Ft. Pierce Inshore - Offshore Report

[Captain Joe Ward]

March 29, 2007

INSHORE - Finally! A day that was fishable in the morning. And, you guessed it -- the wind blew up in the afternoon. The inshore fishing has been OK when you could get out of the wind. Fishing around the spoil islands has been a good option for the inshore anglers. The trout have been hanging out in 2 to 3 feet of water. A soft plastic bait or a top water plug has been the way to go. The snapper, sheepshead and black drum are still around the bridges and any other structure you can find. A small live shrimp has been working good for these fish. There has been a few croakers reported in the area around the Turning Basin and in the croaker hole. Most anglers have had to sit on the spot and wait for the fish to turn on. But, when they did they got some nice size ones -- 14 to 17 inches. The snook bite has been on one day and off the next. The most productive places have been the North Bridge, Turing Basin and the Ft. Pierce inlet on the out going tide. A pinfish, a large hand picked shrimp or a small croaker have been the baits of choice. There are still a good number of spanish mackerel and bluefish in the Inlet and the Turning Basin.

Today I had three guys from Chicago on the boat -- Casey Kruse, Tom Schwarz and Tom Woldman. We got into the trout and they brought back 3 nice trout that went from 3 & 1/2 pounds to 4 & 1/2 pounds. We had several bigger trout to the boat and they pulled off. Dave had on a redfish that had to be at least 35 inches. Thanks to the boat that speed by us and sent us a nice size wake the fish was able to pull off at the boat. We caught all the trout on Gulp Bait's and a MirroLure's.

OFFSHORE - The offshore fishing will hopefully pick up soon. The wind just can't blow much longer. On the days that the wind was down the anglers that went out reported scattered dolphin in 110 to 140 feet of water. The biggest dolphin that came into the docks was 18 pounds. The dolphin were caught on a naked ballyhoo. The kingfish are still here and in 50 to 70 feet of water. A live bait was working the best for them. I am still getting a few reports of cobia under the rays and they have been taking feathers. The cobia have all been inside the Offshore Bar in 90 feet of water. The bottom fishing for snapper and grouper should pick up as the wind lays down. Only a few boats reported catching any fish. One boat had a 7 pound snapper and another boat had 2 grouper to 21 pounds. Along the beaches there are still a good number of spanish mackerel, bluefish and jacks to keep you busy.

TEEN ANGLERS - After having to cancel the tournament on March 18th the Teen's were ready to fish on March 25th but the fish were not ready to be caught. Even with a fish list that included 15 fish we only had a few fish weighed in. In the middle school division Tyler Serio of Lincoln Park Academy weighed in a 3lb. 11oz. trout and it took 1st place. There was no 2nd or 3rd place fish in the middle school division. In the high school division it was all about Westwood High. 1st place and biggest fish of the tournament went to Kalib Guttler for his 4lb. 7oz. black drum. 2nd place was RJ Swinford with a 1lb 13oz. bluefish. 3rd place went to Jordan Martinez for his 1lb. 9oz. sandperch. The next inshore tournament for the Teen Anglers will be held on April 29th at Jaycee Park in Ft. Pierce. If you want more info on Teen Anglers just go to the web at www.teenanglers.org.

JUNIOR TEEN ANGLERS - The next from shore fishing tournament for the Junior Teen Anglers will be held on April 7th at Harbour Pointe Park in Ft. Pierce. The Junior Teen's will fish from 9am until 11am. Junior Teen Anglers are for the 5 to 11 age group. They are awarded trophies and fishing gear for 1st thru 3rd place in the 5 to 8 age group and in the 9 to 11 age group. For more info you can call 772-201-5773 or go to the website at www.teenanglers.org.

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

Capt. Joe Ward
Capt. Joe's River Charters