Fresh Fort Pierce Fishing Reports

Inshore: Summertime weather has been awesome this past week on the Treasure Coast! Temperatures ranged to almost 90 degrees on some days with light winds and an awesome bite on the river. We have had lots of exciting action and lots of smiling faces to show for it! Expect the winds to start again soon and a few more cold fronts to arrive each week as winter continues with mild conditions. It has been lots of fun this week! Sheepshead has been the outstanding bite this week. We caught well over 150 sheepshead in three days this week and over half were over 12". It was non-stop action just about every day this week. Tony, Helen, Kathy and Agnes has a super day fishing around the river with lots of sheepshead headed home for dinner. John, Mike and Louie has a similar day fishing as did Tim, Steve and Andrew. Andrew added two nice pompano to the catch that day. Arlene and Matt found a similar bite with Arlene topping off the day with a nice redfish. Mike and Karen had a nice day with lots of fish including ending the day with a blast of ladyfish for added fun. Denny and Don had a beautiful morning with sheepshead and a nice redfish to finish off a great morning. Richard and Ed added a couple nice pompano to their catch list. It was an exciting week for all! Redfish and pompano have been our other species that made for some awesome days fishing for my clients. The redfish have come from fishing docks around the area. There are some nice slots out there! DOA shrimp or live bait are great choices. Pompano have been scattered, but the ones we have found are in four feet of water or deeper on the grass flats. There are lots of jigs that work for pompano this time of year. Doc's Goofy Jigs and the 2.75 DOA shrimp are great lures for pomps. The snook bite has been good around the bridges and jetties at night lately. Have a great time enjoying the fishing! Remember, fishing is not just another hobby....it's an ADVENTURE! Thanks and Good Fishing! Captain Charlie Conner

February Fishing Forecast While winter is still around the Treasure Coast and weekly cold fronts will continue to bring cool nights and lots of windy days to the area, fishing will still be good out on the water. It has been a mild winter so far with the usual winds, rain and cooler nights. Water temperatures can dictate where and how you might fish on any given day this month. January was a much warmer month this year. When the water is cold, fish the deeper cuts and drop offs of the river. Sunny days will bring fish up in shallower waters to feed and the bite can really get hot out on the flats. The trout bite picks up very nicely in February. Last year proved to be another great year for big trout in the Fort Pierce area. I anticipate that 2017 will be another big fish year around the area. CAL jerk baits and Deadly Combos are exciting ways to trout fish with artificial lures, while live shrimp on popping corks are the ol’ standard way to trout fish out on the river. Redfish can be found in shallow flats around mangroves and islands. We had a fantastic winter bite in 2016 around the docks and mangroves for redfish. On warm sunny days, the reds will sit around the mangroves and soak up the sun. Finding some along the mangroves will bring some good rod bending action to anglers this month. The new 2 3/4" DOA shrimp and CAL jerk baits can find some hungry reds hugging the mangrove lines when fished very slowly. Docks are a great way to find plenty of fish waiting for something tasty to drift under them. Sheephead will be plentiful around the river and the larger fish will be coming into the river to breed. They showed up early this year and January has been a great month for them. Live or dead shrimp around bridges, docks and structure can provide lots of action in addition to some great tasting fish. Sand perch and croakers should also be hanging around the inlet and bridges during February. Pompano around the surf and on the deeper flats of the river can be taken on CAL grub tails, Doc’s Goofy Jigs and shrimp or clams. Bluefish, mackerel and jacks will continue to haunt the baitfish around the jetties and turning basin. Small, shiny lures will keep you busy. There should be some flounder around the back sides of the jetties and on sand flats around the inlet area. February is a transition month on the river. It opens snook season again in this area. Winter can be challenging when the cold arrives this year on the Treasure Coast. We have enjoyed more normal winter weather and the fish bite has been good for us. Winds will still be blowing and the water will begin to gradually rise in temperature. Fishing your lures slowly will certainly give you more action on the river. Fish tend to be sluggish in the colder water. Working your lures or bait slower along the bottom will give the fish more time to react to it and will result in more bites for anglers. Have fun this month and get out fishing! Remember, fishing is not just another hobby....it's an ADVENTURE! Thanks and Good Fishing! Captain Charlie Conner

South Indian River Fishing Report 1/19 Inshore: It's been a mild winter so far and there is only a short time till spring arrives. We should get some cold nights ahead, but these mild conditions will prevail most days. Winds continue to blow daily with a couple calmer days each week. Water temperatures are in the mid to upper sixties and that helps the fishing. The bite has been good for most species, but the winter fish have been very good for us lately. Mel, Matt, George, Roland and Rachel teamed up for a day fishing this past week. Rachel joined us mid-day while Mel cleaned fish for the guys. The caught a couple dozen croakers along with sheepshead, trout, whiting and more jacks than you could count to make for a wonderful day that everyone enjoyed. The Treasure Coast Casters had their January tournament last Sunday and I had Colt and Nicholas on the boat. The boys caught lots and lots of fish, but only Colt caught a keeper sheepshead to weigh in. They got into jacks and decided that they would rather catch them than try for the tournament fish. The guys had their own jack contest. The tournament results were: Colt Krischke - 2nd place Middle School - 15 points, Andrew Evans - 1st place High School - 30 points & Kaitlyn Ward 1st place Middle School - 65 points. Kaitlyn had the biggest fish of the tournament - 1lb. 11oz. sheepshead. If you have a kid or grandkid who loves to fish, contact Cammie Ward at **hidden content** to get them involved. Their web site is **hidden content** or you can find them on Facebook. The bite has been good for trout, sheepshead, drum and lots of other fish right now. Winter fishing is always fun and exciting for all ages, especially the young ones. It's a good time of year to get out and enjoy both the mild weather and great fishing! Remember, fishing is not just another hobby....it's an ADVENTURE! Thanks and Good Fishing! Captain Charlie Conner

good trip,plenty of action,everyone left with big bags of fresh filets.weather was very nice,capt.and crew were very nice and helpful.

The pictures are from several trips over the past month or so. Since the heat of the summer has kicked in we have been spending the majority of our time fishing the offshore reefs.

I have been slacking in the report department, so I figure I'll lump about a months worth of trip pictures all at once. Most of all the trips I have been running have been inlet/nearshore except for a couple of half day inshore excursions. I would be lying if I said every trip was a home run, the fishing has been everything from great to terrible.