dolphin continued to provide us with some action and during the early afternoon we found an area containing some large patches of grass. After a couple of attacks from small Dolphin two Sails attacked our dredge. We hooked up the first one on the outrigger bait and almost as quick as he hooked up he jumped off. The second fish was all over the short corner bait and after a couple of misses my angler made a perfect drop and hooked up the fish. This was a good sized Sail that made several jumps and fought hard before we were able to get him to the boat, remove the hook and release him. 2 Sails out of 5 chances plus a bunch of Dolphin made a great day for a couple of men who had never caught a Sailfish. A great day of fishing by any measure!
Sunday was pretty much a repeat of Saturday. Lots of Dolphin action along a nice edge. The only thing missing on Sunday was that we didn’t have the Sailfish action. Monday and Tuesday were the exact opposite. Little or no action and the conditions we look for to catch fish were nonexistence out as far as 1000 feet. We only managed a few Kingfish bites and to raise 1 Sail—who was not very enthusiastic— both morning of fishing. Incredibly good action followed by incredibly slow action.
As I am writing this Fishing Report it is raining and another cool front is passing through our area. As soon as it cools down a little I expect the bite to be back on and to be catching fish. Monday and Tuesday were very warm days—more like July than November. On Tuesday we fished in some water that was over 82 degrees. That is as warm as I can remember for this time of year and I am sure the water temperature is having an impact on the fishing action.
Like most fishing some days the fish will jump in the boat; other days, you couldn’t buy a strike. When given the opportunity enjoy the ocean and its quiet beauty and when your hour comes and the cobalt blue water explodes with fishing action—savor the moment!
Good luck and remember you can’t catch’em at the dock.
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Capt. Bob Bushholz
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, November 08, 2002 - 10:19 am: | |
Subject: November Forecast
November is the month marking several changes in weather, water quality and fishing itself. Air temperatures begin to drop which in turn brings the water temperatures into the 70’s. Look for an increase in northeast winds, making the east side of the Indian River the “target zone” for inland fishing. Our water quality has taken a severe beating since June but should begin improving drastically. (Just in time for the snowbirds.) It’s a shame we cannot experience clean water yearlong but Kevin Stinnett and the Indian Riverkeepers are on the job and I hope everyone will get involved. For more information on Indian Riverkeepers, call Kevin at 772-336-7284.
Into the River. Yes, trout season is closed until January. Like snook, the resident trophy trout must read the newspaper being well aware of the closed season and seem to taunt anglers by hitting anything that moves. Topwater, soft rubber, or live shrimp, it doesn’t seem to matter to these guys, making it a perfect time to practice safe releases. There are several things anglers can do to give the fish a better chance of survival. First, crimp all barbs. You’ll catch just as many fish while minimizing damage when unhooking them. Wetting your hands prior to handling any fish allows the fish to maintain its protective slime coat and keeps the slime off your hands. Release the fish in the water, if possible, avoiding nets, dropping them onto your boat deck or slinging them out for a “deep six”. Taking care of these fish now will produce some great results in January.
Look for redfish along mangrove shorelines on the east side or in shallow water along Indian River Drive on the west side. There are numerous docks along Indian River Drive that hold plenty of fish, but stealth is the key. Approach the docks slowly and quietly casting under and along structure. I know a group of senior “snowbird” anglers who go wading every morning, fishing this zone and they do well on trout, snook and redfish. Expect and increase in ladyfish, jacks, Spanish mackerel and bluefish which will show up anywhere and everywhere. Make sure you have some wire leader in your tackle box in case you happen on a school of blues or “macs”. Using wire in this situation can save a lot of tackle.
November’s also a good time for flounder. They can usually be found around structure or where there’s a sandy bottom. Take a drive up to Fort Pierce and fish the South Jetty with shrimp and trollrites. Cast out and plant it on the bottom or slowly (and I mean slowly) retrieve along the bottom. Remember, flounder regulations are 12-inch minimum and no more than 10 per person. Personally I won’t keep any flounder under 15 inches, allowing the smaller ones to grow. Have you ever cleaned a 12” flounder? It’s really not worth the effort.
Snook will still be around, mainly inside around area bridges, seawalls, and other structure. If the wind picks up, fish the bridges where big snook will be pounding big baits. Snook really do like choppy water and I believe it’s due to an increase in oxygen levels. Flair hawks and large live baits like a 9” mullet top the preferred list.
Pompano fever begins in November, lasting until March. From the quarter bridge (southwest side) nothing beats a nylure jig on 10-12 lb. test, vertically jigging along the bottom. These “pomps” like clean water, so try the last two hours of incoming tide until the first hour of outgoing. On the incoming tide, look south and you’ll see a wall of clean water heading toward you and there should good numbers of pompano heading toward you too. If you’re fishing from a boat there could be pompano anywhere. My favorite areas are the crossroads, Sailfish flats, near the quarter bridge (just outside casting distance of the bridge anglers), channels running east and west (Indian Riverside Park, Anchors Aweigh and Sundance) and finally around the spoil islands. I like to mix up the tackle with Gulfstream’s redfish and shrimp jigs, live shrimp or sand fleas on triple-rigged kayle hooks. Just be aware of the manatee zone when heading to the Sailfish flats (west of the House of Refuge). There are two manatee zone signs in east and west line with the House of Refuge. All water south of the signs to the Inlet is no wake, slow speed. It seems to also be a favorite area for the Marine Patrol and Sheriff’s boats to monitor and hand out autographs, so keep it slow and avoid a stiff fine.
Heading into the surf, the blues, Spanish mackerel and pompano will be the story all winter long. Macs and blues will be in close feeding on cut bait along the bottom or. silver spoons, glass minnow jigs. Casting anything shiny should result in a “whack”. The pompano will be out farther so it’s a good time to break out the 13’ rods. Sand fleas on kayle rigs top the list. Even in the surf the pompano will be seeking clean water. There are plenty of beach accesses, so find some clean water and start fishing. Remember when fishing in Martin County, there’s a maximum of 2 rods per angler, while in St. Lucie County the maximum is 4 rods per angler. The pompano limit is 10 per person (no matter where you’re fishing) with a 10 inch minimum to the fork, and only one over 20 inches.
Anglers as far south as Miami will be heading to Peck’s Lake for the Spanish mackerel run. Peck’s Lake is located two miles south of the St. Lucie Inlet, about 100 yards from shore. The macs show up in November and since the net ban they remain in the area well into the spring. You can troll for them or cast a variety of lures. Spoons, Gulfstream flash jigs and tube lures seem to produce the best results. Another option is bullethead jigs tipped with shrimp. I’ve known anglers that will chum them to the boat using glass minnow chum. Mono leader works the best, but expect some cutoffs. To avoid cutoffs use a 6” thin wire leader. If you’ve never seen the “mac attack” it’s really a sight to behold. If you don’t like fishing in crowds you can still find these fish closer to the inlet and using light tackle and allows them to run which is a blast on 6-lb. test. Mackerel regs are 12” to the fork, 15 per day. There’s really no need to max your limit. Catch plenty but keeping a few should be rule of the day. I’ve run several charters to Peck’s Lake on the Catch 22, sometimes catching over 50 a trip!! ( releasing most of them ). The action is fast and furious and I’ve seen some very seasoned anglers really get excited at this time of year.
Offshore, look for sailfish in 60’ and deeper. When trolling double hook-ups are common so if you’ve got a good spread, try to leave one line in the water after hooking up the first fish. Dolphin will be hanging around the weedlines starting at 60’. Dolphin fish grow extremely fast, so leave the schoolies behind. Anything under 6 pounds is just plain greedy. If we could get the charter boats in the Florida Keys to accept this philosophy, the dolphin population would explode and there would be trophy dolphin for everyone. There should still be plenty of kingfish inside 60’. They’ll hit trolled ballyhoo, live greenies or sardines. Finding live bait can sometimes be tough, so don’t waste the day in search of greenies when you’ve got some perfectly respectable ballyhoo in the boat that will attract the attention of almost anything offshore. You might even run across a nice wahoo if you’re running a line on a planer. Bottom fishing should be good as long as the seas cooperate. The grouper bite may not be the best, but it’s a great time for some big mutton and red snapper.
November is a great month for fishing. Be sure to check the weather before heading offshore. You’ll find cleaner water and more species to target. Have fun out there!.
Capt. Bob Bushholz
http://www.catch22fish.com
(772) 225-6436
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Capt. Ed Williams
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, November 08, 2002 - 7:34 am: | |
Subject: Fishing Report
The fishing continues to be good. We are having some great days of Dolphin fishing along with a few that are not as good. The second significant cool front has just moved into our area and it is making a noticeable difference in our temperatures. Immediately after the first front passed us we had a few days of Dolphin fishing that were spectacular. During the last couple of weeks we are having a good day or two followed by a slow day. We are hoping that with this period of reduced temperatures the bite will really turn on.
To summarize the fishing report for the last couple of weeks on many days we have been catching 8 to 15 nice fish a day (most of the fish have been in the 12 to 15 pound range) along with a lot of small fish. We have been releasing as many small fish as possible so that they will be our “big” fish next spring. Nearly every day we have been able to either catch or at least hook up a 25+ pound fish or two. In addition we have been catching some Blackfin Tuna. While this may be a glowing report on a recent trip I did not catch a fish. We fished a great weedline for a couple of hours and got nothing--I worked hard all day and we only had a couple of chances that we managed to miss. While I still rate the fishing as good once in a while we will have one of those days when it just doesn’t happen.
The following day we had a very slow morning. I tried fishing live bait, fished a couple of weedlines, etc. In the afternoon I found a weedline in 900' of water that we fished for over an hour before hooking up a fish. The first fish was a 30+ pound Dolphin. Within a few minutes we found some wood debris in the weed line that had a bunch of Dolphin around it. They were very reluctant to take even live bait but after working it for a while we managed to catch a nice bunch of fish. I have never seen Dolphin any harder to catch than they were those two days.
With each passing day we are getting closer to the beginning of Sailfish season. Hopefully this current cold front will cause fishing to improve and begin the migration of the winter Sailfish into our area.
Good luck and remember you can't catch'em at the dock.
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Capt. Bob Bushholz
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, October 30, 2002 - 10:17 pm: | |
Subject: Stuart Inshore Report- 10-31-02
Last week provided plenty of rod-bending action. I started the morning trips in the grass flats north of Jensen Causeway, hooking up trout to 3 lbs., and getting into jacks and ladyfish chasing small mullet schools. DOA and live shrimp on 6-lb. test did the damage. Moving under the Jensen Bridge produced several mangrove snapper to 14” along with jacks to 5 lbs. and snook to 24”. The black drum that have been plentiful under the Bridge seem to have vacated for the time being.
Tarpon have been harder to find south to the crossroads but there are still some nice jacks and blue runners hanging out. Three permit to 8 lbs. were caught and released while drifting this area. Near slack tide we focused on bottom fishing and found some gafftop sailcats to 8 lbs. that really tested the light tackle, but resulted in some great excitement and big smiles.
The action in the Inlet was pretty slow for several days, but the jetties were holding the normal mangroves, spots, porkfish and a variety of other assorted “grubbers” looking for a hand-out. Just outside the rocks of the Inlet, we found some “decent” jacks and black margate. These guys know how to not only test your patience, but put a strain on the tackle as well. You can’t horse these guys. Patience and constant, steady pressure pays big dividends.
Spanish Mackerel have been an afternoon event lately. Twice during the past week, I ran to Peck’s Lake on a “re-con” mission in the morning only to find a dozen or so boats along the way that were fishing hard but catching few. The afternoons were a complete turn-around with several boats reporting hooking up 50-60 mackerel.
Offshore, weedlines have been forming in the afternoon, from about 44 feet, and holding tons of mackerel feeding on glass minnows. Small jigs or silver spoons seem to be working the best. Most of the “macs” are pretty small and running under 2 lbs. It’s just a matter of time (maybe hours) until these fish push in closer to shore.
Back to the River and to prove it can happen to anyone at anytime, I ran a morning charter today with 6 anglers, departing at 8 a.m. With a full boat I elected to fish deep, staying away from chasing trout in the grass. Usually, with a full boat, it’s counter-productive to attempt to fish shallow since it is tough to be stealthy with 7 people on the boat. By 9 a.m. I headed south for the Inlet. Once arriving at the Inlet and running into a strong southwest wind, the executive decision was to remain inside and drift the crossroads. Just about to hit the “secret” sheephead hole, the steering cable on Catch 22 snapped! To add insult to injury, while using my $80+ retractable landing net to maneuver the engine, I managed to launch it off the boat to a watery death. Finally managing, through great ingenuity and extreme intelligence (?!?), I managed to get the boat back to the Stuart Causeway. Modern science (my cell phone) allowed me to get in touch with my buddy, Hank, who met us at the boat ramp and gallantly chauffeured my clients back to Anchor’s Aweigh. The boat is safely at Lindsey Marine who promised to get me back in the water and running by Friday. Murphy’s Law certainly prevailed today.
Happy Halloween everybody, stay safe and take a kid fishing.
Capt. Bob Bushholz
http://www.catch22fish.com
(772) 225-6436
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Capt. David Fawcett
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, October 30, 2002 - 2:01 pm: | |
Subject: Fall Transition
MAYBE I JUST CAN'T DIFFERENTIATE
It was only last week that I was skulking within the wheat fields of western Saskatchewan in 30 degree weather in search of an aerodynamic prey the likes of snow, speckle belly and Canadian.Birds in prime condition having bulked up on grain and peas in anticipation of an arduous southerly migration. Birds whose rich marbling lays visible under their skin and exudes a waxy fat that coats one's knife, sink and hands when prepping them for the final rite.
Today I find myself in 120 feet of water east of the Loran Tower stalking an aquadynamic prey the likes of sailfish and dolphin and thinking that this too is not unlike bird hunting save the weather is somewhat more forgiving of my thin Floridian blood. After all, these fish are migrating south also and bulking up, by necessity, as they go.
Not unlike migrating birds they are driven by food.
Yesterday my son experienced exceptional dolphin fishing with fish up to 40 pounds. Two of the fish had consumed juvenile dolphin, one close to two pounds.That's how hungry these migrating fish are.
During the fall/winter transition fish, as birds, become very obliging. When they find forage they 'stick around', so when you find fish, 'stick around'. Too many times I see anglers pull fish from a given area only to continue on after landing or releasing them instead of continuing to work the same area. Believe me, the fish are where they are for a reason. DON'T LEAVE FISH TO FIND FISH!
Anyway, fall is fully upon us and the fishing and hunting should continue to improve and I find my pleasures equally on the water or slogging through my favorite snipe coverts. There is no difference to me. The subtle pastel hues of a Hun are as awesome as the brilliant neon of a dolphin. The approach and 'take' of a sailfish is as big a rush as a knot of decoying bluewings. There is no difference to me. Perhaps my passion overrides any sense of differentiation.
INSHORE/OFFSHORE
Suffice to say that the fishing will/should continue to improve just with a slight change in the cast of characters. Sailfishing will improve even though we have experienced a pretty good bite over the last month. Yesterday in 750 feet we and two other charter boats experienced free jumpers from the 100 line to the 200 line. Awfully deep for these fish. Perhaps they were moving through, but sailfishing should peak around mid-December.
Dolphin continue to reward but this fishery will drop off as the water cools. Same with wahoo, marlin, cobia, and our bottom species. But right now don't be surprised to catch any of these species along with little tunny, cuda, Spanish, kings,bluefish and crevalle. These particular fish will increase with colder weather.
As the water cools look for tarpon to begin moving south yet, at this moment, the tarpon fishery is alive and well. Look at the Crossroads and the Inlet as well as up the Beach.
Ladyfish along with crevalle, pompano and our grazing bottom species will take up residence in the Lagoon. Trout fishing will remain good though the cold weather will tend to congregate them in deeper water until the sun warms the grass flats.
With the oncoming cold snook will also seek out more comfortable zones.Deep holes in the North Fork, bridge structure, the Six Mile reef.
Put on your sunscreen!
Capt. David Fawcett/Free Jumper Charters
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Capt. Ed Williams
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, October 20, 2002 - 8:24 pm: | |
Subject: Fishing Report
The new boat is finally ready to fish and the Dolphin fishing has been excellent. Early last week we had to wait for the windy weather to give us a break and after showing more patience than I imagined was possible I finally began fishing on Thursday.
Thursday morning we were greeted with a nice choppy ocean with wind from the northwest. We started fishing in 80 feet of water where birds were working and there appeared to be a lot of life. We found acres of Spanish Mackerel migrating south—I am sure they will be south of the St. Lucie any day now in there winter home. After very little action we moved further and further offshore looking for an edge or at least some clean blue water. We found very green and dirty water inside 300 feet. In about 300’ of water we found a slight color change (from green to blue-green) and some scattered weeds. Within a couple of minutes of working along the color change we were hooked up on a couple of nice Dolphin. As the fish got closer to the boat a few Dolphin followed the ones we had hooked so we cast to them with light spin tackle. After catching 4 or 5 Dolphin in the 10-12 pound range we moved on looking for larger fish. We found school after school of peanut size Dolphin. We did our best to not catch these fish and to release all of the small fish we caught as we know they will be next springs “Big Fish”. We spent the balance of our day catching a number of Dolphin between 10 and 20 pounds. A great day of offshore fishing that included plenty of action and a fresh Dolphin dinner that was spectacular.
Friday we were greeted with more wind and a fairly sloppy ocean. The new Luhrs 32 Open Express handles the ocean very well. It was really nice being dry while running off to where we wanted to fish. We ran offshore to the area that had worked the previous day and the conditions had changed dramatically. No weeds, dirty water and nothing that I saw that made me think we were going to catch a fish. We continued working offshore until we finally found a current edge and some decent weed lines in nearly 600 feet of water. Again it only took a couple of minute before the action began. At times the seas seemed like a washing machine with waves and current coming from what felt like all directions. The sea conditions presented a little of a challenge but the fishing was spectacular. We caught fish all day with only short lulls in the action. At one point we hooked up a nice 25 pound Dolphin that we managed to get close to the boat. Several fish in the same size range followed this fish to the boat. I quickly grabbed a couple of 12 pound spin rods and cast some squid to them. They cooperated and we had two gaffer Dolphin hooked up on 12 pound tackle. Needless to say that was a blast and it took a few minutes to sort out the chaos that followed. While the sea conditions were a bit challenging the fishing was out of sight.
We are now dealing with a full moon that I expect will slow down the Dolphin bite a little for the next few days. I am guessing that within a few days we will be enjoying some fall Dolphin action that will be very good. If you enjoy Dolphin fishing now is the time to make plans to get out and enjoy the excellent fall fishing we have here in Stuart.
Good luck and remember you can’t catch’em at the dock.
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Capt. Bob Bushholz
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, October 11, 2002 - 9:11 pm: | |
Subject: Hot & Cold
It was another hot (“catching”) and cold (“fishing”) week aboard Catch 22 with trout and bottom fishing being the most productive. There were plenty of trout on the West side of the Indian River near Walton Road. Using a combination of DOA and live shrimp in 3-4 feet of water has been the ticket. Most of the trout are running under 18” and ladyfish and small snook have been running with the trout. We spent a fair amount of time in the Crossroads area this week, jumping 4 tarpon, releasing 3 to 50lbs, with one escapee. The first tarpon ate a live shrimp on a 2/0 -1/4oz trollrite. After a 30-minute battle on 12 lb. test, Jim Matulis from East Berlin, Connecticut had his first silver king, estimated at 50 lbs. It was actually a double hook-up but #2 “poon” broke the line early in the fight. Elsewhere in the inlet there was some nice action with jacks to 10 lbs. along with scattered snook, flounder and ladyfish. Bottom fishing in this area near slack tide has been hot, with plenty of mangrove and small mutton snapper.
The detached jetty is holding lots of smaller snapper that produces some great rod-bending on Ultralite. It’s pretty rocky in this area so I prefer to use my homemade #1-¼ oz. trollrites. These hooks are bendable, allowing the angler to straighten them when snagging rocks, saving a ton of tackle. These trollrites work great using 6 lb. test.
Structure fishing around area bridges has been fair with some snook, black drum, mangrove snappers and goliath grouper. There are still tons of glass minnows around, but I think they’re getting their fill causing fishing to be down a bit.
Now, for the “fishing” part of the report instead of the “catching”. I ran two night trips last week that I would really like to forget (and hope the charters don’t hold against me). We did catch fish but not the snook we were hunting. Ladyfish , jacks and big bluefish have been chowing on the abundant finger mullet stacked up in the inlet area. Sometimes too much bait can damper the fishing action. Last night in the crossroads, finger mullet were so thick they almost dented my pontoons. Another large patch of bait started outside Sandsprit Park and continued north through Hell’s Gate and halfway to the 10-cent bridge. With 3 anglers I elected to fish open areas and not private lighted docks. I’m giving serious thought to cutting my night charters to a max of 2 anglers. There would be many more possibilities and definitely prove to be more productive.
Today’s morning trip was a blast, with the Brocard Family. Four very enthusiastic kids ages 5-10, with mom and dad, bagged a total of over 25 fish (all released) including mangrove, mutton and lane snappers, snook, grunts, porkfish and even a stingray. The group had a big tarpon on briefly but fishing 6-lb test was definitely no match for Mr. Tarpon. It’s always a thrill to get a great group of youngsters on the Catch 22.
Capt. Bob Bushholz
http://www.catch22fish.com
(772) 225-6436
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Capt. David Fawcett
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, October 11, 2002 - 11:40 am: | |
Subject: Mostly offshore
LIFE ON THE BIG CHOCOLATE
As SFWM continues to dump the Big O on us and the hue of the Lagoon mutates from Pernigotti Cocoa to thick Cuban coffee my fishing endeavors move offshore.
Just beyond the Six Mile Reef the water begins to clean. Not blue water. Not even sailfish green, but, clean enough to fish and far enough away from the Big Chocolate to allow me to again enjoy the beauties of our watery environment.
We begin on the subtlest of color changes in 80 feet. There are scattered weeds and a showing of flyers, always a promise of things to come.
"I don't see a color change," my fare complains.
Before the second bait is deployed a sail raises to the first bait, a swimming ballyhoo, and pulls it ever so gently. It almost looks like the bait nudged some sargassum, but a quick drop back removes all doubt.
It pays to check out the subtle changes but, truthfully, for the last week the sailfishing has been rather respectable from 60 feet out to 250. It's just going to get better as the water cools.
Dolphin have been in close along the reefs and that is where the heaviest concentrations of flyers have been. Kings have been on the reef and inside of it, though the stain is moving offshore and I don't know how long this inshore fishery will last.
If anybody wants to visit the 14 shoal for bait you had better plug it into your GPS. The 14 nun is no longer there. Oh, it's there...just not visible above water. I'm one of those confident guys who never plugged it into my GPS so I looked like a dumb ass the other day when I ran all the way up there.
"Gee...I know it's around here somewhere."
"Sure."
I eventually found it and the bait is still there.
Look for snook, tarpon and shark in the Boils or run the Beach looking for harried mullet schools. Our offshore bottom fishing is still pretty good and there are some monster AJ's on the wrecks.
As far as the Lagoon goes I fished it once last week on a snook trip and took two fish off the Rosy and one at the Hole in the Wall. An uninspiring trip in an uninspiring environment. There are some big crevalle around and the tarpon are holding pretty good though not as obliging as they have been. I think they are feeding heavily at night on the mullet runs and sleeping it off during the daylight hours.
Speaking of the mullet run a huge plug of these forage base fish moved into the Lagoon the other day and the crevalle, sharks and tarpon put on the feed bag, but, overall the run has been erratic. But...why should I worry. I'm leaving to "pop" some geese in Saskatchewan tomorrow so you won't hear from me for a couple of weeks. Maybe they'll have stopped dumping by the time I get back.
Put on your sunscreen!
