Fishing for me and mine was way off this week compared to last week’s fun. Lots of wind accompanying a late season mini-front likely put the fish down for the guys on Thursday. I really dislike fishing the day after a cold-front, even a weak one like this and the howling wind made it tougher than usual.
Joe, Nate and Jackson fished hard with their own brand of lures. When the fish refused to cooperate, we dipped into my stash of live shrimp. Drifting a shrimp under a popping float on one rod and free-lining one on a second rod did not improve our luck. Other than the puffers, which greedily chewed the shrimps apart in typical fashion, we had little action. Our final tally at morning’s end was one bluefish, one jack and one burrfish, all on their locally produced lures.
Saturday gave us a nice light south-westerly breeze and cool air temps at first light. Marilyn, Sally, Skip and Zeke were hoping for enough fish for dinner. We caught quite a few critters, but most were of the unsavory variety. A few catfish, lots of jacks, wee mutton snappers and sheepsheads.
By nine o’clock the wind generator kicked into high gear and ran us off of our spot, just as the outgoing tide started to do its thing. Seeking shelter in the backwater jungles did not produce much for us and we called the trip earlier than expected.
A dredging operation dedicated to a beach re-nourishment plan is ongoing at the Fort Pierce Inlet and has the water stirred-up and “sandy”. However, the bite has been fairly good. The typical bottom fish are eating live shrimp and live fish are taking a few snook and jacks. Tarpon are still somewhat active at the mouth of the inlet and along both jetties.
Until Next Time!
Capt. Mark Wright
