Ft. Pierce Inshore - Offshore Report

[Captain Joe Ward]

OCTOBER 25, 2006

INSHORE - The inshore fishing was starting to turn around as the water was slowly clearing up, the bait was here and the weather was good. That lasted over the weekend then the wind came along with the cold front. But, over the weekend the fishing was good with plenty of snapper in the 1 to 2 pound range and they were being caught on live sliver jenny's or a live shrimp if you were fishing along the channel edges or around the local bridges. The bridges are also holding some black drum, flounder and small grouper with a few Goliath grouper in the mix for fun. The snook fishing remains steady but a little on the slow side. Most of the fish reported are coming from the Ft. Pierce Inlet on the outgoing tide and live baits have been the way to go. If you can find a place out of the wind and some clean water you should find the trout and redfish. The best place this week has been from Round Island down to Queen's Cove.

OFFSHORE - The fishing over the weekend was good with a good number of dolphin reported along a rip in about 150 feet of water. Most of the dolphin were in the 15 pound range but we did have 2 that went 25 pounds come into the docks at the Dockside Inn & Resort. There were good reports of kingfish in the 60 to 90 foot range and they were feeding on live blue runners. I did have reports of a lot of sailfish to the north of the Ft. Pierce Inlet -- about 15 miles and they were in 180 to 225 feet of water with hook ups and free jumpers. The bottom fishing was also good for sea bass, snapper and grouper but the reports were also about a lot of sharks. The blackfin tuna bite has been good with most of the fish under 5 pounds. Along the beaches look for spanish mackerel, bluefish, jacks and a few tarpon.

TEEN ANGLERS - The local chapter of National Teen Anglers held their second inshore tournament of the school year this past Sunday at Jaycee Park in Ft. Pierce. In the high school division 1st place and biggest fish went to Joe Senneville -- 2nd place was Jordan Martinez and 3rd place was Eli Cozine -- all were from Westwood High. In the middle school division only one fish was weighed in and it took 1st place. Dillon Roberts-Louria of Forest Grove Middle School took all the honors. The next scheduled inshore tournament will be held on November 12th at Jaycee Park. If you would like to join Teen Anglers or would like to volunteer your time to take a teen fishing -- go to the website at www.teenanglers.org. Just a reminder -- we have started a Junior Teen Anglers program for the 5 to 11 age group. Their next tournament will be on December 2nd at Harbour Pointe Park in Ft. Pierce. Go to the website for more info.

If you would like to report a catch, 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