Capt. David Fawcett/Free Jumper Charters
www.freejumpercharters.com
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Capt. Bob Bushholz
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, October 05, 2002 - 3:28 pm: | |
Subject: Stuart Inshore Report- 10-05-02
Short report this week only running a few trips. The morning has been decent with trout on the east side of the Indian River from Jensen Causeway north to the power lines. Strong east winds have prevailed all week making Hutchinson Island the place to fish the grass flats. Most trout are running 14-18” hitting both DOA glo & rootbeer shrimp while working them slowly along the bottom or dragging live shrimp on popping corks. The Jensen Bridge area has slowed down a bit. Black drum have been around the past month but appeared to take a vacation last week. A few snook along with mangrove snapper and goliath grouper last week in this area.
Further south in the inlet we managed to catch outgoing tides which didn’t help our drifting effort with a strong east wind. Tuesday morning along Sailfish Point we battled an estimated 70 lb tarpon for 10 minutes which enhaled a live shrimp on a trollrite. After two jumps he had enough and spit the hook. In the same area a few snook hits but no hookups. The south side of the inlet where I like to drift near shore produced lot’s of small mangrove snappers and a few 15” flounder. Not much bait in the inlet on outgoing last week. The water is dark and dirty so you can’t blame the mullet. Have not been able to get near the detached jetty last week with the stiff winds.
Did one night trip and the snook were a hard find. Plenty of ladyfish around but no linesiders. I fished the inlet till dark, heading north around the bridges and a few private docks on the east side. Spent about an hour at the Jensen Bridge but they never did turn on.
New pictures posted on my website. I try to update these 10 pics every couple of weeks and hope you enjoy them!!!
Capt. Bob Bushholz
http://www.catch22fish.com
(772) 225-6436
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Capt. Ed Williams
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, October 05, 2002 - 9:07 am: | |
Subject: Fishing Report
The weather the last few weeks has been a challenge. It seems like one low pressure system after another with fairly constant rough seas and less than desirable conditions have kept fishing to a minimum. The Dolphin are beginning to show up a little along with lots of King and Spanish Mackerel and we continue to have a decent Sailfish bite. As soon as the weather settles down I expect the fishing to be really good for Dolphin, Sailfish, King and Spanish Mackerel plus some Blackfin Tuna and a few Wahoo. Fall is the time of the year we do more trolling and when we locate the Dolphin we then try to “chum” them to the boat and cast to them with light tackle. When live bait is available we will drift our live baits in areas that we believe will be productive. By any measure Fall is a great time to go fishing.
If Winter Sailfishing is on your agenda for this year you need to make your plans NOW. The best of the Sailfish season usually begins in early to mid-December and lasts until late February.
For sometime now I have been considering upgrading my boat. The SeaCraft 32 is a very good sea boat and I enjoyed fishing for the last three years. The shortcoming of the boat includes it being wet, limited amount of shade for my customers and very limited creature comforts. My objective (in addition to the obvious things like being seaworthy, etc.) was to find a boat that was more comfortable for all of us and one that protected us from getting wet when we got into sloppy sea conditions and rain. Anytime you make a change like this it is an ordeal and nothing goes as smoothly as you would like. There are many boats to chose from and most of them would do the job, the electronics packages that are available for boats today are incredible which makes the choices that much more difficult. The NEW Fighting Lady is a 2003 Luhrs 32 Open powered by twin Yanmar diesels. Numerous things impress me about the boat including the amount of fishing room and how well laid out the boat is for fishing. Everywhere you look you’ll find storage for rods, tackle, tools and everything else you can think of as being useful on a Sportfishing boat. In addition it provides the creature comforts that were not available on the old boat.
I am really looking forward to getting out and going fishing on the new boat in the next few days.
Good luck and remember you can’t catch’em at the dock.
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Capt. David Fawcett
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, September 27, 2002 - 9:55 am: | |
Subject: DOLPHIN
BE VEWY, VEWY QUIET...I'M HUNTING DOLPHIN
I wore my camo togs the other day, ending the most miserable five days of fishing I have experienced in many, many years. I thought maybe, just maybe, I could sneak up on the fish and change my luck. I still can't figure it out. Was it the full moon? The Big O dump? A rather paltry mullet run? All of the above? Who knows?
Anyway on the fifth and last day of a booking with the same fare , a no nonsense, passionate angler with a penchant for fine wines, we head offshore into the teeth of a building 20 knot wind. It was so bad that only two other boats ventured out that day... the Bone Shaker, the Fly Swatter (my son Scott's light tackle boat), and the Free Jumper.
A week of southeast winds had pushed clean water up to the Beach and the flyers came with it. I mean hordes of flyers, grasshoppers to shootables. Hordes.
The first dolphin came in 55 feet of water just a mile west of the David T. It hit a naked, swimming ballyhoo with an eighth ounce egg sinker. I never moved from the spot.
We only kept five fish, but could have filled the boat. We had singles, doubles and triples up to 15 pounds on swimmers, down rigger baits and plugs. Snake kings were also feasting on the flyers and we released several in the three hours we fished.
"Cappy...you always do this on the last day of our trips," joked a happy Mister Charles.
"Not intentionally Mr. Charles."
So...maybe camouflage does work. Anyway hunting season is upon us and I needed to break in a new shirt. In three weeks I'll be in Saskatchewan with two of my sons freezing our Floridian asses off and, hopefully, killing some ducks and geese.
HERE'S THE STORY
Until they start dumping polluted water on us again you should look for tarpon at the Sunbowl and Bathtub. Bathtub has been good and we did jump one fish off on the first day of our five day odyssey in the Tub. Snook are still in the Crossroads, but not many. I would try the Bridges...bouncing bottom with aTerror Eyz. What color? Root beer, of course, to match the color of the chocolate soup that SFWM is dumping on us.
Trout. Stay to the north all the way to Round Island.
The sharks come and go in tune with the mullet run, which, by the way, has been sparse, sporadic and rather uninspiring as compared to previous years. Could it be that this forage base is being over fished by incompetent anglers who can't fish with anything but live bait?
The offshore fishery is dolphin, kings and sails. Not bad at all for this time of year.
Put On Your Sunscreen!
Capt. David Fawcett/Free Jumper Charters
www.freejumpercharters.com
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Capt. Bob Bushholz
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, September 26, 2002 - 3:12 pm: | |
Subject: October's Forecast
October is here bringing along a few changes, both in weather and fishing possibilities. The St. Lucie River, Indian River Lagoon and coastal waters have taken a beating since early June in water quality. June started it off with over 20” of rain, forcing our Water Management to start releases, first from the St. Lucie Canals and then from Lake Okeechobee itself. I personally avoided the entire St. Lucie Inlet area all summer long, fishing north of the Jensen Beach Causeway where the water quality received a “C” grade compared to an “F-“ southward. It was simply too depressing. If you want to make a difference, there’s a new group forming locally called IndianRiverkeeper”. This independent group is run by the people, for the people. They will have their own labs and attorneys tracking down sources of water pollution and pursue the perpetrators, holding them personally responsible. It sounds like a great idea with people who are committed to preserving our water resources and hopefully will make a big difference. Anyone that is interested should give Kevin Stinnette a call at 772-336-7284 for more information. We also have a new Commissioner in Martin County – Sarah Heard. She talked a nice platform, but let see if she really cares about our area’s resources and whether or not she’ll stand up to the “powers that be”. By the time of this publication, her telephone number should be published and everyone needs to take a minute to call her to make her aware of your water quality issues. This is the time to reach all newly elected officials before they get caught up in the “old school” mainstream.
On to fishing----Starting in the River, mullet will still be around, bringing with them predators of all species. Redfish, trout, snook, jacks and tarpon will be having a field day on huge schools of baitfish. Normally we see an increase this time of year with northeast winds driving the majority of baitfish to the calmer east side of the Indian River. Look for large bait schools and cast just outside of the schools throwing your favorite lure or live bait. Lures should “match the hatch”. Black and silver is the color of choice. DOA baitbusters and swimming mullet, Yozuri crystal minnows, and Gag’s Mini Mambos are a few that deserve mentioning. If fishing with live mullet, try trimming ½” off the tail with a pair of scissors which forces the mullet to swim erratically, thus drawing more attention as a wounded bait rather than just blending in with the school. When wading or fishing open areas the best tackle is a 12-lb. mainline with a 2’ 40-lb. fluoro-carbon leader with live bait and a circle hook. Apply the hook near the top dorsal for topwater or hook them in the tail, which forces them to swim deep and away from the angler. Circle hooks work great as long as you remember not to attempt to set the hook. Simply reel slowly to allow a perfect hook-up.
Area bridges will hold big snook, so beef it up to 20-50 lb. mainline with 80 lb. leader. These fish need to be turned quickly to avoid those guaranteed break-offs when they head for structure. Pompano should be showing up in the grass flats and near bridges. In the flats, Gulfstream shrimp or redfish jigs tipped with a small piece of shrimp work well, bouncing or dragging along the bottom. South of the Stuart Causeway the last three hours of incoming tide is the best. Pompano like clean water and that’s where they will be found. From bridges nothing beats a nylure jig. Just vertical jig it with a slow retrieve bouncing on the bottom. Where there are crowds of anglers bunched up on the southwest side of the Quarter Bridge, it’s a sure bet the pompano are in and biting. The tripletail action slows down on channel markers until spring, but look for an increase in sheephead and flounder.
In the surf, bluefish and Spanish mackerel can be caught casting silver spoons or bottom fishing with cut bait. Whiting and croaker are at your toes in the first trough and respond well to light tackle using shrimp or squid. Break out the 14’ rods, long-casting for pompano. Sandfleas on triple kayle rigs work best. Remember, two rods per person in Martin County is the limit. St. Lucie County north allows a 4-rod max. There will still be mullet cruising along shore, so look for tarpon and snook to be in hot pursuit. When you see the mullet school, cast out diagonally, working the first trough area. The results can be some rod-bending excitement.
Offshore, the sailfish bite should be good with plenty of large residents still around and hitting on live greenies and sardines. Kingfish and cobia should appear in around 40’ with wahoo and dolphin a good possibility chasing trolled ballyhoo. In closer near Peck’s Lake (2 miles south of St. Lucie Inlet), look for Spanish mackerel. Silver spoons, glass minnow lures and tube lures always seem to attract their attention. Of course they won’t turn down a shrimp tipped jig either. If it shines, they’ll hit it. Line weight max should be 12 lb., with a 30 lb. mono leader produces lots of action, but expect to lose a few rigs to those toothy critters. You can also try an 8” thin steel leader which minimizes cutoffs, but the visibility of the leader also minimizes the hookups.
Looking back over the past few years, our water quality has bounced back around this time, but we also weren’t faced with the major fresh water releases that began in early September. Hopefully history will repeat itself and Mother Nature gets a chance to recover. If left alone she always seems to rebound. Our ecosystem each year is stressed to the max with the water releases. Whether it’s making a living or fishing recreationally, we deserve better, so make a difference and get involved with “Indian Riverkeeper”.
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Capt. Bob Bushholz
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, September 16, 2002 - 10:18 am: | |
Subject: Match The Hatch
The mullet run is on now, not quite in full swing yet but plenty of them along the beaches, inlets and rivers. Redfish, trout, snook, tarpon and jacks are having a field day busting these 6” baitfish. This is the time of year to match the hatch with lures resembling finger mullet. DOA’s Baitbusters and Swimming Mullet in black and white, dark colored bombers, mirrolures and windcheaters will do the job. You may elect to simply use live mullet .In the inlet and around bridges I like hooking them in the tail allowing the baits to swim deep and away from you. In shallow water we hook them on top in front of the dorsal fin. Trim off ½ inch of it’s tail . This will force the bait to swim erratically drawing more attention. Predators will always bang the injured bait. Cast a few feet outside the school and hold on!
A couple of night trips last week aboard Catch 22. Tuesday night Brian Conley and his buddy from Monroe, Ga. arrived at the dock at 6:45 pm. We headed south to the St. Lucie Inlet drifting the south bank and a few spots along Sailfish Point on the north. Great start with a 38” snook on our first drift using a select DOA glo shrimp. After a few small snook and ladyfish we headed up the St. Lucie River to the 10 cent bridge to catch the last hour of outgoing. A few hits but nothing much there. Water was barely moving so it was time to head back to the Indian River to catch the start of incoming tide. We began south of the quarter bridge (Stuart Causeway) well outside of casting distance from the anglers on the bridge drifting live mullet. Lot’s of bait around but managed only a few ladyfish. The anglers on the bridge were casting mainly topwater lures south past the shadow line and retrieving . About 15 guys up there but I didn’t see one hookup. Normally fishing bridges at night you will have a 45 minute window of strong bite time.
Our second night trip was on Friday mixing it up along bridges and lighted docks. Several fish that night but really not productive. Saturday I fished 10 pm- 2 am with non-stop action. Some of the places I wanted to fish were occupied the previous night but vacant on Saturday. Mixing it up with live mullet and topwater lures 14 snook were boated that night with 3 in the slot keeping only one. Another dozen or so ladyfish were released. The location we fished is classified.
This Tuesday, my buddy Capt. Mike is pulling an all nighter trolling south of Palm Beach and drifting back all night for swordfish. Still undecided if I’m going. Never went swordfishing. As long as we don’t head to the Flemish Cap, I may go for it. This coming Friday we are headed to Islamorada for 4 days. September is my slowest month of the year so it’s partytime!!!
Capt. Bob Bushholz
http://www.catch22fish.com
(772) 225-6436
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Capt. David Fawcett
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, September 13, 2002 - 12:23 am: | |
Subject: Mullet
TARPON AND SHARK AND MULLET
The Lagoon is full of sharks...bonnet heads, blacktips and bulls. They're following the mullet schools and the tarpon, which up until the increased "dump" had been high profile. I am not saying that they won't stick around for a while but we are facing a tropical storm at this moment and it appears that this will give the powers that be ample reason to continue releasing more water from the Big O.This cannot help the fishery.
Yes...the fall mullet run has begun pulling with it foraging predators of all shapes and sizes. How long it will last in our chocolate soup is anyone's guess.
If you want trout go north. If you want snook fish the spillways and bridges.
The Lagoon was full of tarpon two days ago from the Crossroads to IRP only to disappear yesterday.But the sharks remained, finning lazily on the bars and we played with them just for grins. Big crevalle are also running the schools and a big chugger ripped across the surface is a neat way to attack these fish.
The offshore grounds are actually pretty upbeat for this time of year. Kings, sails, tunny, cuda, dolphin and some decent wahoo have been cooperating.
Since Tropical Storm (now Hurricane) Gustav passed to the North live bait on the Beach has become scarce. Couple this with Tropical Depression 9 on the west coast which will further affect our coastline and the fishery will probably be "off" for a few days. But the mullet run will continue down the Beach and if you are lucky enough to find the mother lode you will be rewarded. Three days ago surfers at The Rocks had to share the curls with tarpon and shark as a wad of mullet was driven onto the rocks by the predators. I mean they were actually dodging leaping tarpon. I think I'd rather be on the Beach. I mean ON the Beach.
CHIRROSIS OF THE RIVER
Much of the time I feel that I am doing a disservice to our fisheries by writing about them. It's apparent that most of my contemporaries just don't "get it" and my voice is but a whisper in the maelstrom. Not only do our fisheries face endless abuses from self-professed "sportsmen", but county, state and federal agencies as well as myriad activist groups continue to play a self-preservational game of political kickball without the faintest clue of the overall consequences of their actions.
As I write this SFWM and the Army Corp are increasing releases from the Big O because the lake is continuing to rise due to increased rainfall from the north. Well DUH! Had they managed the northern water in January when the Lake was down to 13 feet we wouldn't be facing devastating "dumps" at this moment. As a matter of fact, it seems to me that with back pumping though not possible with C23 and 24 we should be able to keep the Lake and the entire Kissimmee system at proper levels. Also, maybe these government agencies should be meeting DAILY and changing the movement of water on a daily basis rather than a weekly basis.
And, you know, they always seem to be "dumping" at the wrong time. Not that there is any proper time to pollute our Lagoon. They dumped at the peak of our snook spawn lowering the salinity levels to a degree that certainly would affect a successful spawn. They are now discharging at the beginning of the fall mullet run. If you look back to January when there was no discharge at all the Treasure Coast experienced a sailfish fishery which I have not experienced in my 18 years down here. Fish in 35 to 70 feet of water inside the reef. Less than three miles off the Beach. Go figure.
Anyway it's not just the Big O that has to be managed. It is the entire system and back pumping should be an important tool in managing the canals and the Kissimmee chain. Why should we accept the pollution when the bulk of it originated within the chain and its canals?
Put on your sunscreen!
Capt. David Fawcett/Free Jumper Charters
www.freejumpercharters.com
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Capt. Ed Williams
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, September 10, 2002 - 5:02 am: | |
Subject: Fishing Report
In my last report I mentioned that we were having some very good fishing days followed by a day or two when the fishing was mediocre. That basic pattern has continued during the last week or so. We are now approaching the height of the hurricane season. That probably doesn’t mean much except that we have had and are having low pressure areas develop and pass near us. Each time this happens the weather becomes unsettled and we have a couple of days when the sea conditions are not as friendly as we like. Within a couple of weeks all of this will have passed, the day time temperatures will begin dropping a little and the fishing will improve dramatically.
About FISHING REPORTS - When the fishing is pretty much the same day to day occasionally I don’t prepare a new fishing report every week. If you are interested in what is currently happening and would like the most current information just send me an email (captedwilliams@aol.com) and I will be happy to give you the LATEST information. Frequently I have requests for specific information about the fishing or the techniques we use – like the most effective way to slow troll a live bait, how do use circle hook, what size, when is the best time to catch a particular species of fish, etc.? Again, if you have any of these questions drop me an email and I will be happy to tell you what I know.
Recently I have had a few days where we didn’t fish. This has given me an opportunity to begin catching up on my list of things to do around the house and to get my fishing gear ready for the fall and winter season. This fall and winter we are going to be using some new Shimano Thunnus Spinning Reels along with the traditional Shimano TLD 20’s Lever Drag reels so I am in the process of getting those ready. We are hoping the upcoming Sailfish season will be like last season when we had a lot of days of great action on the Sails so that we can give these new Thunnus reels a real test. In addition we are putting a few very light spin reels on the boat for casting for the Spanish Mackerel this fall and winter.
While the fishing right now is not bad within a few weeks I am expecting the offshore fishing action to improve dramatically. Given we didn’t have much of a Dolphin run this spring I am expecting the Fall Dolphin run to be very good. Along with the Dolphin we expect to catch Kings, some Blackfin Tuna, and to have good action on Sailfish to name a few. This is a great time of the year to fish as the sea conditions are generally pleasant, the temperatures comfortable, many fishing options and very cooperative fish—near perfect fishing!
During the last few days finding live bait has been a challenge and requires a lot of effort and time to catch enough bait for a day of fishing. On a trip a few days ago we began the day by catching live bait. After catching enough for the day we ran to area off the Loran Tower where we caught some Kings and Barracuda. This was action was decent for a while but seemed to turn off after an hour or so. I was not hearing anything on the radio that encouraged me so I decide to move to an area east of the St. Lucie Inlet where I had been catching some Amberjacks and Kings. About half way there I noticed a nice edge building in about 100’ feet of water. Quickly we stopped and put out a couple of baits along this edge and almost immediately we were hooked up on a nice Dolphin. This was followed by two more gaffer size Dolphin that we managed to get to the boat. The action along this edge continued for the balance of the morning with Kings, Sharks, Bonito, Barracuda and the occasional mystery bite. Nearly non stop action and a great variety of fish. After the action slowed along the edge I moved to the area east of the St. Lucie Inlet and we finished our day with action from Kings and Bonito. This was a fairly typical day of late summer fishing here in Stuart. Plenty of action, a good variety of fish and a few quality fish for my anglers.
Good luck and remember you can’t catch’em at the dock.
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Capt. Bob Bushholz
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, September 09, 2002 - 2:49 pm: | |
Subject: Mullet Mania
The big news this week is hands down the mullet run. Yes, these 6” baitfish have migrated south and are all over the rivers, inlets and surf. Snook , jacks and tarpon are having a field day tearing into these large schools. This morning I was near Sundance Marina on Indian River Drive in Jensen Beach. Within a half hour I witnessed over a dozen tarpon in the area plowing into finger mullet along with large jacks cornering these baitfish up along the seawall. Mullet were jumping 4 feet out of the water on to docks trying to evade these predators. The unmistakeable sound of snook thumping baitfish was awesome. Now is the time to break out your favorite topwater lure or simply go with live mullet which should not be hard to find. DOA’s Baitbusters are another option while matching the hatch.
Last week on Catch 22, a few trips fishing both the St. Lucie Inlet area and area bridges provided great action to say the least. One trip boated 4 snook (two) in the slot running 31 and 33 inches along with 2 fish just under at 24”. Live shrimp, mullet and DOA rootbeer shrimp were used as baits. Did spot a few tarpon rolling in the crossroads but no takers. On our way back north under the Stuart Causeway were some nice black drum to 7 lbs and schools of 10-15 lb jacks.
Friday morning was also hot with 2 snook in the inlet to 32” along with a list including croaker, lookdowns, mangrove snapper, ladyfish, flounder and jacks. After the inlet we headed north to try the Jensen Causeway.13 Mangrove snapper, 5 black drum to 6 lbs and two undersized snook. Those 2 trips totaled over 45 fish making it a blast for my guests. Saturday morning I ran north to Little Mud Creek hoping for some tarpon action but nobody was home. Fishing the grass a few trout with one keeper at 18” on a glo shrimp. We spent some time showing my guests different spots to fish as they requested earlier. We did fish a few channel markers looking for tripletail but I guess they were hiding with the tarpon. Under the Jensen Bridge we did manage to pull out a few nice black drum and headed home. I spoke to several guides who all agreed that Saturday was off.
I have 2 night trips this week, one on Tuesday and the other on Friday. Plan on mixing it up with mullet, shrimp and artificials. Snook and tarpon near the bridges along with trout on a few of my favorite docks. This is the game plan and I’ll let you know how we made out next week.
Capt. Bob Bushholz
http://www.catch22fish.com
(772) 225-6436
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Capt, David Fawcett
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, September 03, 2002 - 1:23 pm: | |
Subject: SNOOK SEASON
SNOOK AND SNOOK SEASON
Well snook season has opened coinciding with another pulse release from the Big O. It's not that they haven't put enough "hurt" on the fishery. Their last two "dumps" coincided with the height of our snook spawn and, believe me, when you turn the spawning grounds into a fresh water cesspool successful spawning cannot occur when the salinity levels drop below 28 parts per thousand. Coupled with irresponsible angling for staging fish and a massive dredging operation during the spawn we are sure to experience voids in our fishery down the line. I already suspect grave voids from the 1998 catastrophic
"dump" . Thank you South Florida Water Mismanagement!
Anyway the spawn is all but over save for a few horny little buck fish still hanging in the staging areas. Those fish that survived the abuses have spread out in the system, gone up the Beach, perhaps tried to get back into the North Fork, maybe even "Got Out Of Dodge". We caught a 25 pound fish on the Six Mile Reef last week. Go figure!
So...I am leaving the fish alone. As long as there are tarpon around snook have no fear of me.But...there are snook to be caught and my guess is that most keeper fish will come off the Bridges at night, falling prey to the likes of flair hawks, Bombers , DOA's Swimming Mullet, as well as live bait. Early morning on the Sailfish flats is a good bet. Get out and wade!
Tarpon are still in their usual haunts and even if they are not showing don't presume they are not there. We put a 100 pound fish in the air the other day at the IRP fuel dock on a dead low tide. The fish ate a DOA mullet on the first cast. So...don't give up on your favorite places.
As the pulse releases continue I will more than likely vacate the River in favor of the Beach for my tarpon hunting. I repeat...I just don't enjoy fishing in chocolate soup.
Begin looking for trout north of the Jensen Causeway as the release continues. On the grass and current edges of the "spoils".
