Ft. Pierce Inshore - Offshore Report

[Captain Joe Ward]

APRIL 16, 2009

INSHORE - There has been a lot of action with most of it happening between the North & South Bridges and in the Ft. Pierce Inlet. Let's start with the Inlet -- there has been a red hot snook bite on the falling tide for anglers using live baits at places like Judy Rock and the cleaning table. A lot of the snook have been over the slot. The spanish mackerel and bluefish have been stacked up in the Turning Basin and in the Inlet. They have been hitting anything shinny but I have been doing the best with live shrimp. On the days that the wind has laid down there has been a good trout bite around Harbor branch when using a D.O.D. shrimp in a gold color. This has produced more bites than any other color. On Wednesday Pat & Gwen were up and went fishing with me again. We had a great day. They caught snapper, ladyfish, blue runners and a snook. Pat lost a big snook while fishing down around Bear Point.

OFFSHORE - Not too much to report this week with the windy conditions. The few boats that went out reported sloppy seas and not a lot of fish. I did get reports of a few kingfish being caught in 30 feet of water to the north of the Ft. Pierce Inlet. Also, a handful of small dolphin in 200 feet of water and they were caught on a naked ballyhoo. One boat had a handful of snapper to 4 pounds and they were fishing over the reefs in 15 feet of water and using cut baits.

TEEN ANGLERS - This Sunday will be the last inshore tournament for the Treasure Coast Chapter of Teen Anglers. They will meet at Jaycee Park at 6:30am on Sunday and fish until noon. If you would like more info on joining Teen Anglers or becoming a volunteer -- just go to the web at www.teenanglers.org

BRAGGING BOARD - Jesse & Leslie Pfeiffer have been getting a lot of snook in the Ft. Pierce Inlet. Most of they were released as they were over the slot. A live bait fished on the bottom was the way to go. On Sunday Robert Kinchen & Robert Jr. had a good number of fish while fishing around the bridges in Ft. Pierce. They caught snapper to 12 inches, bluefish, pompano and sheepshead. They were using live shrimp.

MOTHER'S DAY WEEKEND FISHING TOURNAMENT - The Dockside Inn in Ft. Pierce will host it's first Mother's Day Weekend Fishing Tournament. On Saturday -- May 9th there will be an offshore and a inshore tournament for the guest staying at Dockside Inn. There will also be a dock fishing tournament for the kids age 12 and under. There will be cash prizes for the inshore and offshore tournament and a bbq on Saturday night. The deadline for signing up for the tournament is May 1st. Call the Dockside Inn at 1-800-286-1745 for more info and join in on the fun.

If you would like to report a catch you can e-mail me at cward11605@aol.com or call me at 772-201-5770. You can also reach me on the web at www.captjoeward.com

Capt. Joe Ward
Capt. Joe's River Charters