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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 fis | |