ON THE BEACH AND OFF
Tarpon,tunny,sharks, kings even Spanish mackerel have been along the Beach and if conditions are right... moderate to calm seas,clarity and bait...running the Beach can be a productive morning trip. Even if you end up in the Boils you got a shot at permit, snook, shark and the ever-present crevalle.
Look for kings all the way out to the Eight Mile along with an occasional sail. Our dolphin this time of year are usually found a good way offshore. At least that is where I would look for them if that were my sole quest along with the hope of raising a blue.
Bottom fishing for grouper and snapper still remains good.
Put On Your Sunscreen!
Capt. David Fawcett/Free Jumper Charters
www.freejumpercharters.com
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Capt. Bob Bushholz
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, September 02, 2002 - 2:43 pm: | |
Subject: September's Forecast
The big event on the Treasure Coast the past couple of years in September has definitely been the tarpon bite. Each year, fishing gets better and better. Pretty soon we will see Florida Keys residents traveling north to Stuart to target our “silver kings”. I can picture it now. Stuart, the “Sailfish AND tarpon capital of the world”. September provides many angling opportunities. It’s the beginning of fall and we will cover it all!
This month marks a few changes in both weather and fishing. The dog days of summer are waning and temperatures will begin to drop slightly. September also marks the opening of snook season. Remember your regulations: 26-34 inch slot with 2 fish per person. Another welcomed change is the start of the fall mullet run. Schools of six- inch baitfish will be everywhere. Along the surf, large pods will be traveling south with plenty of predators following them. Nighttime fishing along area bridges is awesome at times reminding me of the fourth of July. From the Roosevelt Bridge in Stuart, try Gulfstrem flair hawks and DOA rootbeer terrorize while the current is running. Last year this bridge was hot the first few weeks of September. The finger mullet will be thick everywhere. The Stuart Causeway is sure to see lots of action this year with nearby Jensen under construction and closed to landlocked anglers. Twenty feet from the bridge, look for a 4 foot wide shadowline. The snook will be lying there waiting for unsuspecting bait swimming by. Snook are big-time ambush feeders and this is a perfect spot for them. Try casting topwater lures (bombers, mirrolures, windcheaters) or DOA glo shrimp, live shrimp or mullet 20 feet past the shadow line and retrieve. I have occasionally hooked up tarpon on this bridge with windcheaters which you can cast a country mile. Most tarpon will be far from the bridge but within casting distance with these babies. Try to fish at least two nights in a row and take notes. You will notice about a 45-minute period when the snook simply go nuts. Most snookers throwing topwater lures go with spinners or baitcasters with around 20-lb. test and beef it up to 80-lb. mainline throwing flairhawks. No matter how heavy you fish, sooner or later you will get your clock cleaned. My buddy Billy who manages Boater’s World in Jensen Beach is a nonstop, dedicated night time snook fishing machine and will be happy to answer any questions you may have. We don’t call him “Bridge Billy” for nothing.
Starting in the surf, whiting and croaker are still around in the first trough. Try ultra light 6-lb. test, casting no more than 10 feet out, using crappie jigs tipped with shrimp, squid or clams. Guaranteed great action for everyone on light tackle. Don’t be afraid to toss a whiting out on a circle hook with beefed-up tackle (12-20 lb. test) for snook roaming in the trough. You can also cast net all the finger mullet you want, so fling one out on a livebait rig. If you feel like taking a stroll, bring a 7-foot rod with 12-lb. test using a 20-lb. leader, throwing an assortment of artificials and there’s a good chance of hooking into snook, tarpon, permit, bluefish, Spanish mackerel and who knows what else. DOA’s baitbuster, crabs and terrorize, bombers, spoons, Gag’s mini mambo, Yozuri plugs and windcheaters are best for those long casts. Just look for the baitschools. A good place to start, if the water clears up, is Bathtub Beach, fishing south to the Inlet. If conditions are dirty heading south, just fish north casting diagonally, working the baits in the first trough (the “strike zone”). Last month we experienced terrible water conditions but hopefully things will change. Resident bluefish, pompano and Spanish mackerel always show up at the craziest times. Early morning till 10 a.m. and near dusk (low light hours) seem to produce the best results. If fishing from a boat surfside, look for tarpon inside 20’. Schools of permit and snook are also in close. Be respectful of the surf anglers by not crowding their already limited space. It’s easier to motor 300 yards than it is for the angler on the beach to walk. Don’t forget to use plenty of sunscreen and bring lots of water.
Moving into the River, it’s the same deal. Fish early or late. If you must fish midday, the fish move into deeper water into the inlet, crossroads, bridges, channel markers or anywhere they can find cooler water temps and/or shade. By 11 a.m., shallow water reaches the hi 80’s and there won’t be anybody home. Water temps in 10 feet of water are cooler by up to 10-15 degrees. Since we all know fish have a tendency to outsmart us, just follow their lead. Cooler is better. It’s still hot out there. If there are more releases from the canals and Lake Okeechobee, fishing deep will keep you in saltwater. Fresh water sits on top in the St. Lucie River, so the dirtier the water, the deeper you need to fish. Last year in September, water quality improved dramatically so let’s keep our fingers crossed.
Tarpon will be everywhere. In the North Fork of the St. Lucie, look around Club Med south to the Roosevelt Bridge. These tarpon will be munching on abundant glass minnows and eels that run through the area in September and can be found all the way to the Hospital dock. Heading east, the St. Lucie Inlet and crossroads to the Stuart Causeway are a good bet for tarpon action just east of the ICW channel. Sailfish flats will hold tarpon, but it’s a large area to cover. Channels into the Dolphin Grill and Anchors Aweigh Marina hold a few huge tarpon (over 100 lbs.) and like to feast on mullet. There seems to be a resident “monster” that stalks the Indian Riverside pier looking for easy prey. You can spot them rolling in the channel all the way north to Fort Pierce, but “rolling” doesn’t necessarily mean “eating”. At the power plant entrance, right up against the yellow boom and just outside of Little Mud Creek in 12 feet of water has produced some super jumpers. These fish have been in Little Mud Creek for two months now and will really test your patience. They almost seem to recognize certain boats and absolutely refuse anything you might throw at them. Maybe a disguise is in order. Bullsharks will show up in this area at times spooking the tarpon, but these tarpon will reappear.
Tripletail will still be hanging around channel markers up and down the Indian River until the beginning of October. It seems the hotter the air temp the better they like it. Live shrimp on a 2/0, ¼ oz. trollrite jighead seem to be the preferred bait with DOA shrimp and terrorize, assorted sort rubber baits working well too. You have to be mobile, spending no more than 10 minutes on each piling. Flounder and jacks will be spread out all over. Spanish mackerel in the past few years have appeared unexpectedly around the Mosquito Bridge on the Jensen Causeway, making them a “boaters only” target for the next two years during the construction period. Black drum are hanging around the structure of the bridges, with the Roosevelt and Jensen Bridge holding drum to 10 lbs. on the bottom. Snook remain on the beaches, inlets, flats and bridges.
Night fishing is excellent in September. Private lighted docks hold plenty of trout and snook. If you’re fishing these docks, approach with much stealth, cast into the shadow lines and work your casts close to the docks. Slow sinking DOA glo shrimp are hard to beat. Live shrimp (baitshops should now have) and topwater plugs will definitely work. If there are lots of glass minnows around, try throwing Gag Grabber’s Mini Mambo and match the hatch. They’ve made a believer out of me! Remember to respect the dock owners and not blast your casts onto the docks leaving line and hooks behind.
There are plenty of great fishing opportunities in September. The key is low light for shallow fishing, deeper water for midday. New fish pictures are now posted on my site. Just click on “Latest Fish Pictures”
Capt. Bob Bushholz
http://www.catch22fish.com
(772) 225-6436
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Capt. Ed Williams
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, August 26, 2002 - 11:02 am: | |
Subject: Fishing Report
This time of year you never know what to expect when you go fishing offshore. Early last week we had an exceptional Sailfish bite along with lots of Kings, Bonitos, Sharks, etc. As the week progressed we had a day or two where the fishing was only mediocre. Mediocre here in Stuart is better than good in most other places. On the "mediocre days" we caught Kings, big Amberjacks, Cobia, Bonito's, Barracudas, Sharks and at least saw a Sailfish or two. Then on Friday we had the best fishing action that I can remember in a long time.
Friday started a little different that most of the days this summer. Bait was really hard to catch. Finally after looking for over an hour we caught enough bait to go fishing. I decided to start the day northeast of the inlet in 70 feet of water. As I was putting out the first bait we had a strike and we were hooked up on a nice King. As one of the anglers was fighting that fish I put out another bait with the same result except this time it was a Shark. I only had three anglers on the boat and within just a few minutes all three were hooked up on fish. Kings, Bonitos, Sharks provided the first round of action. For the next couple of hours each time a bait hit the water we either had a strike or we hooked up a fish. As the morning progressed and the action slowed a little we finally had a Sailfish decide to eat. I am sure during the first couple of hours the Sails were not aggressive enough to get to the bait ahead of the other fish. The Sail hit, jumped, jumped again then decided to tail walk to the boat. As fast as the fish was moving it was not possible to keep a tight line and finally the fish threw the hook back at us. We continued catching fish and before long the second Sail took a bait and we repeated the same thing that happened on the first fish-several jumps, tail walk towards the boat and throw the hook. 0 for 2 on Sails is not a happy thought but in late August just having that kind of action is great.
The action continued and we were finally able to hook up another Sail. This was a very game fish that gave us several jumps, put on a nice show then allowed us to bring him along side the boat, take a picture, remove the hook and let him go unharmed. An unbelievable day of fishing action.
If you have the time this is a very good time of year to go fishing here in Stuart. There is not much fishing pressure, on most days the action is very good and you never know what you are going to catch. Good luck and remember you can't catch'em at the dock.
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Capt. Bob Bushholz
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, August 26, 2002 - 8:50 am: | |
Subject: It's Better To Give
It will be short and sweet this week with only a few charters. Early morning trout north near Walton Road were hitting DOA shrimp, while several tarpon in the 30 lb. range were spotted rolling on the east side at Little Mud Creek. Unfortunately the tarpon weren’t interested in the baits presented and rolled off to “tease” another day.
The tripletail run is almost history until the water and the weather cools down – maybe January or February if we don’t have too severe of a winter this year. I’m still happy with the “71” number this year and will always shoot for the “100” mark. The channel markers are holding plenty of lane and mangrove snapper along with a few goliath and gag grouper.
It’s that time again. Snook season opens September 1st (which also happens to be Labor Day weekend) and means the traffic will be heavy. The regulations remain the same (26”-34” slot with a max of 2 per person). Be sure you have a snook stamp on your fishing license because I heard the Marine Patrol expect to “terrorize” anyone abusing the rules. With the mullet run in full swing, surf and inlet anglers have a great shot in the early morning. Nighttime, around area bridges and lighted docks, will produce snook ready to ambush their prey. The best bet on bait will be DOA glo shrimp. There will also be plenty of trout and ladyfish that will appear around those lighted docks, so expect plenty of action.
Last night I ran a re-con trip, fishing a few docks on the east side of the Indian River, releasing trout to 3 lbs. and 2 short snook. Moving under the Jensen Beach Bridge produced three snook to 12 lbs., gently released, and some good-sized black drum (also released).
I have been hearing lots of reports about huge tarpon in the surf, so with Sunday off I decided to run outside along the beach scouting for some tarpon action. After getting a live well full of greenies I ran from the St. Lucie Inlet to the Power Plant without spotting anything rolling other than many, many dolphin (porpoise). Every time you approached a bait pod that was getting pressure (and hoping for Mr. Tarpon), all of a sudden Flipper showed up and that was the end of the wishful thinking. We checked out the Power Plant “boils” and there wasn’t anybody home there either.
After a really nice cruise on beautifully blue water I decided to head back to the St. Lucie Inlet to drift the greenies caught earlier on Sabiki rigs. Although having a blast hooking into jack crevalle in the 20-lb. range, it just wasn’t the tarpon I was wishing for. Within 45 minutes we boated and released 7 jacks with the largest pushing 25 lbs. These guys are excellent sport fish and sure to test your tackle. Before finally calling it quits at the crossroads to head home, I offered the rest of the live greenies to a nearby boat. They had witnessed the tremendous “jack attack” we had experienced and gladly accepted the baits. As I was writing this report, Dr. Clark called (the nearby boat) to say that right after we left (of course) they hooked into a 100+ tarpon and fought it for about 10 minutes before it broke off (or was cut off by a boat passing a little too close) as well as hooking, boating and releasing two large jack crevalle, 18 and 25-lb. class. Dr. Clark said it “made their day” and was extremely gracious. I hope to see him out and about soon and maybe this time I’ll have the “big silver” hooked up.
September 1st is my first scheduled snook trip, departing at 7:00 p.m. Sure hope to start off the season with a “bang”! Even though the snook seem to know the calendar better than we do, I think my summer re-con trips will prove to have been worth the effort.
Capt. Bob Bushholz
http://www.catch22fish.com
(772) 225-6436
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Capt. David Fawcett
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, August 25, 2002 - 7:19 pm: | |
Subject: TROUT,TARPON....
TARPON, TROUT, KINGFISH, SAILFISH
That's pretty much the story for the "givens" though you still have to be THERE at the right time.
As for tarpon, they are reestablishing themselves in the Lagoon as SFWM and the Army Corp decided not to dump the Big O on us this week and water quality is improving even though swill continues to pour from the canals. Cross your fingers. We cannot afford another dump from The Lake.
I still prefer the top of the outgoing in the Crossroads area, however, there is a preponderance of inverted detritus flowing on the surface on the outgoing making muck-free angling difficult.
Up in the Muds and surrounding waters I like early morning. Same for trout. Get there early and then change strategies after 9 a.m. But they are there and surface presentations can be rewarding.
Sailfishing has been exceptionally good with shots at one or two fish per trip. They, as the kings, have been in as shallow as 40 feet out to our reef structure, but, think shallow before moving too far afield.
Again throw in some excellent bottom fishing an occasional cobia and dolphin and that's it.
We opted for The Hill the other day in search of wahoo. On the way out ran over a monster cobia but only managed a shark in trying to relocate him. He was all of 80 pounds. Anyway, The Hill produced one shot but we didn't even get on the rod until he had all but "boned" three hundred yards of 20 pound and, then, came undone.
That's fishing. But I know they are there.
CHIRROSIS OF THE RIVER
Those of us in the brotherhood of sportsmen, at least those of us who are over 50, more than likely metamorphosed over the years from killers to conservators. Hell...in those days we thought the supply of potential prey was boundless and, after all, we were hunters, gatherers and the quantity of "kill" was in direct proportion to the prowess of the hunter. Blood sport. A MAN'S game.
It was the early 50's when the likes of Hemingway, Glassel, the Farringtons, the Lerners, et al vied for top honors in the angling world. Who's the best? Thousands of marlin died in their wake just for that photograph of immortality.
Only 35 years ago, when I worked out of Garrison Bight in the Keys, killing was still an accepted practice. Not a sailfish, amberjack, permit...you name it... was released, because the more fish you could hang on your catch board the more likely you were to attract the next day's fare.
From the catch board to the garbage can to the commune. Yes, we did feed alot of hippies in those days...so... at least much of the kill wasn't wasted.
Quickly following we put the coffin nail in the swordfish fishery in the name of sport fishing. Sure the longliners were (and are) to blame, but the sport fisherman and politically motivated governing agencies are not guilt free.
In search of the Almighty Dollar the Northeast bluefin fishery met its demise along with our shark fisheries due to a weird affinity for JAWS and some gelatinous swill the Chinese use instead of Viagra. Like the Chinese need Viagra.
Though we have made a modicum of progress toward conserving our resources, we are still slow to learn and quick to forget.
Within the last year the "return of the swordfish" has been extolled in several prominent sport fishing magazines. Return? My God the fish are barely 100 pounds and, believe me, few make it back into the water.
The IGFA opened up a whole pile of hurt on the shark fisheries in their creation of the Requiem category last year and just recently divided snook into two categories, Atlantic and Pacific, a move that opens up 34 new line class vacancies.
As I write this some industrious entrepreneur is scheming the groundwork for another moneymaking tournament. Big money, kill tournaments are proliferating. When will we learn?
I don't know about you, but I want my grandchildren and their children to enjoy the same privileges I enjoyed.
If you keep your ear to the water you know that throughout the World, but in the U.S. in particular, large areas of ocean are being closed to fishing, both commercial and recreational, as environmentally sensitive areas. There are some environmentalist groups in the U.S. and abroad that espouse the total prohibition of fishing in any form. And, my God, just look at the current state of most of our fisheries as compared to just 10 years ago.
It's about time the metamorphosis is completed. It's about time the so called responsible representatives of our fisheries, the prominent magazines, TV shows and government agencies took some steps to ensure their own longevity. It's about time we, as individuals, became the keepers rather than the killers.
PUT ON YOU SUNSCREEN!
Capt. David Fawcett/Free Jumper Charters
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Capt. Ed Williams
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, August 20, 2002 - 8:51 am: | |
Subject: Fishing Report
During the last few days we have been catching Sailfish, African Pompano, Dolphin, Grouper, King Mackerel, Bonito and Sharks. For the first time since last winter I have been seeing some Spanish Mackerel along the beach. The action has been good most days with some exceptional action during the last day or so.
On one recent trip we started by catching some Kings followed by a very large African Pompano. African Pompano is a fish we caught frequently here in Stuart a few years ago but for some time they have become all but nonexistent. The fish we caught put up a great battle and we were able to release it unharmed. Hopefully this is just the beginning of a big come back by these outstanding fish.
The following day we fished northeast of the St. Lucie Inlet where we started the day by catching some Kings, Bonitos and Sharks. We had 2 Sailfish come into our spread of baits but they would not eat. I tried doing everything I could think of but nothing worked. We continued working this area and we were catching a few Kings, Bonitos and Sharks. The starboard outrigger snapped and we had a fish on, that was followed within seconds by one of the flats lines hooking up. The fish on the flat line jumped and we were hooked up on a Sailfish. The first fish we hooked then decide to jump—a double header on Sailfish. At first they went in the same direction followed shortly by going in opposite directions. After a few minutes we managed to get to the first fish and release it. By then the second fish had out half a reel of 20# line so we moved the boat towards the fish. Again we were successful in getting to this Sail and released it unharmed. I was thinking not a bad day for the middle of August. We continued working in the same area and the fish continued to bite on a regular basis. After a couple of more passes we had another Sailfish who decided to cooperate and after numerous jumps we were able to get the fish along side the boat and release it. Our plan was to be back at the dock by 1:00 PM so we had time to make one more pass over the area. We caught a King, had a couple of more bites then another Sail came into the baits, chased them a little and after what seemed like minutes of playing in our spread decided not to cooperate. Another great day of summer fishing here in Stuart!
The Sailfish action this summer has been spectacular. Rarely does a day go by that we don’t have a chance to catch a Sail or two and occasionally the action begins to remind me of the winter Sailfish bite. If you can find time now is a great time to do some offshore fishing here in Stuart.
Good luck and remember you can’t catch’em at the dock.
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Capt. Bob Bushholz
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, August 19, 2002 - 3:31 pm: | |
Subject: Down Deep
It’s been a busy week on the Catch 22, running several charters, with the morning trips producing better catches. Starting on Monday, it was a party of five “the McClouds”. Departing at 8 a.m., we ran north near Walton Rod on the west side of the Indian River, trying the grass flats in 3-4 feet for trout. A combination of DOA shrimp and live shrimp under popping corks produced several trout under 20”. By 9 a.m., it was time to move north, running to Little Mud Creek on the east side. During the past eight weeks tarpon in the 30-lb. class could be seen rolling on a regular basis. That particular morning we observed a flats boat that was fishing smack in the middle of the entrance to Little Mud tossing live mullet. While we were there these guys hooked up 2 bull sharks to 100 lbs, but there was no sign of tarpon (“poons”) in the neighborhood. We did witness a few manatees in the area, which really topped off the flats boat fishermen’s day. After watching the manatee frolic for a while, I departed Little Mud in pursuit of some bottom fishing action. It proved to be the right move, with plenty of fish caught, including a 6-lb. snook, 5-lb. tripletail and tons of lane and mangrove snapper. Results have been good at both the channel markers and the Jensen Beach Causeway.
Tuesday was another 8 a.m. departure with a party of three, Richard and Hank Janczewsky and Bruce Raymon. Heading north again produced lots of action with mangrove and lane snapper, lookdowns, tripletail, flounder, black drum and a real mixture of other fish. I just need to say here that the tripletail was #71 for the year so there’s still time for me to hit the 100 mark.
Due to unfavorable conditions in the St. Lucie Inlet the past two months, I’ve had to head northward away from the “nasty water”. The Spillways were opened up again this past week and believe me, it’s not a pretty sight. Just ask anyone sitting in a riverfront restaurant what the water looks like and most of the time they say “iced coffee”. Not only is the view nasty, the smell isn’t so great either.
Thursday was a full day charter with the Shupenko family from Miami. Heading north in the morning produced lots of fish and lots of action, hitting channel markers and bridges. Departing at 8 a.m. allows only a limited shallow-water action due to the heat factor. Normally by 9 a.m. in the summer I like to head to deeper water. Around noon we headed for the Inlet for incoming tide. It was good to be able to fish the Inlet on an incoming tide, finally seeing some sign of salinity in the water. There were some excellent fish caught drifting on the south side, including a 3l” snook (safely released).
To sum it up, it’s still extremely hot so get out early and hit the flats until 9 a.m. After 9, fish deeper and try to time your inlet trips to fish the incoming tide. There’s still a chance for some tarpon in the surf, but again fish early. Snook season is just around the corner (September 1) and I’m looking forward to some great night trips. It’s been a great summer, but remember we’ve still got the best area for some great fishing no matter how hot it is. Sometimes I think the fish are smarter than we are. They have enough sense to stay in the shade and look for deeper water. I’ve heard they’re a little short of sun block and no one cruises their area with “Foster Grants”. Until next time, tight lines everyone.
Capt. Bob Bushholz
http://www.catch22fish.com
(772) 225-6436
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Capt. David Fawcett
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, August 14, 2002 - 5:11 pm: | |
Subject: Writing On The Wall
MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN
Yes. The writing IS on the wall and even though South Florida Water Management and the Army Corp. have decided not to pulse release from Lake Okeechobee this week the damage has already been done in a considerable fish kill of our estuarine species including sheepshead, porgy, and puffer to name a few. We will never know the depth of destruction. Only a hundred or so corpses ended up on the beach from the Inlet down to Hobe Sound. My guess is that this is merely the tip of the iceberg and our resident bull sharks et al did a pretty good job at cleaning up the "kill" as it washed out the Inlet. Autopsies proved the fish died of oxygen depletion but, of course, it has nothing to do with dumping millions of gallons of nutrient rich slop into our Estuary. Must be an algae bloom...they speculate. Can't be from our controlled pulse releases they say.Well, okay. Let's say it is an algae bloom. Where do algae blooms come from? Nutrient rich waters!
Come on guys start taking responsibility for your actions. Hell, if Exxon had an accidental oil spill their head would be on the chopping block not to mention the millions of dollars in fines they would have to pay.
The king's deeds have been weighed and counted and found deficient and forever the kingdom will be divided.
LIFE ON THE BIG CHOCOLATE
It's never fun to fish in chocolate soup and I have already begun to steer my clients offshore when I can. But the tarpon fishing has remained fairly consistent throughout the "dump" and I experienced three straight successful tarpon days last week. Look for the outgoing change especially in the Sun Bowl.
OFF THE BEACH
Never again will I go bottom fishing with anything less that 50 pound tackle. Last week on the Six Mile I tried time after time to raise fish off the bottom with 20 pound tackle to no avail. My client using 80 pound did manage a 30 pound grouper. I managed to lose every egg sinker in my box.So...the bottom fishing has been pretty good. Good catches of mangrove snapper have highlighted the fishery but grouper and muttons are also around along with a scattering of cobia and AJ's and, of course shark. Kingfish have been on the Numbers, the Ambassador Reef, the David T, you name it they will probably be there.
Sailfishing in August can be really good and thankfully it has been. Not double digits but one or two fish a trip can be expected. Flyers are packed from the Beach to the Eight Mile and I ran into one tailing sail in 45 feet of water yesterday so you might want to start looking shallow if conditions aren't too bad.
Put On Your Sunscreen!
Capt. David Fawcett/Free Jumper Charters
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Capt. Bob Bushholz
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, August 12, 2002 - 3:58 pm: | |
Subject: Walkers Cay Trip
Walkers Cay Bahamas Trip
Last week I departed on a scheduled 4-day fishing trip to Walker’s Cay, Bahamas aboard my friend, Capt. Joe Edge’s 30’ Rampage “Bite This Too”. We left Anchors Aweigh Marina around 7:00 a.m. Sunday, August 4, making it to Walker’s in about 5-1/2 hours with calm seas the entire way.
We started fishing Monday morning, first trolling ballyhoo looking for barracuda to use for bait later. Within an hour we had 3 cudas to 10 lbs. in the box, so we headed to the drop-off about 2 miles from Walker’s to try some deep-dropping. Fresh barracuda makes excellent chunk bait for yellow-eye snapper, grouper and various other bottom feeders. After preparing the cudas in 2-inch chunks, we were ready to go. The tackle used: electric reels, 5-lb. sash weights, 800 yards of 100 lb. power pro and bait rigs consisting of 10/0 circle hooks. The rigs were spread about 4 feet apart with a water-sensitive light attached at the leader. Starting around the 200-foot depth, we drifted to 700 feet. Some real nice yellow-eye snapper along with a few strawberry grouper, bar jacks and a 6’ bull shark provided great action. Fishing electric reels is always a blast. During hot summer days, you can fish all day long and not even work up a sweat. After 3 hours, we headed back with a dozen or so nice yellow-eyes and an assortment of others, making the first day’s fishing there an excellent start.
Tuesday’s winds picked up a bit making fishing deep uncomfortable. After an hour of bouncing around, we elected to head back in and join the non-stop “tailgate party” back at the dock. Around 1 p.m. I noticed a 65’ sporty backing into a dock two slips away which was still flying a yellow flag indicating they were new arrivals and hadn’t yet cleared customs. This boat, “Medalist” was from Jupiter, Florida and its owner, Greg Norman, (the professional golfer) was aboard. He kept a low profile, staying inside most of the time and everyone respected his privacy. What struck me funny was that while docked, Greg’s boat continuously ran his radar. Later that day he pulled out, and just in time. Those of us remaining at the dock finally figured out what the radar was all about. Around 3:30 a.m. Wednesday, we were greeted by Cristobal, packing gale winds and dumping 14” of rain for a solid 13 hours. Three boats in the Marina went down, including a 23’ center-console which beached itself 10’ up the boat ramp with considerable hull damage. A dozen or so boats suffered minimum damage with concrete pilings holding the boat cleats snapping like twigs. Seems like they probably don’t have access to re-bar at Walker’s. After the “big blow” conditions never returned to “fishable” with 10-15 mph winds still mixing things up. We planned on departing Thursday morning, but sea conditions did not allow our return until Saturday. The water quality coming back into our inlet was still miserable, but it looked pretty good to us.
When you’re stuck on a remote island (no casinos, sightseeing, etc.) and you can’t fish or go diving, it seems only logical to seek out someplace good to eat. I did manage to discover a great “new restaurant” on Walker’s sister island, Grand Cay. If you are visiting Walker’s Cay, just ask any of the locals to hook you up and they will ferry your party over the two miles to Ron’s Hot Spot on Grand Cay, free of charge (but tipping is allowed). Dinners there are the best around and the prices are very reasonable. I was really impressed with Ron’s Hot Spot and definitely will return again on my next trip.
Fortunately I was able to get a few pictures and will post them on my website in a few weeks. Just remember, it is hurricane season and if you are planning a trip to the Bahamas by boat, make sure you have an alternative plan if you are committed to a specific return date. The good thing is that all the locals are friendly and the service at the hotel, marina, restaurant and nearby islands is warm and courteous. Can’t say enough good things about Walker’s Cay. Joe Edge is a great captain and runs a top-notch boat. Look forward to going again sometime soon. If you are interested in a Bahama run or just want to bend some rods off Stuart, give Capt. Joe Edge a call at (772) 370-4159 or e-mail him @ bitethistoo@aol.com
Capt. Bob Bushholz
http://www.catch22fish.com
(772) 225-6436
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Capt. Ed Williams
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, August 07, 2002 - 11:47 am: | |
Subject: Fishing Report
From my perspective this is one of my favorite times of the year to fish because it provides me an opportunity to fish with a lot of young anglers—and their parents. I enjoy showing the young people the many wonders that the ocean presents, teaching them a little about fishing and helping them catch a few fish.
On a trip a few days ago I had a couple of fathers and their sons fish with me. This was described as the last fling before the boys go back to school. We started the day by catching live bait. That is always a blast and kids normally enjoy this as much as anything we do. Catching bait seems to intrigue many of the people who fish with me--it is a great way to start the day. After catching bait we moved offshore to an area where we had experienced a decent bite during the last few days. We started by catching Bonito, followed by a nice Amberjack. As we caught the first Amberjack my fishfinder marked some really big fish. Shortly we hooked up a large Amberjack that was all we could handle on 20 pound tackle. The Amberjack action continued and we caught and released several AJ’s in the 30 to 40 pound range. While we were catching the AJ’s we hooked several fish that we simply could not stop. These fish we so strong that they simply ran into the wreckage on the bottom and cut us off. It was really exciting to have constant action with these big fish. As the morning progressed the Bluewater Bobber paid off by attracting a Sailfish. That provided several minutes of excitement as it made numerous jumps before we were able to get it along side the boat and release it. We continued to catch fish most of the day and by any measure it was a great “last fling” before school.
The following day a grandfather called me about 1:30 PM saying he had a 5 year old grandson who needed to go fishing that afternoon for a couple of hours. After a quick check I with another Captain who was offshore I was comfortable we could catch some live bait so we agreed to meet at my dock later in the afternoon. We were fortunate to find some live bait--the 5 year old had a blast catching it. Realizing the attention span of a 5 year old is not long I headed to one of the wrecks that is close to the inlet. Everything looked perfect except nothing was biting. 20 minutes later we were headed to another wreck when I saw some birds diving on a coconut. As I slowed the boat to see what they are doing I saw a school of Dolphin. Perfect! I cast a live bait to them and they did not respond. I followed the live bait with squid and was able to coax one of them into biting. The school followed the Dolphin we had hooked but were not interested in squid. I then chunked up some Ballyhoo and they started eating the chunks. I slipped a hook into a chunk and we were immediately catching Dolphin. This was exactly what we needed to have happen. Plenty of fish and they were finally biting. We caught enough for them to have Dolphin for dinner and we were back at the dock about 2 hours after our departure. Not a bad two hour fishing trip and most important a very happy 5 year old who had a memorable first offshore fishing trip. These are the days that make charter fishing great fun for me.
Most days the fishing and catching is good. We continue to catch good numbers of Kings, lots of Bonito, some Dolphin and Sailfish along with Cobia, snapper, etc. So that you don’t think everyday is perfect a couple of days ago I took a group of my customers fishing who I always enjoy having on the boat. These men are good anglers and they like to catch fish. We fished from just south of Ft. Pierce to Jupiter Inlet and never caught a quality fish. We tried everything and while we did have flurries of action and caught a good number of fish it was not one of those banner days. It just happens that way once in a while.
Now is a great time to enjoy the summer fishing action here in Stuart. Good luck and remember you can’t catch’em at the dock.
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Capt. David Fawcett
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, August 03, 2002 - 2:12 pm: | |
Subject: CHANGES
BOY! IT'S HOT!
I don't know why we complain every summer about the intensity of the heat...but we do. It's as if we forgot last summer and the summer before that. Hey. This is South Florida. We shouldn't bitch about the weather just because it's hot or make adjustments for it, especially in our fishing schedule.
I ran into Jerry Rosen of DOA the other day and
queried about his latest fishing adventure.
"I had a great trout and snook trip on the Bear Point spoil islands the other day," says he.
"You must have been there early," says I.
"No. It was about ten o'clock, just on the incoming," says he.
The temperature must have been pushing 90 degrees at that time. A period in the day that most anglers would be contemplating getting off the River but all it took was current and a plug of fresh, incoming water to "turn on" the fishery. Sure it is more comfortable fishing in the cooler, early morning hours and the fish themselves are more visible and aggressive, but, if you MUST fish...
There have been a lot of tarpon in the River. We see them at IRP throughout the day, the Sun Bowl, Hell's Gate. We see them, but, for the most part they are not highly visible, choosing to lay in the current and intermittently, take advantage of the vast schools of anchovies that are in the Lagoon. A GULP here and a GULP there.
My "sport" wanted tarpon yesterday. He had "never caught a tarpon." So I took him to the Sun Bowl and the minute we arrived an 80 pound fish freely launched itself out of the water. That was to be the only fish seen in the next hour and, even though I suspected there were fish there, we left as the tide neared dead low. An hour later on the incoming we returned and hooked up a 100 pound class fish within five minutes and saw many more "rollers" during the prolonged battle.
Sure... the fish could have vacated on the ebb and returned an hour later but I don't believe that to be the case. It was simply a change of tide that inspired the fish to eat. Though tarpon are highly mobile why should they move under present conditions. They have an anchovy smorgasbord wherever they chose to rest. Water quality is poor forcing them to work harder in order to travel, and, what normally docile predator likes chasing an epileptic mullet around in chocolate soup?
On the kingfish grounds, as well, a change in tide can make all the difference between a successful day and a blowout.
So...pay attention to the CHANGES and fish whenever you want. We're South Floridians! We love the HEAT!
RIVER
Trout, snook, crevalle, tarpon. There had been a decent school of permit on the Beach and there are permit in the Boils along with crevalle, sharks and snook. We are not seeing too many tarpon on the Beach however. Stick to the River for your tarpon. There is a ton of bait off the Beach and working the pods is still good fun.
THE BEACH AND OFF
Kingfishing has been consistently good inshore as well as along the reef. You'll have to fight your way through little tunny and shark but you might even run into a blackfin while picking through the tunny. Little tunny don't recover well after their normal frenetic fight so try to treat them gently. Keep them in the water if possible or cut them off. They certainly don't recover at all if you gaff them. For that matter nothing recovers well after it has been stuck by a gaff. If you can't handle the fish...cut it loose!
They are all part of our Ocean's dwindling resources.
The bottom bouncers have been doing well with some nice Mangrove and Muttons coming in along with a scattering of grouper and cobia. I mean good Mangroves upwards of five or six pounds. Try the Rosie or the Six and Eight Mile. Just look for good bottom structure.
CHIRROSIS OF THE RIVER
With water quality in the Lagoon et al at its worst the Army Corp and SFWM have decided to repeat another 10-day pulse release from The Lake. Based on a continually rising Lake and above average rainfall forecasted for the balance of the year, "the powers that be" feel the additional release will stave off massive "dumps" down the road. A day late and a dollar...
You know... they fine the dredge company $25,000 for an accidental oil spill and shut their operation down until the malady is remedied and then turn around and pump billions of gallons of crap into the Lagoon and, eventually, onto our offshore reefs with an "Enronic" attitude. Go figure!
Put On Your Sunscreen!
Capt. David Fawcett/Free Jumper Charters
www.freejumpercharters.com
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Capt. David Fawcett
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, August 03, 2002 - 2:10 pm: | |
Subject: CHANGES
You know... they fine the dredge company $25,000 for an accidental oil spill and shut their operation down until the malady is remedied and then turn around and pump billions of gallons of crap into the Lagoon and, eventually, onto our offshore reefs with an "Enronic" attitude. Go figure!
Put On Your Sunscreen!
Capt. David Fawcett/Free Jumper Charters
www.freejumpercharters.com
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Capt. Bob Bushholz
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, July 29, 2002 - 2:53 pm: | |
Subject: August on the Treasure Coast
The big event on the Treasure Coast the past couple of years in August has definitely been the tarpon bite. Each year, fishing gets better and better. Pretty soon we will see Florida Keys residents traveling north to Stuart to target our “silver kings”. I can picture it now. Stuart, the “Sailfish AND tarpon capital of the world”. August provides many angling opportunities. It’s summertime and we will cover it all!
Starting in the surf, whiting and croaker are thick in the first trough. Try ultra light 6 lb. test, casting no more than 10 feet out, using crappie jigs tipped with shrimp, squid or clams. Great action for everyone on light tackle. Don’t be afraid to toss a whiting out on a circle hook with beefed-up tackle (12-20 lb. test) for snook roaming in the trough. If you feel like strolling, bring a 7-foot rod with 12 lb. test using a 20 lb. leader, throwing an assortment of artificials and there’s a good chance of hooking into snook tarpon, permit, bluefish, Spanish mackerel and who knows what else. DOA’s baitbuster, crabs and terrorize, bombers, spoons, Gag’s mini mambo, Yozuri plugs and windcheaters are best for those long casts. A good place to start, if the water clears up, is Bathtub Beach and fish south to the Inlet. If conditions are dirty heading south, just fish north casting diagonally, working these baits in the first trough (the “strike zone”). Resident bluefish, pompano and Spanish mackerel always show up at the craziest times. Early morning till 10 a.m. and near dusk (low light hours) work the best. Remember, snook season is still closed, so crimp those barbs down for easy removal and release all snook while they are still in the water to protect their slime coats. If fishing from a boat surfside, look for tarpon inside 20’. Schools of permit and snook are in close. Be respectful of the surf anglers by not crowding their already limited space. It’s easier to motor 300 yards than it is for the angler on the beach to walk. Don’t forget to use plenty of sunscreen and bring lots of water. With the heat index the past week, temps have been over 105 degrees.
Moving into the River, it’s the same deal. Fish early or late. If you must fish midday, the fish move into deeper water into the inlet, crossroads, bridges, channel markers or anywhere they can find cooler water temps and/or shade. By 11 a.m., shallow water reaches 90 degrees and there won’t be anybody home. Water temps in 10 feet of water are cooler by up to 10-15 degrees. Since we all know fish have a tendency to outsmart us, just follow their lead. Cooler is better. Even if there are more releases from the canals and Lake Okeechobee, fishing deep will keep you in saltwater. Fresh water sits on top in the St. Lucie River, so the dirtier the water, the deeper you need to fish.
Tarpon will be everywhere. In the North Fork of the St. Lucie, look around Club Med south to the Roosevelt Bridge. These tarpon will be munching on abundant glass minnows and eels that run through the area in August and can be found all the way to the Hospital dock. Heading east, the St. Lucie Inlet and crossroads to the Stuart Causeway are a good bet for tarpon action just east of the ICW channel. Sailfish flats will hold tarpon, but it’s a large area to cover. Channels into the Dolphin Grill and Anchors Aweigh Marina hold a few huge tarpon (over 100 lbs.) and like to feast on mullet. There seems to be a resident “monster” that stalks the Indian Riverside pier looking for easy prey. You can spot them rolling in the channel all the way north to Fort Pierce, but “rolling” doesn’t necessarily mean “eating”. At the power plant entrance, right up against the yellow boom and just outside of Little Mud Creek in 12 feet of water has produced some super jumpers. These fish have been in Little Mud Creek for two months now and will really test your patience. They almost seem to recognize certain boats and absolutely refuse anything you might throw at them. Maybe a disguise is in order.
Tripletail will be hanging around channel markers up and down the Indian River until the beginning of October. It seems the hotter the air temp the better they like it. Live shrimp on a 2/0, ¼ oz. trollrite jighead seem to be the preferred bait with DOA shrimp and terrorize, assorted sort rubber baits working well too. You have to be mobile, spending no more than 10 minutes on each piling. Flounder and jacks will be spread out all over. Spanish mackerel in the pat few years have appeared unexpectedly around the Mosquito Bridge on the Jensen Causeway, making them a “boaters only” target for the next two years during the construction period. Black drum are hanging around the structure of the bridges, with the Roosevelt and Jensen Bridge holding drum to 10 lbs. on the bottom. Snook remain on the beaches, inlets and flat.
Night fishing is excellent in August. Private lighted docks hold plenty of trout and snook. If you’re fishing these docks, approach with much stealth, cast into the shadow lines and work your casts close to the docks. Slow sinking DOA glo shrimp are hard to beat. Live shrimp (if you’re lucky enough to find any at the local bait shops) and topwater plugs will definitely work. If there are lots of glass minnows around, try throwing Gag Grabber’s Mini Mambo and match the hatch. They’ve made a believer out of me! Remember to respect the dock owners and not blast your casts onto the docks leaving line and hooks behind.
There are plenty of great fishing opportunities in August. The key is low light for shallow fishing, deeper water for midday.
Capt. Bob Bushholz
http;//www.catch22fish.com
(772) 225-6436
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Capt. Ed Williams
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, July 29, 2002 - 12:39 pm: | |
Subject: Fishing Report
Nearly a week ago the conditions on the six-mile reef changed dramatically and for a few days we had little or no current moving across the reef. Whenever these conditions occur fishing for Sails, Kings, Cobia, etc. slows down in a hurry. When these conditions exist we have days where we have to work hard to get a few bites. Towards the end of the week, a strong current returned to the reef and the fishing was once again excellent.
Some of our children were visiting us on their vacation so we decided to go fishing for a few hours on Friday. Catching bait was a bit of a challenge but with some effort we were able to put enough bait in the live well for a morning of fishing. We then ran off to the six-mile reef where we found over 2 knots of north current along with a nice breeze from the Southeast. These are nearly perfect conditions for fishing. We set out our lines and almost instantly we were hooked up on a couple of Bonito. Soon that was followed by a Shark then some more Bonito and finally a small King. As we continued our Drift north on the reef the action slowed for a couple of minutes only to be interrupted by another flurry of activity. One of the Bluewater Bobbers took off and we set the hook. The fish just kept stripping line so I decided to chase the fish to avoid being spooled. The fight was pretty much involved the fish doing what he wanted to do. After chasing him around for several minutes I decided it must be a big Bull Shark so I put out a couple of baits to drag behind the boat as we continued to follow the fish around. The Bluewater Bobber behind the boat had not been out for over a minute and I saw the tip of the rod start bouncing. It was that all familiar Sailfish bounce. Before I could free spool the reel the fish ate the bait and we had a Sailfish on behind the boat and something big we were fighting from the front of the boat.
Keeping the boat maneuvered between the two fish was a lot fun. Before long we got the Sailfish along side the boat. As that was occurring the other fish surfaced and I heard those magic words, he kind looks like a Shark but it has stripes down his side. BIG COBIA!! I released the Sail and focused my attention on the Cobia. He simply had no interest in getting near the boat but after some effort I was able to deposit him directly from along side the boat into the fish box. As they say half of the battle when you catch a Cobia is getting him to the boat the other half is after he is in the boat. This one weighed over 50 pounds and definitely wanted to tear up as much of the boat as possible—fortunately I was able to get him in the fish box on the first pass and it all work out good for us. To finish our day of offshore fishing we caught and released another big Cobia along with several more Kings. An action packed day of offshore fishing.
During the last week I have fished nearly every day. We are catching Kings, Bonitos, Sharks, some Cobia. Nearly every day we have an opportunity or we catch a Sail or two. This summer the Sailfish bite has been exceptional.
Now is a great time to enjoy some of the spectacular summer fishing we have here in Stuart. Good luck and remember you can’t catch’em at the dock.
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Capt. Ed Williams
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, July 22, 2002 - 9:08 pm: | |
Subject: Fishing Report
The past week has presented some great along with some mediocre fishing days for us. We continue to have a great summer Sailfish bite along with lots King Mackerel, Bonito, Sharks, some Dolphin and Cobia.
One of the more exciting trips this week involved a ¾ day charter. Several weeks ago when the charter was booked the objective was to “bend rods”. We started this day like we do most days this time of year. We departed the dock just a little after daylight and started looking for live bait. There were small pods of bait near the inlet buoy and it took some effort to catch enough for the day. We headed offshore to an area northeast of the inlet that had been holding lots of fish.
As we arrived in the area I saw a little current edge building. We set out bait along the current edge and began fishing. Soon after our rods were set we were hooked up on Kings and Bonito. The action was pretty much nonstop for us. Another boat near us hooked up a Sailfish—that was no great surprise given the number we have been seeing. After several nice jumps and what appeared to be a great fight the Captain did a very nice job of getting to and releasing the fish.
It was one of those days that the ocean looked like you were going to catch fish. Within a few minutes our turn came on a Sailfish. This was one of those big summer Sails that really put on a show for us. He jumped, ran from the boat then turned around and came back to the boat---a GREAT SHOW! Before long we managed to get him along side the boat and we released him. The action continued with lots of Bonito and a few Kings.
A friend of mine came along side and asked if I room in my fish box for a Wahoo that was too big for his cooler. My boat has a fish box that will hold more fish that I care to clean so I invited him over to deposit the fish. WOW! A really nice Wahoo that was well over 50 pounds—he had caught on live bait in the same area where we had been catching Sails, Kings, Bonito, etc.
Our day continued with good action. As I was feeding out a bait I felt that little tap, tap, tap. I free lined the bait for just a couple of seconds and felt the fish pick up the bait. I wound down until the line was tight and picked up the tip of the rod. The Sailfish jumped 30 feet from the boat and immediately headed directly at the boat. The fish basically jumped from where he first jumped all the way to the boat. As he came along side he apparently realized where the boat was, did a U-turn and went to the horizon. He made jump after jump then sounded. The young man who was trying to catch his first Sailfish did a great job. He kept the line tight and fought the fish. Finally after a long hard battle the fish was along side the boat where we took a quick picture and released him. A magnificent fish and one that I am sure will be remembered by the angler for the rest of his life.
I received an email from the folks who fished with me that day that made my day and included the following – “I asked you to bend rod and you sure gave us that. Two Sails this time of year was a bonus beyond my wildest expectations.” It is always rewarding to have the people you take fishing let you know when you get the job done for them.
The bottom line is the fishing is excellent most days—but it is still fishing and the conditions change day to day and at times even when you use all of the knowledge and experience you have it is still a challenge to catch quality fish.
The fishing is good, the seas are calm and it is a great time to go fishing. Good luck and remember you can’t catch’em at the dock.
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Capt. Bob Bushholz
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, July 22, 2002 - 3:11 pm: | |
Subject: Tarpon Time
All is well aboard Catch 22. Last week I ran several morning trips again targeting waters from the Stuart Causeway north 10 miles to Little Mud Creek. Trout have been sluggish with only a few caught last week under three pounds. DOA shrimp has been the bait of choice. Local baitshops are finding live shrimp hard to come by. It’s that time of year. Netters on the west coast will be happy campers when September arrives making their jobs much easier. There has been plenty of baitfish on both sides of the Indian River but getting the fish to chew early in the flats has been tough. We spotted several redfish on the west side near the power lines but no takers. Along with the few trout were scattered ladyfish, jacks and small snook.
Saturday morning trip we departed at 5:00 am trying lighted docks near Joe’s Point directly across from my marina. A few bumps but nothing exciting so we motored to Little Mud Creek which sits a mile north of the power plant. This entire area holds baitfish most of the year. Little Mud Creek itself is 80 feet wide & 300 yards long with 30 feet of water in the center. Both sides are mangrove lined with dirt roads and mosquito control ditches surrounding the creek. Both ditches have pumps which suck water from the river to fill these ditches. Back in the 70’s, I would drive out here and fish these ditches for tarpon which are extremely active when these pumps are running. The ditches only average 3 foot deep but hold plenty of silver kings in the 10- 15 lb class. Little Mud is great for johnboats or small skiffs wishing to launch saving the angler gas, running time and exposure to “ramprage” which is getting out of hand at Stuart Causeway and Sandsprit Park ramps. My anglers Saturday jumped several tarpon in the 40 lb class while throwing Gag Grabbers 3.5” Rattling Poppers. Both red & white and olive& purple colors were pounded. Quite a sight watching these tarpon attack topwater baits.
After 9:00 am it’s back to deep water around bridges and channel markers. Jensen Beach Causeway has been holding black drum to 7 lbs, snook to 24”, jacks to 5 lbs and an occasional trout to 3 lbs. On the markers, too many small bait stealing lane snappers along with scattered jacks, flounder, and tripletail. With 4 last week brings the tripletail total to 55 for the year. Only 45 to go!!! We must have lost 6 nice fish to barnicle breakoffs. I will be posting new pictures on my website http://www.catch22fish.com tomorrow. I added a new link, simply click “Last Months Pictures” on the homepage and check out the 22 lb tripletail boated last week.
Capt. Bob Bushholz
http://www.catch22fish.com
(772) 225-6436
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Capt. David Fawcett
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, July 21, 2002 - 12:42 pm: | |
Subject: Go East Young Man
AS THE WORLD CHURNS
Last week, as the Estuary grew into a thicker chocolate soup, enhanced by SFWM's decision to open the gates in order to stabilize the rise of water in Lake Okeechobee, my fishing ventures turned abruptly east. Sure there were tarpon at the Rosy, Sunbowl, Hell's Gate and the Muds. Trout and snook on just about every flat from here to Vero in the low light hours offered anglers good opportunities. And... structure snapper bites were pretty consistent up and down the River. It is just that fishing in befouled water is no fun for me. I can't see the fish. I can't see the subsurface "takes". I just can't SEE! So my interests turn offshore which, by the way, has been pretty good as of late.
OFFSHORE
I say it every summer. When the surface temperatures reach into the 80's think "down". Those trollers or live baiters who venture offshore during these times and neglect a means to get a bait "down" are missing out on a good percentage of that potential fishery, whether it be dolphin, sails, wahoo or kings.
Fish are not unlike any other life forms. They have comfort zones and if it's too damn hot they move to the air- conditioned room and that my friends is "down".
I don't know how many times I have encountered a piece of "float" (and this goes for any season), trolled around it with little success, and, because of the age of it and the amount of bait on it decided to drop a bait 70 feet down... with great success. During the summer I always try to consistently keep one or two baits "down" on the troll.
The offshore grounds have been producing a mixed bag and the nice part of it is that sailfish have been a great part of it. Over the last week the productive spot has been 30 ticks north of the Kingfish numbers not only for kings, but dolphin, blackfin and sails. We had an SKAer's dream fish the other day there only to have the 50 pound fish early release at boatside. We just wanted a picture!
But...the action is everywhere. On the way in from our lost photo op we stopped on the Ambassador and had non-stop king, tunny, and shark action. All reef structure within the 8 Miles is producing good snapper catches and don't be surprised to hang a cobia along with a ton of tunny, cuda and shark.
Some other good news is that the rains have stopped for the last week. So along with the inappropriate "dump" evaporation might be helping our water management problems.
Put On Your Sunscreen!
Capt. David Fawcett/Free Jumper Charters
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Capt. Ed Williams
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, July 16, 2002 - 6:39 am: | |
Subject: Fishing Report
The summer fishing action is very good. Each day we are having lots of action from King Mackerel, Bonito, and Sharks, along with some Sailfish, Dolphin and Cobia. During the last few days we have noticed a slow down in the action during the hottest part of the day. If you enjoy some good old rod bending action now is a great time to get out early and go fishing.
I recommend leaving the dock soon after daylight. Catch some live bait as quickly as possible—most days live bait has been fairly easy to find just outside the inlet. As soon as you have enough live bait for a few hours of fishing run offshore to 70 to 90’ of water and start fishing. During most of our trips this past week we have been hooked up on a fish by the time we have the second bait in the water.
Sunday I had the opportunity to fish with one of my good customers from Lakeland, Florida. It was an enjoyable day of fishing—gentle breeze, calm seas and the fish were biting. We started by getting off the dock by 6:30 A.M. We had some difficulties catching live bait and after more than a normal amount of effort we finally caught enough. We ran offshore to the north end of the 6-mile reef to begin our day of fishing. I grabbed a live bait and began putting it out and no sooner than it was a few feet from the boat we were hooked up. In a few minutes we gaffed a nice King. While we were fighting the first fish we had a couple of more strikes. For the first part of our fishing day as soon as we got a bait in the water we had a strike—Kings, Bonito, Sharks, missed a Sailfish and several mystery bites. As the day progressed the action would slow for a few minutes then resume again. The highlight of the day was a 40+ pound King. This is one of the largest Kings I have caught in recent weeks and was definitely a trophy fish for one young lady. Around 1:00 it was beginning to get hot so we decide to call it a day and return to the dock ahead of the afternoon thunderstorms.
Sunday was a normal day of summertime offshore fishing for us here in Stuart. In addition to what we caught I heard a few reports of a couple of Dolphin, a Wahoo as well as some Sails being caught. The summer fishing is good here in Stuart.
Good luck and remember you can’t catch’em at the dock.
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Capt. Bob Bushholz
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, July 15, 2002 - 1:53 pm: | |
Subject: Stuart Inshore Report- 07-15-02
What’s that bright yellow ball that’s been overhead the past few days? That’s right, it’s the sun! After weeks of torrential rains, we’re finally returning to the Sunshine State and just in time. This area definitely needs a break judging by the water quality we’ve been subjected to lately. A few more days will work wonders allowing some of the nasty water to flush itself out into the big pond (Atlantic Ocean).
On Catch 22 last week I again focused on fishing zones away from the “toilet” water. Channel markers have been hot so far this summer, holding a variety of species. We hit the “51” mark on tripletail, with 8 caught last week. No monsters, but all between 6 and 16 lbs. and releasing half of them. DOA rootbeer shrimp or live shrimp on trollrites using 12 lb. test with 20-lb. leader works best on the bottom. Frank Jodice of Port St. Lucie caught his first tripletail, weighing in at 9 lb. 2 oz. The McKays, on vacation from the U.K., had 3 running 6, 11 and 16 lbs (all released). These fish will be around until the mullet run in the fall, so that gives me a few more months to reach my goal of 100. Many of these markers are loaded with 7” lane, 12” mutton and 8” mangrove snapper, which sometimes makes it difficult to get the bait to the bottom. There have also been scattered jacks and flounder, and the dreaded channel cats are hugging the pilings.
The Jensen Beach Causeway is still holding snook to 24” and black drum to 7 lbs. These fish are close to structure and deep. We hooked several snook bouncing a rootbeer terrorize along the bottom. The black drum are scattered, but I manage to find 1 or 2 each trip.
Last week I didn’t hit the shallow grass since all morning charters departed at 8:00 a.m. and by then the fish have moved to deeper, cooler water. Monday morning’s charter is an early departure and I look forward to some trout action. DOA shrimp, Gag’s mini-mambo and live shrimp will be used until 8:00 a.m., then moving to deeper water at the channel markers and Bridges. I sure hope St. Lucie Inlet cleans up soon so I can return to that area for some drift fishing, which has always proven very productive. By late July the snook should be finished with their spawn, which then opens another species to target. I think I’ve made myself pretty clear on how I feel about pounding spawning snook. The whole purpose of establishing a snook season was so those girls could get a rest during their spawn so the next “season” could be an excellent one.
I actually had a day off on Sunday and imagine what I did?! That’s right, it was a busman’s holiday. Nancy and I headed out the St. Lucie Inlet around 7:00 a.m. in search of live bait for some offshore action. About 100 boats were just northeast of the Inlet but the bait was scarce so we motored a few miles north near the Holiday Inn off Jensen Beach and loaded up on greenies in about 10 minutes. I ran out to 100’ and started drifting the live baits after hearing reports of dolphin and wahoo in that depth. There was plenty of action with 7 bonitas to 15 lbs. released and two very sore wrists. Pound for pound those “boneheads” put up a fantastic fight. About 11:00 a.m. we had a triple header going which proved to be very interesting since there were only 2 anglers. There was a lot of chit-chat on the radio about lots of bonita and kingfish, but that’s typical summer offshore angling. There were a lot of boats anchored up on the Six-Mile Reef bottom fishing for snapper and grouper, but didn’t see much being boated. Later, I had planned on hugging the beach in search of tarpon, but those bonitas put a hurtin’ on me. Guess I’m just getting old. Even though we didn’t catch that dolphin I was hoping for, it was a terrific day being offshore with bent rods. Look forward to more of the same.
Capt. Bob Bushholz
http://www.catch22fish.com
(772) 225-6436
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BPJ
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, July 10, 2002 - 7:00 pm: | |
Subject: searching for sharks reported up river in jax fl
I am looking for reports of any species of shark (preferably bull sharks) found up in the st johns river as far away from inshore as possible. |
Capt. Ed Williams
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, July 10, 2002 - 9:09 am: | |
Subject: Fishing Report
The fishing action continues to be good whenever the weather will allow us to get offshore. The Sailfish bite this summer is outstanding. Most days we are catching or having the opportunity to catch from one to three Sails. The King bite continues to be very steady in 60 to 80 feet of water. One day during the last week we ran 40 miles offshore and found some nice Dolphin and were able to catch our limit. During most days while fishing for Kings and Sails we have an opportunity to catch a few Dolphin. In addition we are catching plenty of Bonito and Sharks along with an occasional Cobia. Overall the action is very good!
During the last few days we have had another low pressure trough that has provided us with plenty of rain and stormy conditions. Monday I had the opportunity to fish with one of my customers who only had Monday available to fish. After looking at the weather and realizing it was marginal we decided to try to get in a few hours of fishing. As we left the dock we knew it was going to be choppy and in all probability we were going to get wet. We caught bait near the inlet buoy and headed offshore to 90 feet of water. There were storms all around but it appeared we might get lucky and be able to fish for a couple of hours. The first bait hit the water and within a brief moment we were hooked up on the first fish of the day. In a few minutes a nice King was along side the boat. This was followed by another King, then a very large Barracuda. While we were fighting the Barracuda a Sailfish decided to play with the Bluewater Bobber. After a pass or two he decided to eat the bait and we were hooked up on both a Sail and a Barracuda. As we were fighting these fish the bad weather really began to close in on us. We finished our 45 minutes of fishing with another King then decided the weather was deteriorating to a point that we should run back to the dock. The ocean was definitely not “user friendly” although it was manageable and we did manage to return to the dock wet but happy we had the opportunity to fish that morning.
With that few minutes of nonstop action fresh in my mind I am anxious for the weather to improve enough that I can go fishing soon—the weather man says Thursday the weather will be back to normal and I will be back fishing. If you have an opportunity now is a great time to enjoy some of the hot fishing action we are enjoying this summer.
Good luck and remember you can catch’em at the dock.
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Capt. Bob Bushholz
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, July 08, 2002 - 9:47 pm: | |
Subject: Fishing Deeper
I hope everyone had a great 4th of July and got to see plenty of fireworks. The rain cooperated in Jensen so everybody got a chance to let off some steam.
Fishing north of the Stuart Causeway has been the zone to be in locally considering the water releases from the spillways and the Lake, which have hampered the water quality in St. Lucie Inlet. Between the coffee-like water and the dredging that’s producing “grease-balls”, fishing is a challenge in the Inlet (to say the least). There are plenty of spawning snook hanging around, but they’re the only fish that seem to tolerate these conditions. If you do choose to target those snook, remember to take all precautions to release them unharmed. Crimping the barbs on your hooks and using circle hooks goes a long way in protecting these “girls”. It’s better to give the “spawners” a break and try some other areas since there are plenty of rod-bending species in the River this time of year.
Last week on Catch 22, I’ve been focusing on areas from the Stuart Causeway north to Little Mud Creek. Trout have been spotty in the morning, but we managed to hook up with 9 trout to 23” until about 9:00 a.m. The water north of the Jensen Causeway is stained, but still only slightly. A combination of live shrimp on jigheads or DOA rootbeer and Glo shrimp have been working on the west side of the Indian River and around the spoil islands just east of the ICW channel. Prior to 9:00 a.m, the east side of the Indian River, near the entrance to the Power Plant, and a mile north at Little Mud Creek have both been productive areas. There’s plenty of bait available to fill the bait well, but nothing much has seem interested. Just outside of Little Mud Creek there are rolling tarpon in the 40 lb. range. Last week my angler jumped 2 on a DOA Terrorize and Gags Grabber mini-mambo. Unfortunately “jumping” doesn’t necessarily mean a “catch”, but on light tackle it sure is fun watching those guys break water and chasing them around. Gags mini-mambos are ¼ oz. lipped lures that resemble glass minnows and from my recent experience with them, I can say they definitely attract attention. Check them out at KQLures.com. They come in a variety of some awesome types and colors.
My main focus last week was bottom fishing under bridges, the power line towers and around channel markers. Salt water stays below the infringing fresh water so fishing deep is the place to be when the water conditions deteriorate. Bryan McDowell and Dad had a mixed bag of snook to 21”, trout to 3 lbs, sheephead and black margate and numerous lane and mutton snapper which provided continuous action and some great photos.
Another trip last week with Mike Hurt and family from West Palm Beach produced a 5 lb. tripletail, 6.2 lb. flounder and plenty of snapper. It’s a great time for those hard-fighting tripletail and to prove that, my other charters for the week resulted in 9 tripletail, with the biggest one credited to David Silverstein of Coral Springs. At this rate, I might just reach my goal this year of 100 tripletail. Only 59 to go! Actually, David caught two of them weighing 7 lb. and 22 lbs. It took David (and a chasing pontoon boat) about 15 minutes to land the “big one”. Both of his tripletail hit on trollrites with live shrimp, 2/0 hook on 12 lb. test with 20 lb. mono leader. The trick is to keep these guys off the pilings, which can cut through the mono leader in a heartbeat. Once you get them clear of the pilings, watch the action as they come to the surface sideways, break the water and slap that strong body just to taunt the angler. Once boated, the tripletail makes great table fare, but remember, just keep enough for dinner. Fresh fish is always better than frozen and if you release what you’re not going to eat that day, they’ll be there the next time you want some delicious “fresh” fish. Of the 9 tripletail landed last week, I’m proud to say the anglers (from 5 different parties) released 4 of them.
Some other bottom fish landed last week included 3 flounder to 6.2 lbs., 9 black drum to 6 lbs, 5 sheephead to 3 lbs. and lots of lane, mutton and mangrove snappers. Except for one flounder, destined to be stuffed with crabmeat and topped with béarnaise sauce, all were gently released. There hasn’t been anything really big to brag about, but there’s been plenty of action and lots of rod pullers. The biggest surprise last week were the schools of black tip sharks which we encountered 2 days in a row on the south perimeter wall at Nettles Island. These sharks were running about 10 lbs. and are a blast to hook up on light tackle. They weren’t too picky about what they were eating and chomped on some pieces of frozen shrimp on trollrites. In that 2-day period we caught, and released, 11 sharks.
I still haven’t been able to run the shoreline of the beach for tarpon yet. Mother Nature seems to have a different plan this year and hopefully I’ll be able to get out in the next few weeks. I had an 8:00 a.m. charter this morning and he really wanted to search for those beach tarpon, but the sea conditions were unfavorable to say the least. Hope to get out there soon to pick up some live greenies and sardines so I can chase down the “silver rocket”. There are all kinds of fish roaming among the bait schools in 30 ft. of water. Kingfish, bonita, cudas, with tarpon, snook and permit inside close to shore. Just remember, when you’re fishing in close to shore, have respect for the swimmers, surfers and surf fisherman.
That’s all for now and until next week, hope everybody gets a chance to wet a line.
Capt. Bob Bushholz
http://www.catch22fish.com
(772) 225-6436
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Capt.David Fawcett
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, July 06, 2002 - 1:25 pm: | |
Subject: GLOBS OF ALGAE?
YOU SAY POTATO. I SAY PATA...
Good story...huh?
A Coast Guard Officer said it's "dredge spoils" and that those golf ball size globs of greenish offal that washed up on our Beach are common to a lot of dredging operations. .."ALGAE" the coastie proclaims.
Florida Oceanographic, on the other hand, called them petroleum waste product.
Back and forth for several days this goes. It's kinda like the difference between Pfisteria and Hysteria. THAT...we enjoyed in '98. The powers that be (and I am not suggesting that the CG has any authority to determine the environmental impact of any substance... frankly, they don't) parried back and forth.
The fact that they were even ASKED surprises me.
In comes the DEP... three days later.
From The News: "It seemed to me, how hard could it be to resolve that question?" said Greg Graves, an environmentalist for Environmental Protection of PSL.
Thanks, Greg!
What looks like grease? What feels like grease? What smells like grease? What is not organic under the microscope. It's certainly not "algae". It is petroleum.
Thanks, Florida Oceanographic!
You did a great job in identifying the problem and engaging volunteer crews to remove the harmful byproducts endangering our shores.
Hey! Where did this.... shhhh..."byproduct" come from?
Let's ask the Coast Guard.
OFFSHORE
Kingfish. That is pretty much a given. My last kings were on the inside numbers. 35 feet of water. We had to contend with plenty of Little Tunny, Cuda and Shark, but, all in all, a pretty good rod bending day. When we moved to the offshore numbers, the Kingfish numbers, TD 140's, we ran into a pair of 20 pound dolphin, and just down the road another angler hit a sail. That's pretty much what you might expect from a trip offshore these days though if you push out a little further you might stumble upon a wahoo or two and maybe even a blue.
Way off you should definitely find some skipjack so....if your trolling for blues don't forget to put a half ounce Jap feather in your spread.
Bottom fishing, by the way, has been pretty good for mutton, greys and a few grouper. All up and down the reef.
INSHORE
Well it finally stopped raining for a couple of days and even though it dogged the annual Doa/River Palms Outdoor Writers Festival fishing gala some impressive catches were made on these phenomenal plastic creations with Glo Shrimp and Terror Eyz being the top producers. Snook to 26 pounds and tarpon to 30, and that's pretty good for a tarpon fishery that STINKS as of late. For me it was 20 snook over the two day event with Ed Killer of the Stuart News topping those releases with an 18 pounder on the first day.
Tarpon were all over the Rosy in the early morning. Try to get them to eat. The tarpon that were taken came from Bear Point and some 8 pound class trout came from that area also.
So...why... you may ask does the tarpon fishing stink. Well...perhaps it's the putrid smell of the River. Could it be the vast quantities of pollutants flowing from our Canal system that has put the fishery off balance. Or...maybe the fish just can't see through the chocolate soup. Believe me fellow anglers we are damn close to '98 conditions. I have not experienced it yet but Pat Price released several snook the other day with lesions on them. My guess (hope) is that it is not Pfisteria but more than likely victims of dredging. Either way it's bad. And...speaking of snook...I cannot believe the asses that sit on these spawning fish all day long and live bait them for numbers.
Consider this you dolts who adhere to this practice.It is certainly not angling in its truest sense ala Dame Juliana. It's a no brainer on the skill level charts suited to the no brainers of this world. But...let's take it to another level and please don't tell me "but I use circle hooks". That is not the point. If you believe that there is a certain mortality level in any fishing experience. And to be conservative let's say that mortality is equal to one percent of the fish caught and released and that that one out of a hundred fish is more than likely a roe laden sow which fights harder under adverse conditions and much less likely to survive. Well that one sow releases a millions and a half eggs(potential snook)each day during spawning. Let's conservatively say 7 million eggs during the spawn. And again, conservatively, let's assume that one quarter of one percent of those eggs become fertile and reach maturity...then my doltish friend you have killed a potential 17,500 snook in the loss of that sow. So...you still want to sit on top of those staging fish? I might add that during the writers festival I targeted only buck fish and the only sow we released after much time spent in getting her back in shape was Mr. Killer's 18 pounder. Don't fish for numbers. Fish for the satisfaction of making the proper presentation.Fish for the sunrise. Fish for the smell of the salt. Fish for the comradery or the solitude. Don't fish for numbers.
PUT ON YOUR SUNSCREEN!
Capt. David Fawcett/Free Jumper Charters
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Capt. Bob Bushholz
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, July 01, 2002 - 9:51 am: | |
Subject: Stuart Inshore Report- 07-01-02
I’m thrilled to be back after a 9-day vacation up north. I finally was able to see Tiger Woods in person with his victory in the U.S. Open. Well, enough golf talk, let’s fish! From the time I left Florida on June 10 we have been swamped with over 20 inches of rain, forcing the spillways out west to release water into our waterways. Last year we were fortunate enough to make it until August before the unwanted releases began. When these conditions are present I try to avoid the St. Lucie Inlet on outgoing tides. Two hours into incoming tide, the Inlet flushes in cleaner ocean water making conditions more favorable for fishing. The water north of the Jensen Causeway is still in pretty good shape and producing some great catches.
On Catch 22 last week, some really nice trout were caught on the west side of the Indian River from County Line Road north to Midway Road. Top Dog Jr. and zara spooks in water less than 2 feet deep, along docks have provided some terrific topwater action but only until around 9 a.m. Live shrimp and DOA’s CAL lures have been catching a mixed bag in 3-4 feet with trout, snook, jacks and ladyfish topping the list.
Channel markers are holding some nice flounder (last week 5.6, 4.8 and 3 pounders) along with a few choice tripletail, with #27 and 28 of the year running 10.8 and 15 pounds, while missing a few on breakoffs. DOA rootbeer, CAL or live shrimp seem to get the tripletails’ attention all summer long. Lots of small lane and mutton snappers on the markers are normal in the summer months. Haven’t seen a goliath grouper in some time.
The Jensen Beach Causeway bridge has been pretty hot since the construction started in this area due to less fishing pressure from landbound anglers. Along the fenders and under both catwalks, you can find lots of snook in the 20-28” range along with black drum, trout, lookdowns, sheephead and jacks. Most of the fish are holding deep so try bouncing live shrimp or terrorize on the bottom.
Since the seas are generally a lot flatter in summer, I plan to fish the surf along the beach a bit more, targeting tarpon, permit and snook. Most fish will be inside 20’ deep, with many of them in the first trough, less than 10 feet from shore. Just look for the bait schools and you’ll find action. Possible kingfish and cobia are a distinct possibility in this area as well. Live baits like greenies and sardines are easy to acquire using Sabiki rigs. REMEMBER, if you’re fishing this area, respect the anglers fishing from the beach. They don’t have the mobility that boaters have, so let them have a shot. There is also no need to fish where swimmers are present.
I haven’t had any night trips since I returned from vacation, but am looking forward to some excellent lighted dock action. Have heard some great reports on nighttime trophy catches. Don’t forget that snook season is closed and all should be released unharmed. It’s a good time to try circle hooks if you haven’t done so already.
Capt. Bob Bushholz
http://www.catch22fish.com
(772) 225-6436
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Capt. Ed Williams
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, July 01, 2002 - 9:27 am: | |
Subject: Fishing Report
It appears we are finally in the summer weather pattern that we expect this time of year. Light winds, calm seas and good fishing. During the last few days we have caught Sailfish, Dolphin, King Mackerel, Bonito, Barracuda, Sharks to name a few. There is plenty of fishing action along with a nice variety of fish.
Yesterday was a typical summer fishing day. We left the dock a little before 7:00 AM. There was lots of bait at the sea buoy along with a mass of boats. We tried catching bait there for a few minutes and after playing bumper boats with the weekend fisherman we decided to get out of the madness so we moved north of the buoy a few hundred yards where we found enough bait for the day. We then moved offshore to the six mile reef where we found a little current edge and put out our baits. When the second bait hit the water we had the first fish on, followed by another strike within a minute. We managed to catch a nice King out of the first two hits. The current was running north so we continued that drift. We caught several Bonito, had a few King bites and managed to lose several other unidentified fish. The current edge pushed to the west a little so we moved back south and again setup on the current edge. The action continued at a good pace all morning. As the morning wore on we had a Sailfish attempt to eat one of our baits. He managed to knock the bait off of the hook without being hooked so we got to watch him chase our hookless bait for a few minutes. It is really exciting to watch and we did everything possible to get him attracted to another bait without success. We were planning to be back at the dock around 1:00 PM. As we were preparing to end our fishing day we had a strike that was impressive. It was a big fish that immediately begin stripping lots of line. We begin chasing the fish and it was obvious the fish was going wherever he wanted. Earlier in the day we had hooked up a large fish that we fought for about a half-hour that I believe was a big shark. We managed to pull the hook on that one before we got a look at him. As the battle continued we made very little progress for the first hour. As we neared the end of the second hour the fish got higher in the water column and finally we were able to see our Bluewater Bobber about 75 yards from the boat. We continued to move the boat closer and closer and finally we could see the giant Bull Shark. She didn’t like the boat being as close as it was and again stripped off a hundred plus yards of line. We continued this pattern of getting her up on the surface until I was finally able to get the leader and release a Bull Shark that was well over 300 pounds---NO! I did not remove the hook from the fish. A couple of things did impress me. The angler who fought the fish did an exceptional job keeping pressure on the fish using 20 pound spin tackle. The new Bluewater version of the Cajun Thunder bobber held up well under a long hard battle with a very large fish. It is hard to imagine the stress that is placed on all of the tackle (rod, reel, line, knots, etc.) during a two hour battle with a very large fish.
During our recent trips we have caught many more fish on the Bluewater Bobber than on either flat lines or the lines we fish deep. If you have not tried this approach to fishing give it a try you will like the results.
Good luck and remember, you can’t catch them at the dock.
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CAPT. DAVID FAWCETT
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, June 10, 2002 - 7:42 pm: | |
RAISE WITH A PAIR OF KINGS
Yep! Kingfishing has been pretty good. Inshore, offshore on the numbers, i.e. The Black Condo Reef. These fish, however, don't eat throughout the day as a rule. You can be catching them every pass for an hour and, all of a sudden, they will shut off. It is simply what kings and most other fish do for that matter, but, believe me, if they are in your fishing area you can catch them through persistence. If conditions are good but the fish are not biting...try again... on the change of tide.
So...how do you catch a king?
My first suggestion is to find out where they were the previous day, and, at what time they were hitting.Ask a charter captain. As a rule, most are more than happy to give you good advice.
So the following morning let's say, after getting live bait, you set out for the Black Condo Reef. As you near it you begin sizing up the area. Are there bait schools showing on the reef? A definite plus.
What is the water quality? Is it turbid..cold...warm...hot...clean and green? Kings shy away from cold and turbid water as a rule preferring warm, clean, green inshore water with good visibility and temperatures in the mid to upper 70's into the 80's, though they will tolerate less if the food is there.One will rarely finds them beyond the reef system in the Stuart area (beyond 130 feet) and some of the largest kings I have taken have come from as little as 15 feet of water.
Live bait is an excellent way to catch kings, especially if there is alot of bait on your fishing grounds. You can either anchor or slow troll around the bait pods. I prefer slow trolling. Just enough to keep my boat square, my lines evenly spread and afford me a little headway. This way I feel I can cover more potential holding areas and present differently to the fish. There are times that these fish stack like cordwood above the ocean's floor and not move at all except to "sky rocket" a potential meal that swims overhead. If you miss- anchor on these occasions you might have very little action.
If you have no live bait the next best way to attack kings is to troll, and, "down" baits are definitely a plus.
Capt. Jim Brogan of the Mustache Man is one of the area's best king fishermen, albeit one the best all around anglers, and credits his king success to a wire/planer/spoon presentation. Pink used to be one of his favorite colors. Probably still is. So...getting "down" is important. The majority of your hits will be down, though there is nothing quite as exciting as having a "smoker" come flying twenty vertical feet out of the water to inhale your skipping bait.
Other than trolling or live baiting, another effective way to catch kings when conditions are right is jigging. I can remember one day on the Loran reef we found a massive concentration of kings "sky rocketing" fleeing bait. Rather than sacrifice our trolling baits we hauled out our light spinning rods and with wired, one ounce, white, bucktail jigs and caught all the kings we wanted. A gas on light tackle! Jigging is especially effective when the fish are concentrated and "turned on".
I don't kill many kings these days but as a light tackle game fish that can reach pretty substantial proportions they still amuse me. I was fortunate enough to be on Garrison Bight that day in '76 when a young man brought the present 90 pound record kingfish to scale. It was a handsome, monstrous fish which I still remember. But...I have seen one since and not too long ago cutting bait on the 14 Shoal.
So...I just might raise to your kings.
DOLPHIN
In spite of what you might hear the dolphin fishing has not been what we like to expect. Sure there was a run which is still continuing, but, we are seeing fewer quality fish which translates to the demise of many more pre-spawn fish. Which translates to less fish next year. Which translates to....
I wandered down to the Treasure Coast Builder's Tournament last weekend to see the weigh-in results. It was a weekend of beautiful weather in which three tournaments from Stuart to Vero released hundreds of fishermen offshore to vie for some pretty nice prizes and prize money. As I walked by one boat getting ready to offload his catch he held up a one pound dolphin and queried,tongue-in-cheek,"Will this weight?"
I can't imagine how many peanut dolphin were killed that weekend,but, my fellow anglers...if we don't police ourselves I am sure there are thousands of tree huggers out there who have some good ideas as to how to protect our fisheries.And this is not tongue-in-cheek!
Scattered wahoo, sailfish, cobia and amberjack on the wrecks and that about sums up the offshore scene. Oh, don't forget blue marlin this time of year.
THE LAGOON
You might be wondering why this report seems to be rambling on. Well, as of Sunday I have been on my back suffering a torn ligament in my ankle. I am bored stiff and I wish I had broken it instead as I am hearing horror stories about convalescence time with this sort of injury.
Any how, before I was so rudely snatched from guide service
I was finding the River fairly confusing and lackluster. My inshore tarpon were on hiatus, but I did hear of a good school of 50 pound fish in the North Fork by Wayne's Place. I also heard of tarpon "all over the beach", but you wouldn't know it by me.
As for snook (the season is now closed until Sept. 1) there were plenty of buck fish in the River and many more fish showing on the flats, docks and bridges. The big sows had not yet begun to stage. Lucky for them!
Trout fishing has remained pretty good throughout in the early a.m.
So it appears that for the next three weeks I will be offering up second and third hand reports and rambling on.
CHIRROSIS OF THE RIVER
Well we won round one. Thank God for our County Commissioners who last week led the fight to the FWC to eliminate the Crossroads from their manatee sensitive waterway hit list. Yes, the Crossroads has been reprieved, for now, along with the Loxahatchee, two areas that had been considered for restrictive boating in order to protect the manatee. I only hope that the decision was based on sensibility and not purely politics, but, I'll take it anyway.
Perhaps it is good for our snook stocks that the dredging operation is underway again in our Inlet.It just might deter some of the fishing pressure they receive this time of year though I don't know which does more damage...the ignorant live baiters or sucking tons of sand out from under these staging fish. They never do pick a good time to dredge...do they?
A chap who had released a sizeable crevalle with me several weeks ago called me the other day and after the usual chit-chat got down to business.
"David, do you know what the world record crevalle is?"
Oh-oh. Visions of a 70 pound African pompano I had filleted for chowder many years ago reentered my memory lobe. I received a call for that occurrence too .
"Not quite sure Dwight."
"Well as close as I can come to it's forty seven pounds on twenty."
See attached photo of Dwight Koger before he releases monster crevalle which undeniably was pushing 50 pounds.
"It makes for a better story Dwight."
Well I have three weeks now to study my IGFA record book.
Put on your sunscreen!
Capt. David Fawcett/Free Jumper Charters
www.freejumpercharters.com
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Capt. Ed Williams
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, June 09, 2002 - 11:11 am: | |
Subject: Fishing Report
This past week has provided some great fishing. Early in the week we were catching some Dolphin along with Kings and Bonito in 80 to 100’ of water. As the week wore on we experienced a day where we caught nearly 40 Dolphin in 1000’ of water. Given the size of the school which appeared to cover many acres we could have caught many more had we wanted to catch’em. This was an interesting opportunity---we were running offshore looking for something that told us there were fish in the area. In nearly 1000’ feet I saw a Marlin chasing something. We positioned the boat so that we would intercept the Marlin (he looked to be in the 150 pound range) and put out our live baits. By the time the forth bait was in the water we had Dolphin on all four lines. Chaos developed and immediately switched to light tackle and began catching them. After catching more than enough we fished back on the edge of the reef where we caught several Kings and a nice Amberjack.
We are seeing and catching Sailfish on nearly every trip. One of the highlights of the week occurred on Thursday while fishing with the Watkins family from Winter Haven, Florida. Overall this day was slow compared to most we had this past week. The Conor’s displayed great patience while we worked hard to catch a few fish. As we neared the end of the day a Sailfish boiled up on one of the Bluewater Bobber baits we were bump trolling behind the bait. Within seconds he hit and dropped the bait then came back and grabbed it. Nine year old Conor was hooked up on his first Sailfish! He did a great job handling the rod and reel and following instructions and before long the fish was along side the boat for pictures and a nice release. Picture perfect and the fish swam away without being harmed.
We completed our week with an active day on Saturday catching Kings, Dolphin, Bonito and hooking up with what appeared to be a giant Bull Shark that pulled us around the ocean for nearly a half-hour before wearing out the leader.
The fishing is good and now is a great time to get out and enjoy some great offshore fishing action.
The Sailfish bite we are having is about as good as I can remember for this time of year. During the last few days I have seen several people catch Sails who either don’t know how to handle a Sail when they catch it or simply don’t care if they damage or kill the fish. In one instance they did a nice job of fighting the fish, wiring it and when they grabbed the bill of the fish tried to pull in aboard their boat. The fish beat itself against the transom for what seemed like a couple of minutes before they finally managed to drag it over the transom and flop it in the bottom of the boat. They removed the hook then put the fish back it the water and immediately dropped it. The chances of this fish surviving were not good. No chance to recover from being out of the water and I am sure it had all the protective coating on it skin removed by dragging it over the transom and being in the bottom of the boat. The Sailfish we have here in Stuart are a great resource…we need to take care of them. It is fun to catch them again and again. Recently an article was written by Capt. Ray Rosher entitled Improving Sailfish Survival Rates. It can found at http://cyberangler.com/articles/rosher/. Capt. Rosher has lots of experience with Sailfish and provides some great insights on how each of us can do our part in protecting these magnificent fish.
Good luck and remember you can’t catch’em at the dock.
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CAPT. DAVID FAWCETT
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, June 08, 2002 - 6:32 pm: | |
RAISE WITH A PAIR OF KINGS
Yep! Kingfishing has been pretty good. Inshore, offshore on the numbers, i.e. The Black Condo Reef. These fish, however, don't eat throughout the day as a rule. You can be catching them every pass for an hour and, all of a sudden, they will shut off. It is simply what kings and most other fish do for that matter, but, believe me, if they are in your fishing area you can catch them through persistence. If conditions are good but the fish are not biting...try again... on the change of tide.
So...how do you catch a king?
My first suggestion is to find out where they were the previous day, and, at what time they were hitting. Ask a charter captain. As a rule, they are more than happy to give you good advice.
So the following morning let's say, after getting live bait, you set out for the Black Condo Reef. As you near it you begin sizing up the area. Are there bait schools showing on the reef? A definite plus.
What is the water quality? Is it turbid..cold...warm...hot...clean and green? Kings shy away from cold and turbid water as a rule preferring warm, clean, green inshore water with good visibility and temperatures in the mid to upper 70's into the 80's, though they will tolerate less if the food is there. One will rarely finds them beyond the reef system in the Stuart area (beyond 130 feet) and some of the largest kings I have taken have come from as little as 15 feet of water.
Live bait is an excellent way to catch kings, especially if there is alot of bait on your fishing grounds. You can either anchor or slow troll around the bait pods. I prefer slow trolling. Just enough to keep my boat square, my lines evenly spread and afford me a little headway. This way I feel I can cover more potential holding areas and present differently to the fish. There are times that these fish stack like cordwood above the ocean's floor and not move at all except to "sky rocket" a potential meal that swims by. If you miss- anchor on these occasions you might have very little action.
If you have no live bait the next best way to attack kings is to troll, and, "down" baits are definitely a plus.
Capt. Jim Brogan of the Mustache Man is one of the area's best king fishermen, albeit one the best all around anglers, and credits his king success to a wire/planer/spoon presentation. Pink used to be one of his favorite colors. Probably still is. So...getting "down" is important. The majority of your hits will be down, though there is nothing quite as exciting as having a "smoker" come flying twenty vertical feet out of the water to inhale your skipping bait.
Other than trolling or live baiting, another effective way to catch kings when conditions are right is jigging. I can remember one day on the Loran reef we found a massive concentration of kings "sky rocketing" fleeing bait. Rather than sacrifice our trolling baits we hauled out our light spinning rods and with wired, one ounce, white, bucktail jigs caught all the kings we wanted. A gas on light tackle! Jigging is especially effective when the fish are concentrated and "turned on".
I don't kill many kings these days but as a light tackle game fish that can reach pretty substantial proportions they still amuse me. I was fortunate enough to be on Garrison Bight that day in '76 when a young man brought the present 90 pound record kingfish to scale. It was a handsome, monstrous fish which I still remember. But...I have seen one since and not too long ago cutting bait on the 14 Shoal.
So...I just might raise to your kings.
DOLPHIN
In spite of what you might hear the dolphin fishing has not been what we like to expect. Sure there was a run which is still continuing, but, we are seeing fewer quality fish which translates to the demise of many more pre-spawn fish. Which translates to less fish next year. Which translates to....
I wandered down to the Treasure Coast Builder's Tournament last weekend to see the weigh-in results. It was a weekend of beautiful weather in which three tournaments from Stuart to Vero released hundreds of fishermen offshore to vie for some pretty nice prizes and prize money. As I walked by one boat getting ready to offload his catch he held up a one pound dolphin and queried, tongue-in-cheek, "Will this weight?"
I can't imagine how many peanut dolphin were killed that weekend, but, my fellow anglers...if we don't police ourselves I am sure there are thousands of tree huggers out there who have some good ideas as to how to improve our fisheries. And this is not tongue-in-cheek!
Scattered wahoo, sailfish, cobia and amberjack on the wrecks and that about sums up the offshore scene. Oh, don't forget blue marlin this time of year.
THE LAGOON
You might be wondering why this report seems to be rambling on. Well, as of Sunday I have been on my back suffering a torn ligament in my ankle. I wish I had broken it instead as I am hearing horror stories about convalescence time with this sort of injury.
Any how, before I was so rudely snatched from guide service
I was finding the River fairly confusing and lackluster. My inshore tarpon were on hiatus, but I did hear of a good school of 50 pound fish in the North Fork by Wayne's Place. I also heard of tarpon "all over the beach", but you wouldn't know it by me.
As for snook (the season is now closed until Sept. 1) there were plenty of buck fish in the River and many fish showing on the flats, docks and bridges.
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Capt. Bob Bushholz
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, June 07, 2002 - 10:30 pm: | |
Subject: More Tripletail
Our weather out there is getting hotter and hotter and so is the inshore fishing. Last week we saw nice trout along both shorelines of the Indian River. The key here is to fish shallow and early. By 9:00 am the flats slow down considerably. Mirrolures, zara spooks and spitin images on top, using soft rubber DOA shrimp & CAL lures along with live shrimp bouncing along the bottom. Mixed in with the trout are some ladyfish, jacks, and “yes” pompano are still around.
By 9:00 am I have been switching to deeper water near channel markers and area bridges. Channel markers have been red hot lately with a mixed bag of flounder, jacks, grouper, small mutton and lane snappers, trout and lot’s of tripletail. Last week we caught 9 tripletail, all running between 8-17 pounds. Mike Myers 13.18 lb, Richard Benitos 12.08 lb, Rob Fowler 17.3 lb, Joe Sosnasky 11.2 lb and the list goes on. About half were caught on under the 25 cent bridge and the rest on channel markers throwing a combination of DOA Rootbeer shrimp, DOA CAL lures ( rootbeer with chartreuse tail) and live shrimp on ¼ oz trollrites. Using 11 lb test mainline, some of these fish have taken over a half hour to land making the action quite impressive. One of my anglers last week fought his fish so hard, he actually pulled a stomach muscle and was forced to pack it in early.
Bridges have been hot all day as long as the water is moving. We released 17 snook last week along with some jacks up to 10 pounds, black drum to 8 lbs, and some lookdowns. These fish are holding tight to the fenders on both sides making this an excellent area for Power Pro line. Just about every hookup is brushing the pilings so you need some abrasion protection. Most of the water along the fenders runs about 15 feet deep so about ¼ oz will get you in the zone. We mix it up here with live shrimp on trollrites or DOA rootbeer terrorize. Most of the snook are 18-27 inches and a blast to catch. All were released healthy.
Further south the Sailfish Flats are still holding nice ladyfish with an occasional sennet mixed in. Be careful handling these sennet as they are capable of removing fingers in a heartbeat. We tried the Archipelago Bridge in Sewalls Point twice last week and released a bunch of small mangrove snappers along with a few small gag groupers. Frozen shrimp on a small jig with 6 lb test works great here. The St. Lucie Inlet has been disappointing for 2 months now and doesn’t look like it’s going to improve in the near future. Too much commotion going on with the barges and tugs. Dredging may run throughout the summer so I have been looking elsewhere. Normally I like drifting along the south shore and used to fish the jettys often. Right now it’s not productive but this should be temporary. This is a great time of the year to run along the beaches and have some fun with snook, tarpon and permit. These guys will be here all summer long. I find it best to cruise in 20 feet or so and look for baitschools, rolling tarpon, or anything that looks “fishy”. 20 lb test mainline with 6 feet of 60 lb fluorocarbon will do it. Live finger mullet, greenies or sardines work best. You never know, maybe a cobia or kingfish will tag them also. Yes you can fish lighter, but why stress the fish. Plus if you hook “Mr. Big” over 150 lbs you’ll be glad you beefed it up a bit.
I will be on Vacation June 10th – 18th heading to N.Y. & Pennsylvania. Got tickets to the U.S.Open (golf) for Wed and Sun being played this year in Bethpage, Long Island. Capt. Mike will be running trips for me while I’m away. This will be my last report till June 26th or so. I just posted new pictures on my website http://www.catch22fish.com. Click on “fishing reports” then click “fishing pictures are here”. See some monster tripletail caught last week!!!!
Capt. Bob Bushholz
http://www.catch22fish.com
(772) 225-6436
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Capt. Ed Williams
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, June 03, 2002 - 8:48 am: | |
Subject: Fishing Report
Finally the wind has stopped blowing and we are back to fishing nearly everyday. The offshore fishing has been good. We are catching a nice mix of fish including an unusual number of Sailfish, Dolphin, King Mackerel, a few Cobia, some Sharks, Barracuda, and Bonito.
Over this past weekend one of the largest fishing tournaments in our area was held with nearly 150 boats fishing. The Tournament, along with very nice weather, caused a lot of people to get out and go fishing. There was a lot of coverage offshore and seems like nearly everyone caught a few fish. I was a little surprised by the lack of some really big fish being caught—the winning Dolphin weight was about 32 pounds, the Kingfish was nearly 35 pounds, and the Wahoo was nearly 20 pounds.
On Saturday we fished a half-day. There has been plenty of live bait just outside the inlet so we loaded the live well and headed offshore. We fished in 80’ feet of water just northeast of the inlet and found a decent King bite along with some Dolphin. We started our day by catching our first King as we put out the first couple of baits. In a few minutes after getting all the baits out we hooked up a nice Bull Dolphin that put on a nice show for us. He ran, he jumped and basically didn’t want to come to the boat. After quite a battle including having him come off the gaff in the boat we managed to get him in the fish box—nearly 30 pounds. One thing you quickly learn is to get out of the way when a big Dolphin gets loose in the boat. Fortunately he didn’t hurt anyone or anything and we got back to fishing. We finished the day by missing a Sailfish and catching several more Kings (up to about 20 pounds) – several of which we were able to release at the boat.
We began Sunday by catching plenty of pilchards on the beach just north of the inlet. We then ran offshore near where we were fishing the previous day and found a little current edge that was trying to form. We put out our baits and almost immediately the bait on the left short became very nervous. Not Kingfish nervous but nervous. Bump, Bump, a little run off, he dropped the bait, bump again and then you could tell he really decided to eat it. We got the line tight on the fish and he jumped, a SAILFISH! As he is heading to the horizon we pull a couple of baits to the boat so that we don’t tangle any lines. I leave one in the rod holder with the bait dangling in the water next to the boat. As I am turning to clear another line I hear something really hit the boat hard and a drag screaming. As I look around I see a nice Bull Dolphin headed in the opposite direction from the Sailfish. I guess he was really hungry. We were finally able to get everything squared away and we started getting close to catching the Dolphin. After a failed attempt to gaff him he ran away from the boat and managed to straighten the hook—hard to imagine how he straighten a 4/0 x-strong hook. Now we were only fighting the Sail. He jumped he ran and put on a great show. After a few minutes we got him to the leader, removed the hook, took some pictures and let him go unharmed.
We continued our day by catching a number of Kings, several more decent size Dolphin, and having numerous strikes that we missed. In the early afternoon we heard about weeds that were offshore so we ran out to give that try. We fished in and around some decent looking conditions that provided some action. After nearly an hour I decided nothing was going to happen and moved back into 70 to 100’ feet of water where we finished the day by catching some more Kings.
Good luck and remember, you can’t catch’em at the dock.
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Capt. Bob Bushholz
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, May 27, 2002 - 3:58 pm: | |
Subject: Tripletail Time
It’s been over two weeks and the winds are still howling, making offshore fishing next to impossible. Even the local big party boats haven’t been out lately. Fortunately I fish inshore where stiff winds out of the east are knocked down by Hutchinson Island.
Last Tuesday I drove down to Islamorada in The Keys, spending three days, and was able to fish twice on the headboat “Miss Tradewinds” out of Whale Harbor. With currents ripping it was difficult to hold bottom, so we ended up fishing inside the blue water, catching a mixed bag of yellowtail, mutton snapper, triggerfish and others.
Prior to my journey south, fishing in this area had been spotty. The action in the St. Lucie Inlet remains on the slow side. The high winds prevented any chance of fishing near the detached jetty. I’ve tried drifting the inlet once or twice and then deciding to move on. The Crossroads seem to be holding some fish, but nothing to get excited about. Sailfish Flats has been pretty quiet up until yesterday. The ladyfish have reappeared after a three- week absence and they always provide a great show and lots of bent rods.
Further north the trout bite remains excellent. Just make sure you fish early. By 9 a.m. the action is pretty much over. The east side of the Indian River is the easiest area to fish due to the gusty east winds and holds the majority of bait, but the west side is showing more fish. DOA rootbeer and glo shrimp, along with live shrimp are attracting the trout. Last week the Miller family caught a few trout in the 4-6 lb. class, but the majority ran 15-18”. Needless to say, they were happy with the results.
Some snook can be found in the flats from 5-8 a.m. on both sides of the river, but nighttime is by far the best, with the 10-Cent and Roosevelt Bridges holding the most fish.
Action on the channel markers is finally picking up. If you can get the bait past the lane snappers and grunts, you’ll find jack crevalle, flounder, sheephead, black drum and tripletail. We boated three nice tripletail last week running 4, 8 and 13 lbs. DOA’s CAL lure has been working great along with my “old faithful” bait (live shrimp on a trollrite).
Tarpon are scattered near Big and Little Mud Creeks and the Crossroads. The most tarpon action has been reported in the North Fork near Club Med. If the wind ever dies down, the beaches should be hot next month for snook and tarpon action in around 20 feet, but don’t forget, snook season closes at midnight May 31. Over all, things are beginning to pick up and the water conditions look favorable for a great summer of fishing. Remember, fish hard but stay cool! Courtesy doesn’t cost a cent.
New pictures are now on my website. Click on fishing reports, then click on “Fishing pictures are here”. I will be updating these 10 pictures every month.
Capt. Bob Bushholz
http://www.catch22fish.com
(772) 225-6436
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CAPT. DAVID FAWCETT
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, May 18, 2002 - 5:38 pm: | |
Subject: TARPON
ONE DAY A HERO...THE NEXT DAY A ZERO
But that's the way fishing is. Isn't it?
I started out last week with a banner day. Immediately sat down on a sail, followed by two good dolphin and pulled the hook on a "smoker" king. This all happened within an hour's fishing.
"Well...let's go in and see what's happening on the beach,"my client suggested. "I have never caught a tarpon."
Nothing like wanting a full plate.
An hour later we released his first tarpon. Not a big one at 30 pounds, but enough to bring him back for more.
"Let's go home," he said. "It doesn't get any better than this."
And it doesn't. That afternoon I released two tarpon out of six put in the air. It just doesn't get any better.
That very night a minor front moved in bringing with it wind and the fishery shut right down. I had the next two days with the same convention group and believe me those days were LONG. We did manage several big crevalle. One pushing the 50 pound mark...A MONSTER...put a pair of tarpon in the air and released a snook. This was all for two days fishing. But that's fishing. Isn't it?
INDIAN RIVER LAGOON
Well...as you might surmise, tarpon are at the top of my hit list and it is just going to get better and better if conditions remain the same. There is plenty of bait in the river and early last week acres of threadfins and pilchards moved into the system briefly to the extent that one could easily gold hook them. This is a testament to our good water quality. The tarpon have been at the Inlet, Little Mud and in the Sun Bowl, but I suspect they might be running the Beach down to the south.
Trout fishing had been good up to the frontal system but slowed a bit. We have another frontal system on us as I write this and, frankly, I don't expect anything exceptional to happen until it passes and things settle down.
Remember... snook entering the Lagoon this time of year are pre-spawn staging fish. It is truly unfair to sit on these fish and fish for numbers, especially with live bait as many "sports" and inept guides do this time of year. It is not sporting and it is definitely detrimental to our snook stocks.
OFFSHORE
There have been a goodly number of sailfish for this time of year and a steady but not overwhelming run of dolphin. King fishing remains good and don't be surprised to run into a cobia or two along the reef.
PUT ON YOUR SUNSCREEN!
Capt. David Fawcett/Free Jumper Charters
www.freejumpercharters.com
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Capt. Bob Bushholz
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, May 13, 2002 - 10:00 am: | |
Subject: Green Grass of Home
Finally back in action after spending ten days preparing my yard for a sprinkler system and sod. Yard looks great and now I can focus my attention on the really important things in my life “FISHING”. We did managed to get out a few times last week . Two trips I ran south to the St. Lucie Inlet to catch the incoming tide which worked great with 10-15 mph SE winds. A mixed bag of mangrove snapper, blue runners, sheephead and jacks. No big numbers in the inlet last week. Tides have been running super low the past week which may be affecting the bite. In the Sailfish flats, ladyfish have been hot and cold. One trip we released a dozen in an hour with the next day being slow.
Further north in the grass on the west side near Walton Road, trout are everywhere till 9:00 am. We are coming into the summer pattern so you need to get out there as early as possible. After 10:00 am I like to target tripletail and flounder on the channel markers up and down the Indian River. We did catch our eighth tripletail of the year weighing just under 10 pounds. Snook are around area bridges at night with the ten cent bridge holding some nice fish. Have not seen any snook in the inlet area yet but we are approaching their annual spawn so they should show up in the surf and inlets shortly.
I have taken the pontoon out trolling for dolphin a few times, only catching one in 57 feet. Last year at this time they made a strong showing so it’s just a matter of time. This Wednesday I have a full day charter for snook. We will cover lot’s of ground in 8 hours so sideliners beware. Short report this week.
Capt. Bob Bushholz
http;//www.catch22fish.com
(772) 225-6436
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Capt. Ed Williams
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, May 12, 2002 - 9:27 am: | |
Subject: Fishing Report
The fishing this last week has been interesting. Early in the week we had great action and were catching Kings, Dolphin, Amberjacks along with Jack Crevalle, Bonito, Barracudas, and an occasional Sailfish. The action was good and the sea conditions friendly.
On one of the days early in the week we fished a ½ day. We started by catching a few Kings, an Amberjack followed by a Sailfish on the Bluewater Bobber. On this day the Bluewater Bobber really paid big dividends providing at least 80% of the fish we caught.
On one of the midweek trips we caught bait, moved a few hundred yards offshore and began catching some very large Jack Crevalles, Bonitos as well as a few nice Kings. It was quite a site, large schools of flying fish being chased by schools of very aggressive fish. As soon as the flying fish were out of the water the frigate birds were diving after them. This action was like you see pictures of in the Sportfishing Magazines. All we had to do was put a bait in the water and hold on for the strike. It was rare to get two lines in the water before we had a strike and multiple hook ups were common. In addition to the Jacks a few Dolphin and Sails were present but they had no chance of beating the Jacks and Kings to our baits. This action lasted for most of the morning and to say the least it was a great ½ day of fishing.
The following day we came back to this area and fished again and basically struck out. What a difference a day can make. After fishing in this area we moved offshore to one of the deep wrecks northeast of the St. Lucie Inlet where I often catch Cobia this time of year. We started by catching the predictable Barracuda. Within minutes this was followed by a 30 pound Jack Crevalle that really put on quite a fight. After releasing the Jack we saw flying fish being chased by something. Within a couple of minutes a Dolphin was chasing our baits and finally slowed down enough to eat one that was dangling beneath the Bluewater Bobber. When the fish struck and came directly at the boat - I thought we were never going to get the line tight but were finally able to catch up to the fish and he jumped not more than 15 feet from the boat. A large Bull Dolphin! The fish then made a long run away from the boat and only jumped once or twice. Unusual that he didn’t jump much and predictably he sounded and we had a long hard battle to get him back near the boat. Suddenly while we were working to get the fish back to the boat he came to the surface and was frantically coming to the boat. Just behind the Dolphin was one of the largest Hammerhead Sharks I have ever seen. I quickly began maneuvering the boat to keep the Dolphin as close as possible to the boat while trying to discourage the Shark. Through some miracle we were able to discourage the Shark after a couple of minutes and he left for where big Hammerheads go. My angler had meanwhile made a couple of quick laps around the boat trying to keep up with the Dolphin while we were attempting to deal with the Hammerhead. The fish then sounded again for what seemed like an interminable period of time. After several minutes we got him back to the boat and were able to put him in our fish box – 40+ pounds of Bull Dolphin. While we caught some more Dolphin and other fish that day everything else was pale in comparison to the events involved in catching the Bull Dolphin and dealing with an enormous Hammerhead Shark.
By the end of the week the action had slowed, the wind was blowing and it was challenging to catch fish. We continued to get some King bites along with Amberjack, Bonito and occasional Dolphin but clearly the action had slowed from the intense action we had earlier in the week.
Now is the time to plan that next Dolphin trip. In the next few weeks you’re going to be hearing a lot about all of the Dolphin we are catching. Good luck and remember you can’t catch’em at the dock.
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Capt. David Fawcett
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, May 10, 2002 - 5:50 pm: | |
Subject: summer doldrums
RUN AND GUN ALTERNATIVES
I went dolphin fishing last week and ended up 18 miles offshore with little to show for my time but a handful of washed out ballyhoo. Water temperatures had been pushing into the low 80's and very little fishable structure was evident, i.e. current edges, color or temperature changes, upwellings, bait concentrations or "float".
Where are the Cuban rafts when you need them?
These summer conditions are perfect for " running and gunning", a practice where one runs until he finds fishable water thus eliminating possible hours of blank trolling. There is one inherent problem however with this practice, aside from increasing fuel costs, and that is that it can lead one far afield with the same results as he would have experienced slow trolling all day,but facing a much longer return trip home.
At times like these I like to run and fish. An assortment of quarter to one ounce Jap feathers and a cruising speed up to 15 or more knots, depending on conditions, is all that it takes and it kills the proverbial two birds with one stone. More times than not I will catch fish this way before I find that ideal location and that's exactly what happened last week. No sooner had I put out the feathers than a school of chicken dolphin piled on. I put one six pounder in the box and then landed a 20 pound bull that came up from the deep to see what was going on. I could have "baled" more but I had all the dolphin my family needed for the next week or so and I much prefer feeding them by hand and taking pictures than "baling" them into the boat. Perhaps that gluttonous practice has led to this year's rather paltry dolphin run.
When I am running feathers in this manner I like to deploy them way back. Perhaps as much as a hundred yards. This way they are out of my prop wash and I believe it gives the fish a chance to rise into my "spread" from the depths after my wash passes over them. Believe me, when the water temperature is pushing close to 85 degrees most fish are looking for an air conditioned room and that's usually down deep. Also in going the speeds that I usually go these light trolling lures do not track well in close. Actually they have a tendency to fly out of the water,but I still prefer going small.During these doldrum months this speed trolling method will undoubtedly attract skipjack tuna also. These fish push in closer to our shores from the Bahama Banks during the summer and are not bad fighters,or, eaters for that matter. Start to look for them from 500 feet on out.
THE LAGOON
Yes, the water is hot. So hot that it is hard to get one's enthusiasm up when the sun gets much above one's head, but, there are fish to be caught nonetheless. Try deep dredging the Bridges during the day. There are also buck snook in their regular staging areas and these can be taken during the heat of the day. As of yet no great influx of hen fish. Probably lucky for the snook. The season closes June 1.
Overall, the early hours are the most productive in the Indian River Lagoon. Start shallow and move deep. There have been some gator trout taken to the north on the flats as well as some good snook working the pre-dawn shallows.
THE BEACH
Even though the dolphin fishing has not been what we expect for this time of year the Beach has been relatively productive. The big crevalle are still roaming up and down the sand from the Boils to the Inlet as well as entering the Lagoon to pound mullet against the walls. They are still viable fly rod targets and if you look hard enough you might even run into a school of permit cruising the Beach.
I have also seen tarpon moving in and out of the Inlet though have not encountered any on my beach runs. They have also preferred a low profile inside the Lagoon, but, they are there and catchable at times.
There have also been a few cobia around and some kings in close.
CHIRROSIS OF THE RIVER
I HATE TO BE THE MERCHANT OF DOOM....BUT
The Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission will act on their staff's manatee recommendations at their upcoming meeting May 29, and, as it stands now it appears that the Crossroads will be targeted for speed control. It is not that these boys have any documentation of excessive manatee deaths caused by planing craft in this area. Just a lucky throw of the dart into one of the few waterways that has not been blighted by manatee signage up to this point. Frankly it is all political BS, and, believe me, if anyone thinks the Crossroads is a hazardous traffic area NOW, wait until they back up a hundred boats of varying maneuverability and power, fighting a four knot current in the midst of a dredging operation. But the manatee is far more important than the quality of human life. I just wonder... where it will all stop? Since manatees like to migrate along the beach perhaps we should have a slow speed zone a half mile from the beach's low water line. Better yet... close the beaches to recreational diversions so as not to stress out these endangered beasts.
Truthfully, I would much prefer the Fish and Wildlife Commission to take more realistic steps in helping protect the manatee. Study the situation a little more carefully. Why not utilize signs much like we do on our highways i.e. Deer Crossing, Cattle Crossing, Wildlife Area, and, least we forget... Falling Rock Zone? These signs are displayed without necessitating motorists to slow down to a construction site crawl yet make them aware of the potential hazards of the area. Also, perhaps the channel width could be constricted a certain percentage and confined to the deepest pathway. Logically this would increase manatee protection by that percentage...even more if it were constricted to the deepest pathway.But I see damn few manatees in the Crossroads as compared to other areas anyway.
So folks we only have until May 29 to let the powers that be know how we feel. Perhaps you should start at FWC's website: www.floridaconservation.org
Let them know your feelings on their Contact Us page.Also, Kenneth Haddad has just been appointed Executive Director of the Fish and Wildlife Commission. Why not send him a letter at FWC,620 South Meridian St., Tallahassee,Fl.32399-1600.
Believe me... radical moves like turning the main channel to the St. Lucie Inlet into a speed zone will not save the manatee. It can only negatively alter our economy and perhaps prove more hazardous to human life than already exists on this important waterway. If nothing else, more study needs to be done in the Crossroads as, I am sure, other important waterways within the state.
Put on your sunscreen!!!
Capt. David Fawcett/Free Jumper Charters
www.freejumpercharters.com
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Capt. Ed Williams
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, May 02, 2002 - 8:21 am: | |
Subject: Fishing Report
The Dolphin are biting! During the last three trips we have caught good numbers of Dolphin along with some King Mackerel.
On one recent trip we fished the morning for Kings and were able to catch a few along with some Bonito, etc. As the action slowed just before noon we moved offshore where we trolled ballyhoo and lures. In about 300’ feet of water northeast of the St. Lucie Inlet we found a nice current edge that contained some weeds and debris. We hooked up almost as soon as we came up to the edge. After landing that fish we continued fishing the current edge to the north and before long saw some Dolphin jumping ahead of us. Within seconds we were hooked up on several lines. As we brought those fish to the boat a school of Dolphin came with them. We immediately switched to live bait and light tackle and the fun began. After catching a few we moved on and again within a few minutes we found another school of fish where we caught a few more. It was a very pleasant day on the ocean and the fish cooperated and allowed us to catch all we wanted.
The following day was a whole different story. We fished the Kings for a while and the action was slow. We did manage to catch a couple, miss a bunch, etc. We tried to repeat what happened the day before but found some very rough water as we got in the edge of the Gulfstream. We fished the rough water for a few minutes but decided not to take the beating it was giving us. We moved back inshore to just inside 100’ of water when we found a faint edge and started bump trolling live bait. We caught a King or two followed by a Bonito then a Dolphin, then a school of Dolphin. Not exactly the great action we had the prior day but enough Dolphin action for us to know they were in the area.
The next day we decided to fish for Sailfish to start our day. We fished for over two hours in an area where I normally can catch a Sail or two this time of year. The conditions were beautiful, the ocean very nice and I thought it was only a matter of time. After two hours and only one Kingfish and a couple of mystery bites later I decided I was wrong. We moved inshore to about 80’ of water where I had heard of a few fish being caught. We had a few bites then we caught a Dolphin. It was not a great bite but we were in an area that was holding a few fish along with plenty of bait. I had just made the comment to the people on the boat that it can go from slow to complete chaos in just a second when we noticed that one of the Bluewater Bobbers was very nervous. The fish made several passes at the bait and finally was hooked up. It was a very nice 18 to 20 pound Dolphin. As we were fighting this fish another fish hooked up and we were in the middle of the chaos that I had just mentioned. As we were fighting the first Dolphin I noticed a really large Bull Shark trailing the fish. We cranked down the drag in an effort to get the fish to the boat as soon as possible. Some how the Bull Shark became discouraged and we were able to get the fish in the boat. We continued catching the Dolphin that schooled around the boat for what seemed like an hour. Keep one fish in the water and the rest will hang around and this time they did. After the Dolphin attack we set out our lines for one last drift and within a couple of minutes hooked up a very large fish. This fish went where he wanted to go and took as much line as he wanted. There was no turning him and at best we could only slow him down a little. The 500 HP on the back of the boat did allow us to keep up but it was obvious the fish could go whenever he wanted. This battle lasted for a good 45 minutes and towards the end we were getting close to the fish. Just as it looked like we were going to be able to see the fish the hook pulled and we have another case of the “Big” one getting away. Based on the fight and the size of the fish I would guess it was a big Bull Shark but we will never know for sure. What started as a very slow day of fishing ended with a flurry that will be remembered for a long time.
If catching a Dolphin is of interest to you get out there and go fishing in the next few weeks. The Dolphin fishing should get better and better during May and June.
Good luck and remember you can’t catch’em at the dock.
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Capt. Bob Bushholz
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, April 29, 2002 - 3:34 pm: | |
Subject: May Days
May is here and it just happens to be one of my two favorite months for both inshore and offshore fishing. Starting offshore, the big story in May will be the dolphin bite. Last year the beginning of the month was a blowout with strong east winds, but the remaining 3 weeks more than made up for it. Historically, dolphin show up in the Keys the end of April in big numbers. By early May you can find them in 80-200 feet as they migrate northward towards the Treasure Coast. Can you imagine the results if a size limit were in effect statewide? Dolphin are eating machines and grow at an alarming rate. By the time the numbers of the peanut sized fish that are currently killed in the Keys actually made it to our area, there would be a fishery of unbelievable proportions. Remember, limit your keep, don’t keep the limit! By far, trolling is your best bet for dolphin; dragging ballyhoo, rigged squid and mullet. Try to get at least two baits down using downriggers, planers or 16 oz. cigar weights. Covering various water columns will increase your odds drastically. I prefer red or purpose with black skirts on my downlines (good wahoo colors) while on top using naked baits or yellow, green and pink skirts which work great. I suggest that you forget wasting time catching greenies unless you want to target kings or sailfish. Run out to 80 feet and start trolling. Keep an eye out for color and temperature changes, weedlines, any floating debris and working birds. Always have two spinning combos ready on standby. A 2 oz. jig with squid or cut bait will come in handy if you stumble upon dolphin schools or manta rays holding cobia. Usually you have about 30 seconds to react before they are gone, so be ready for them. Keeping squid chunks or sardines nearby will often prove to be the difference between a single fish in the box or multiple fish in the box. You can hold a school near the boat by chumming them. A little at a time while tossing those standby jigs will hook you up. Always leave at least one hooked-up dolphin in the water if you are in a school. This keeps his buddies around the boat.
Other species to target are king fish, cobia, wahoo, sailfish and summertime bonita and cudas. Live bait works best for kings in close from 40-80 feet. A short steel leader with a treblehook stinger attached to a 3/0 live bait produces excellent results. In close, keep your eyes peeled for big manta rays and toss a jig about 30 feet in front of them for that cobia hiding in their shadows. Sailfish can be anywhere. To increase your wahoo odds, speed your troll up to 8-10 knots. I’ve caught most of my “hoos” in 250-350 feet, but you never know. I saw an 86 lb. wahoo caught in 60 feet of water to win a tournament in the last 30 minutes before lines out.
Surf and bottom fishing is also great in May. From the surf, look for bluefish and pompano still lurking about. Cutbait or spoons for blues, sandfleas or crabs cast far out for the pompano. Look for plenty of whiting and some croaker in close to shore. I almost forgot to mention the snook and tarpon that will be cruising the shorelines. It’s a great time to cast for snook in the surf. Casting diagonally with top water mirrolures, spooks, bombers, DOA Baitbusters & Terrorize, red tail hawks produces hook-ups. The snook are feasting on whiting near shore. If you catch a whiting, re-hook it and toss it out with a 3/0 live bait hook. It’s a good bet it will catch the eye of a hungry snook.
The tarpon will be cruising a bit deeper in 10-30 feet of water. Drifting live mullet, pinfish or sight casting DOA Baitbusters and Terrorize top the list. With the weather getting increasingly warmer, it’s best to fish very early or late before these guys head for the deep water to cool off. Bottomfishing is strong this time of year on the outside, with larger than average mangrove snapper and grouper. I prefer a long leader (30’) for the muttons using grunt heads for bait. They tap it a few times, but wait until he grabs it and runs, then stick it to him! Always throw a flatline or two out to increase productivity. You can catch dolphin, kings and sails while you’re bottom fishing. It’s easy, it’s maintenance free, and it makes sense.
Inshore, the St. Lucie Inlet will start holding more snook showing up early for their summer spawn. The detached jetty, the perimeter of Sailfish Point (high-water best) and the south side of the Inlet, close to shore will produce fish. Hopefully, the equipment and tug boats that have taken up residence will vacate our inlet in time for the spawn. The crossroads area from Marker #239 north to the “quarter” bridge (east of the channel to the sand bar) holds early morning tarpon all summer long. On Catch 22 we drift finger mullet in this area until bout 9:00 a.m. while ready to sight cast DOA Terrorize on standby rods. The water in this area near high tide can get really clean and with a 10 foot depth average, you can see bottom very well. I use 20-lb. spinning rigs with a 6-8 foot 60 lb. leader. You can fish lighter, but expect a long battle when that hefty tarpon takes hold. Last year a 9 year old boy on one of my charters hooked a 60 lb. tarpon on 10 lb. test. Forty minutes later and a mile up the River the tarpon was brought to the boat and released. This fish made five runs into the channel forcing me to play water-traffic cop trying to wave boats off. Plenty of tarpon will appear in the St. Lucie River also. The last three years were banner tarpon seasons here. Who needs to go to the Keys to fish, we have it all right here!
Area bridges should hold mangrove snapper, sheephead, black drum and croakers. Live or frozen shrimp on the bottom on light tackle seems to work the best. The night-time snook hang out near structure and shadow lines where the water is moving. May is the last month of open snook season until September, so now’s the time.
In the grass flats, big trout will dominate the scene. Start as early as 5 a.m. and fish until 7 a.m. with topwater lures in skinny water. Docks along the west side from Walton Road north to Fort Pierce are hot. From 7-10 a.m., go to 3-5 ft. deep with soft rubber baits (DOA CAL series and glo shrimp) or live shrimp on a popping cork. On windy days, fishing from a boat, try drifting popping corks 100 ft. behind the boat and set them in the rodholders. Cast your rubber baits downwind to increase your odds. Don’t forget the spoil islands either early or late. Look for diving birds and there’s sure to be trout around. Most trout in these areas will be under 18” so fish as light as 6 lb. test with no leader. The redfish will be close to shore on the west side or under the mangroves on the east side. Johnson’s gold spoons top the list as the lure of choice.
Channel markers in the Indian River have been pretty dormant the past 6 months with big sheephead and tripletail being noticeably scarce. Hopefully, with the water clarity much improved, the river will come alive with the snapper, flounder, tripletail and goliath grouper reappearing. Further north, the Port Canaveral area (the tripletail capital of the world) has shown a big increase in the tripletail numbers which means they should be heading south soon. Around channel markers, start casting soft rubber baits or live shrimp on a jig head from a distance and work a 30’ radius around the piling. Finish off on the bottom, no more than 5 feet from the marker. Lift up an inch or two every 10 seconds. If you feel dead weight, count to 3 and set the hook. Tripletail are sure to run from the boat and towards the piling. Keeping the line from brushing barnacles is difficult but a must if you want to boat that fish. They are strong, ugly and ornery, but one of the best tasting fish you will ever eat and well worth the battle!
Big and Little Mud Creeks are the hot spot for tarpon between 5-8 a.m. Lots of unmolested tarpon lurk inside Big Mud with the yellow boom blocking the entrance. If the Creek is still closed, try fishing the entrance and the channel leading into Big Mud from the main channel. There’s nothing like seeing that giant silver fish leaping when he’s attached to the end of your line.
Tight Lines,
Capt. Bob Bushholz
http://www.catch22fish.com
(772) 225-6436
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Capt. Ed Williams
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, April 24, 2002 - 2:23 pm: | |
Subject: Fishing Report
During the last week or so the fishing has ranged from excellent to very slow and most of the time changes totally from day to day.
A few days ago I fished in 70 to 80 feet of water northeast of the St. Lucie Inlet where we caught a few nice size Kings, a couple of gaffer Dolphin, Bonito and some Snapper and Grouper. We had a nice mixed bag catch, plenty of fish to take home and enough action to keep everyone on the boat focused on catching fish.
The following day we fished the same area and did not catch anything except a couple of Bonito’s. This was a ½ day fishing trip so when the action failed to materialize I moved just a short distance offshore to 90 feet of water where we went 2 for 3 on Sailfish and were able to catch a couple of Kings. It turned out to be an exciting day of catching Sailfish for this time of year plus we had a couple of nice Kings to smoke.
During the last few days we have caught a few Kings, plenty of Bonito, a couple of Dolphin, a very nice Wahoo but overall the action is slower than I expect for this time of the year. The vast majority of the action is inside 80’ of water and the more successful trips involve fishing near the schools of bait which are plentiful in 40 to 60 feet of water.
Yesterday a couple of my friends decided to run across the Gulfstream to see if they could find any conditions that might produce some Dolphin. After running over 30 miles they did find a nice current edge and weed line that did hold a few nice Dolphin. I talked with some other people who had fished the Bahamas during the last week and they said the Dolphin were beginning to make a very strong appearance there.
While we are catching a few nice Dolphin I am expecting our Dolphin action to improve dramatically in early May and to continue through June. Finding the large fish will probably require some trips deep into the Gulfstream but when you find them it makes all the time and effort worthwhile.
The weather people are saying we’re going to have a front pass and windy conditions for the next couple of days. Hopefully as soon as the ocean settles back down the fishing will turn on and we will quickly forget about the slow days we have recently experienced.
Good luck and remember you can’t catch’em at the dock.
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Capt. David Fawcett
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, April 23, 2002 - 8:42 pm: | |
WHAT IS IT? SPRING OR SUMMER?
Frankly, it's hard to tell. Water temperatures are hovering around 80 and the summer southeast wind patterns persist. The Spanish mackerel have all but vamoosed. Crevalle jack are spawned out. Dolphin have not shown in any great number, and, we are getting more and more reports of tarpon showing up.
But just having suffered through a rather slow week of fishing due to hot water and relatively weak currents, I predict a red hot week coming up with a minor cold front due Wednesday and a full moon arriving Friday the 26th. The cold front will be so minor that it will do naught but change wind patterns. The full moon will move water. Look for some good offshore catches including "slammer" dolphin, wahoo and a blue marlin or two. In the Lagoon look for some "gator" trout and more and more snook showing up in the North Fork and up and down the Lagoon. We are definitely out of winter patterns. So, start looking for those spring/summer species in their expected haunts, and, the Beach is a good place to begin... especially for big snook.
There is nothing quite as exhilarating (well...maybe a bit overstated) as walking barefoot down the Beach in the cool of the predawn tossing your lure of choice parallel to the Beach in the first trough. At times you can see the fish working schools of pilchards right into the surf. There are also occasions when the fish tail up, much like tailing reds or bones, exposing their broad yellow caudal fin above the surface as they root out crustaceans in the sand. It's great fun, especially if you are lucky enough to pop a sow of 20 plus pounds. But, as much as these fish enhance your bragging rights, they should be returned to spawn in favor of keeping a 27 or 28 inch fish for the dinner table. Better yet. Let them all go! Look for blues and Spanish as well as big crevalle along the Beach also. There have been a few cobia, a sail here and there, some kings and a scattering of dolphin, but, the big "slammers" are going to show up this week in numbers.
THE LAGOON
On my way to the Beach three days ago I passed Rufus anchored up just north of Sun Bowl.
"You aren't doing what I think you're doing? Are you? I asked.
"You bet!" He responded. "One confirmed for sure."
Of course he was confirming a brief encounter of a tarpon kind and it is this time of year that we, the tarpon fanatics, begin to search for early arrivals. But, much like trout fishermen of the Northeast this time of year...we amass more verbal banter than fishing experience.
Fly-fishing for snook has been good nightly on area bridges and docks as well as a good way to beat the heat. Look for trout early morning...Herman's Bay to Round Island.
CHIRROSIS OF THE RIVER
"BREVARD JUDGE SIDES WITH MANATEES"
I shouldn't have to write any more than this. You should be leaving this web site immediately and going to your e- mail to send your comments to local commissioners, state representatives, senators, Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission...your local boating club...you name it. Let them know your feelings. The manatee has never been healthier or more watched over than it is here in Martin County, but, all you boaters, anglers and water oriented businesses are about to take another blow to your left cerebral lobe. I think that's the lobe of LOGIC. Even the editors of your local newspaper have been dragged into the morass by raising the manatee to the equal of homo sapien on the evolutionary scale.
"BREVARD JUDGE SIDES WITH MANATEES"
No. Judge Buckine has sided not with the MANATEE but with a group of myopic, ex-Parrot Heads, whose goals can never reach fruition...else they will go out of business. Believe me...I love manatees. Everyday I see them I stop to show my clients, take pictures, explain their habits and their impact on the habitat. But...they should not impact my life and my livelihood. They are a renewable resource that has encroached upon human progress and should be handled as such. WE ARE THE SHEPHARDS...NOT THE CHATTEL.
People of Martin County you are about to lose another chunk of your waterway rights to a sea cow.
Put on your sunscreen!
Capt. David Fawcett/Free Jumper Charters
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Capt. Bob Bushholz
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, April 18, 2002 - 4:41 pm: | |
Subject: Trout Bite
Trout and ladyfish remain the hot species caught on the Catch 22 last week. Starting around the power plant the east side of the Indian River is holding the majority of the bait with large schools of finger mullet being chased around by jacks in the 10 lb range. Some trout caught in this area last week but the west side has been most productive. Nine – eleven a.m. seems to be the best bite time. We have been throwing DOA CAL lures along with rootbeer and glo shrimp while trailing live shrimp on popping corks behind us. The majority of the trout are keepers in the 15-20 inch range with 4 -5 pounders landed last week. Some decent trout just off the spoil island just south of the powerlines near #207.
Channel markers from Jensen Beach Causeway north to Fort Pierce remain slow for the usual sheephead, snapper, flounder and tripletail. As a matter of fact, these markers have been well below par since November of last year The perimeter wall around Nettles Island remains good holding mangrove snapper and a few flounder. We use 6 lb ultra light with a small piece of shrimp on a 1/0 trollrite without any leader. Most of the snappers are below 12 inches so it pays to fish as light as possible. Along the fenders on the Jensen Beach Causeway you can find snook and jacks. Here you can beef up your tackle up to 80 pounds. Big fish and lots of structure requires a different approach. Most of the time I use Penn 750’s with 30 lb mono or 50 lb power pro and still get my clock cleaned from time to time. These guys know where their house is and will surely try to take you there.
Working south, the sailfish flats have been red hot with ladyfish action all week. Best bite time happens after 10 a.m. when the breeze picks up. Out there the windier the better. You want to cover as much ground as possible while casting downwind. Retrieve speed depends on wind speed. Cast as far as possible and retrieve just fast enough so there is no slack in your line. On the average you should land maybe ¼ of the ladyfish that strike. They don’t call them poor man’s tarpon for nothing. Remember to check your leader after each fish. They are great at fraying about the first 3 inches under your hook. Want to have a blast, try 6 lb test with a 20 lb leader for them. Fishing this light it is not uncommon for ladyfish once hooked to circle the boat 3 times.. With a large group aboard it can get pretty comical at times. The past 2 weeks in the flats have appeared senate out of nowhere. These fish normally appear closer to summertime. Great sportfish, just beware of it’s barracuda like teeth.
The St. Lucie Inlet has produced a mixed bag including sheephead, black margate, jacks, blue runners, pompano, flounder, and the other day a rare bonefish. Snook remains slow on the drift but expect it to pick up any time. Bottom fishing at slack tide like we did all winter has slowed considerably. Still a few Spanish running around the inlet but where are the blues. April means big bluefish but we haven’t encountered any for weeks now. I know they are thick in the surf but hard to find inside. Have not gone outside the rocks all week with the seas sporty. Did fish the detached jetty a few times with small mangroves all about. That’s all for now..
Capt. Bob Bushholz
http;//www.catch22fish.com
(772) 225-6436
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Capt. Bob Bushholz
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, April 10, 2002 - 9:29 am: | |
Subject: Still Howling
We did manage to get several trips in prior to the high winds all of us have dealt with since Saturday. Last week I ran several trips northward along the west side of the Indian River from the Jensen Beach causeway to the powerlines. Trout fishing has been good in this area throwing DOA Cal, Glo & Rootbeer Shrimp along with live shrimp under popping corks. Most of the trout are running 15-20 inches in 3-4 feet of water. Some decent jacks in the 5-10 lb range mixed in along with ladyfish and pompano.
On the east side you will find lot’s more baitfish with tons of glass minnows and large schools of finger mullet from Herman’s Bay all the way north to Fort Pierce. Wading this area is most productive with most of the fish in 2 feet. On Catch 22 last week we did catch a few trout and jacks on the east side but found the west was best. The channel markers northward remain dead with no signs of flounder, sheephead or tripletail. Drifting past spoil islands will produce trout and scattered pompano.
The sailfish flats the past month has shown great ladyfish action. Casting downwind and retrieving just fast enough to keep the slack out with live or DOA shrimp will hook you up. Scattered mackerel and several senates. Be careful handling these guys. Senates are similar to barracuda although smaller they can remove a finger in a heartbeat. Not much pompano action in the flats last week. We did hook several in the crossroads on incoming tide. Snook in the inlet remains slow but it’s just a matter of time.
On a night trip last week we did have good action with ladyfish near the quarter bridge. Around Joe’s Point 7 trout to 19 inches along with a 28’’ keeper snook. Live and glo shrimps were used most of the trip. Baitfish have not been showing as strong further north but they are on the way. Along the fenders on the quarter bridge we did hook up 2 big snook but got our clocks cleaned. I guess a Penn 4-0 with 80 lb were in order.
Did work yesterday running a water taxi for the Stuart Yacht Club’s annual picnic to Peck’s Lake. About 10 boats showed. They use Catch 22 to transport people from their boats to shore. Not the best day for this with winds out of the SE at 20. It seemed all the members elected to picnic along the ICW to avoid getting sandblasted. Good group of people and hope to see them next year.
That’s all for now. Things should improve by Thursday weatherwise. Can’t wait for the next calm day I have off so I can get out and tear into some dolphin on my pontoon.
Capt. Bob Bushholz
http;//www.catch22fish.com
(772) 225-6436
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Capt. Ed Willaims
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, April 06, 2002 - 11:10 am: | |
Subject: Fishing Report
What is biting? During the last few days we have caught Sailfish, Dolphin, King Mackerel, Cobia, Bonito, Sharks, Grouper and several Lizard fish. It has really been a mixed bag and the action has ranged from excellent to slow. Overall the fishing has been good the last week.
On one recent trip we started the day by catching a King that was over 30 pounds on the Bluewater Bobber rig. This created a lot of excitement as the King struck he made a wild jump that got everyone’s attention. This was a day of constant action that included 3 Kings over 30 pounds, 2 more over 20 and a bunch of smaller fish. In addition we had several Bonito. During the day a couple of Cobia decided to check us out and we managed to catch one that was in the 40 pound range. It was an excellent day of fishing.
The following morning I fished a ½ day in the same area and we caught several Kings and a nice size Grouper. The highlight of the morning was a Sailfish that decided to play with the Bluewater Bobber. He finally decided he couldn’t resist the bait so he ate the bait and the fight was on. He started by jumping towards the boat then decided that the horizon was where he needed to be. He made over 15 jumps before we finally were able to get him along side the boat where we took a couple of quick pictures and released him unharmed. Another great ½ day fishing trip.
During the last week the Bluewater Bobber has produced some really nice fish. We have caught several very large Kings, some Dolphin and Sailfish not to mention numerous Bonito on this rig. If you are doing any offshore fishing and not using it you may want to consider it as an option. The April edition of Florida Sportsman has an article regarding how I use the Bluewater Bobber that you might find helpful or you can contact me at captedwilliams@aol.com and I will try to answer your questions.
Good luck and remember you can’t catch’em at the dock.
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Capt. Ed Williams
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, March 28, 2002 - 4:47 pm: | |
Subject: Fishing Report
The weather has definitely improved! We are experiencing very manageable sea conditions most days and the fishing has been good. During the last few days we have been catching good numbers of King Mackerel, Dolphin, Jacks, Bonito and Sharks when fishing offshore. In addition an occasional Sailfish is being caught. I have also fished in the rivers and around the inlet where we are catching a few Pompano, lots of Ladyfish, Jacks and an occasional Snook.
Live bait has been plentiful in 40 to 50 feet of water directly off the inlet or for that matter about anywhere you go.
The Dolphin run that we expect to begin about this time of year has not materialized yet although we are catching a few Dolphin each day and each day I have either caught or have heard about a Dolphin or two of 25 pounds or more. As soon as we get into a more consistent weather pattern of winds from an easterly direction I expect the Dolphin fishing to really be good.
My strategy for the last few days has been simple. I find the live bait (and as I said earlier it has been easy) catch a live well full then move offshore in depths from 70 to 120 feet and bump troll the live bait for Kings, Dolphin and whatever else is biting that day. Most days we have a couple of really active periods followed by slower periods. When I am confident that I am in an area holding fish I just stick it out and keep fishing until they turn on again. Most days we are able to catch a reasonable number of fish and the action is steady enough to keep everyone interested.
The April Florida Sportsman magazine contains an article entitled Bobbers for Bluewater that you may find interesting. Since I provide some of the data and they have a great picture of my boat I wanted to give it a plug.
Good luck and remember you can’t catch’em at the dock.
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Capt. David Fawcett
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, March 21, 2002 - 8:54 am: | |
FISH ARE JUMPING AND THE COTTON IS HIGH
Yes. Life is good. We have experienced two weeks of perfect weather enabling the fleet to go just about anywhere in comfort. Sure, there were a few bumps along the way and the overall fishery has not been red hot, but, there has been a little bit of everything to please.
The offshore grounds have produced everything from wahoo to blue marlin. Throw in a scattering of dolphin, a handful of kingfish and superb bottom fishing and that's pretty much the scene. Enough to make you want to go fishing, huh? Mind you, it is only going to get better as we near May.
Spanish mackerel are on the move up and down the Beach. They are highly visible and can be seen jumping out of the water in unison. The lament, however, is: "We can't seem to get them to eat."
Believe me...these fish are hungry. That's why they are jumping out of the water in an attempt to engulf a mouthful of embryonic fry, larval stage fish. About an eighth to a quarter of an inch long. At these times mackerel are extremely difficult to catch because they are keying on these tiny fry and rarely go out of their way to hit anything but these teeny, tiny oddities. Sometime you can pull them away with chum and throw a glass minnow fly at them.
WE DON'T NEED NO STINKING SPANISH MACK....
Who needs Spanish mackerel when the big crevalle are in pre-spawn on the Beach and willing to eat a popper. We experienced some excellent fly rodding last week with a 30 pound crevalle and a 40 pound cuda topping the list. Please see pics on web page.
The Lagoon continues to be in excellent condition, and, much like the offshore grounds is producing everything. Snook fishing has been slow save for the bridges and the Turning Basin, ditto for the pompano fishing, but there is an overall pick of fish from reds to trout. Even some grouper. So...why not go fishing?
CHIRROSIS OF THE RIVER
I'm going to lay off SFWM, the Martin County Commission, the Army Corps, Big AG, the Big O, our newly formed, inefficient Game and Fresh Water Commission (maybe I should say understaffed) and the dredging of the Inlet. But...I'll get around to these next time. I would like to address dolphin protection. Last week Jim Hardie wrote about the need to increase restrictions on our dolphin in order to save this dwindling fishery.
I can remember 20 or so years ago that anyone could motor out to the Six-Mile Reef on any given day, not just in the Spring and Fall, and catch all the dolphin he wanted. Not so today. This fishery has been pounded and abused for years.
Hardie supports a 20 inch limit. This is not enough. Why not a 30 inch limit with a two fish per person bag limit. Perhaps total Atlantic Coast closure for a year? Nah! Nobody would buy that, but a two fish and a 30 inch limit support each other, because the abusive angler would not want to kill a fish under 30 inches if he could only kill two. And 30 inches is not a big dolphin. It is a chicken dolphin as opposed to a peanut.
Anyway, according to Hardie, Capt. Ray Rosher, recently appointed to the dolphin/wahoo advisory panel for the South Atlantic Council, has pledged to push for dolphin restrictions. He needs your support, but, PLEASE 20 INCHES IS NOT ENOUGH and 10 per person is TOO MUCH.
Please support any restrictions but let Ray know your feelings. Get out your tape measure and think it over. You can reach Capt. Ray at 9490 S.W. 109 Terrace, Miami, Fl.33176.
It took Bob Allan a little over an hour to subdue this 30 pound crevalle jack on fly. These monster jacks are now cruising the Beach in pre spawm mode. Easy fly rod targets, but, at times spookier than bone fish.
While flyrodding for Spanish mackerel, Michigander Bob Barber chanced upon this 40 pound cuda. We had fifty pound shock tippet and the fly luckily grabbed a little piece of gristle in the corner of his mouth. Nice fly rod catch!
Capt. David Fawcett
www.freejumpercharters.com
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Capt. Bob Bushholz
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, March 16, 2002 - 11:47 pm: | |
Subject: Heating Up
Our waterways are starting to heat up and so is the fishing. Weather this past week has improved dramatically. Seas are down from 7-9 foot to a comfortable 1-3 allowing Catch 22 to go prowling around outside the St. Lucie Inlet. The past couple of days large schools of jacks in the 20 pound class have been running along the coast. Each school is holding over 100 fish mainly running on top. We did manage to hook up several after throwing topwater Mirrolures and spoons at them. On 11 lb test you can imagine the sound of the drags screaming. Both fish took around 15 minutes to land and were really enjoyed buy my customers. With the winds down, visibility is outstanding along the beaches and inlet area. Yesterday on my morning trip we ran south to Peck’s Lake for an hour of mackerel action. It’s been three weeks since I’ve been down there and I am happy to say the Spanish are still around. Not the big numbers like previous weeks but some steady action along with blue runners and mangrove snappers.
Saturday morning Ryba and her friend down from Columbus, Ohio fished north around Herman’s Bay on the west side of the Indian River. A nice assortment of fish including a nice 5 lb trout were boated. We were throwing DOA glo shrimp downwind and drifting live shrimp on bobbers 100 feet behind us. Channel markers in the area have been on the slow side. Another morning trip fishing northward produced 6 trout to 18 inches in the same area. Further north near the power plant more trout and a small flounder in the channel leading into Big Mud Creek. Under the powerlines some nice sheephead and snapper with a couple of trout. Tripletail has been slow but with the improvement in the weather look for these guys to start showing again. The spoil islands just east of the ICW channel has been holding some decent size trout.
Bottom fishing in the inlet near slack tide remains excellent. Sheephead to 4 lbs are the main attraction along with scattered mangrove snappers, margates, jacks and bluefish. Still using light tackle (1/8 oz trollrites on 6 lb test) with small pieces of shrimp on the bottom. Last week over 100 sheephead were boated in the area just inside the detached jetty, south of the channel. If fishing light, get there 45 minutes before dead hi or low. Remember to stay out of the channel. Channels are for navigation , not anchoring up in!
We did catch our largest pompano of the year last week while drifting along the south side of the inlet near the weather station. Gulfstream shrimp jig worked great boating a 5 ½ pound pompano. I believe 11 pomps were caught last week. 3 in the inlet, 3 in the crossroads and 2 in the sailfish flats and 3 in Hell’s Gate. We are getting near the end of the pompano season but definitely still some around. If you are a sailcat fan fish just south of marker # 239 in the crossroads along the bottom. We released one over 7 pounds. Look for good ladyfish action in this same area. Have not seen too many snook around but with the weather stabilizing I hope to start seeing both more snook and tripletail. No night trips last week. I did have one scheduled but elected to push it back a week or two and allow the water to warm a bit.
In the surf, jacks, bluefish and whiting remain the big target with pompano still being caught on sandfleas or shrimp. Offshore bottom fishing has been good with mangrove snappers over 9 lbs with occasional mutton and grouper. Last week on the Lady Stuart I released a small shark but kept a 12 lb mutton fishing grunt heads on long leader. Near the end of that trip we were greeted by a school of dolphin running ten pounds. Of course at the time I was busy fighting a large rock and by the time I retrieved my hook the school was gone. Throwing squid in the water did keep the school around for a short time but not long enough for myself. Things are looking great and looking forward to some great spring and summer action.
Capt. Bob Bushholz
http;//www.catch22fish.com
(772) 225-6436
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Capt. Bob Bushholz
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, March 09, 2002 - 10:34 am: | |
Subject: Finally Great Weather
The high winds that have plagued us the past few weeks have finally settled down. Fortunately I fish inside most of the time where there’s always a place to hide. It does limit your fishing zone but I would rather fish than watch television. Water temps will rise this weekend with highs back in the 80’s. This should improve the morning bite along the shorelines for trout while allowing our stirred up waters both inshore and offshore to settle improving visibility. I might actually be able to “fish” outside the jettys in the St. Lucie Inlet or make a few runs down to Peck’s Lake for the Spanish Mackerel who have enjoyed peace and quiet recently. Bottom fishing offshore should be hot . These reef and wreck dwellers have not been fed in weeks.
Last week’s fishing strategy was determined mainly by wind direction. I ran all my trips southbound of Anchor’s Aweigh where more “hiding places” are available. With strong north or south winds, locations like the Sailfish Flats, Sewell’s Point, Joe’s Point and even the St. Lucie Inlet offer protection. One morning the winds were cranking at 25 mph out of the southeast so we drifted the south side of the inlet using the northern tip of Jupiter Island as a windblock. My customers actually took off their jackets and broke out the sunscreen! Another day it was due east at 20 mph so we fished the east side of the Indian River where it was flat calm. Baitfish always flock to the calmer water when things kick up. The only exception to the rule is snook. These guys love rough conditions where visibility is lowered making themselves more stealthy to the baitfish. High oxygen levels in the water seems to really pump them up. Big baits work best in these conditions from area bridges.
In the flats last week some trout, pompano, ladyfish, and large bluefish topped the list. Trout are running 15-19” hitting DOA’s Cal shads, glow and rootbeer shrimp and live shrimp. Can’t believe we avoided the dreaded lizardfish that have been all over the place recently. We hooked 3 five pound bluefish on Cal lures using 6 lb test. Let me tell you it was a blast on ultralight tackle. We managed eight pompano last week up to 3 lbs, half in the grass and the others in the crossroads area. Lot’s of large sailcats in the crossroads area just southeast of marker # 239. We did manage another permit in this area running just over six lbs.
Most productive has been fishing the slack tide just inside the detached jetty in the St. Lucie Inlet. Both hi & low tides have produced plenty of action. I’m sure these fish are here at all tidal phases but I like to keep it light using 6 lb test with 1/8 oz #1 & 1/0 wire trollrites with “small” pieces of shrimp. It’s pretty rocky here and these hooks work great. If you snag a rock, pulling lightly on the line will straighten these hooks most of the time saving you a ton of tackle. Simply bend the hook back with your fingers and you are ready to go. Small hooks also work best on sheephead, snapper and spots. I try to anchor up 45 minutes before and after slack water. Current in the inlet is strong so we get a 11/2 hours where we can fish light. If you are fishing heavier, stay there until it gets too strong. On the bottom lot’s of sheephead up to 4 lbs with scattered spots,mangrove snapper, black margates and pompano. Watch out for an occasional scorpion fish. These fish if touched will hurt you. If you don’t know what they look like I suggest asking your local baitshop or do yourself a favor and pick up Florida Sportsman’s “Sport Fish of Florida” book. Keep the book in your tackle box in a plastic bag. Now you wil be able to identify every fish you catch!!!
Snook have been on the slow side lately. We released 4 up to 23” last week fishing around Sailfish Point.With things warming up a bit snook and trout should pick. I have a night trip scheduled for Saturday and hope to hook a few. We gave the tripletail a break last week not fishing the channel markers much. With hi winds the center of the river was a bit choppy. I set myself a tripletail goal of 100 this year. Only have 97 to go!!!
Finally, don’t forget the spillways if we experience prolonged rains. When they open up those gates, snook go nuts. Bring your insect repellant.
Capt. Bob Bushholz
http://www.catch22fish.com
(772) 225-6436
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