South Indian River Fishing Report 4/30

April 30, 2010

INSHORE REPORT:

Fantastic spring weather rewarded us with great days to fish and lots of action around the river. Both inshore and offshore fishing has improved with the good fishing conditions and it promises to be a wonderful spring around the Treasure Coast. April has lived up to its reputation of a windy month, but became milder as the days wore on. May is always a month of calmer winds and great fishing opportunities.

Trout fishing remains steadfast as the best action around the river. DOA Deadly Combos, live shrimp, CAL jerk baits and top water lures are all working great on the trout around the river. Fishing in two to four feet of water around Harbor Branch, Queen's Cove and Round Island have all been very productive for trout action. Wayne Keever, Mario and Kathleen had a fun day catching trout on the flats. I finally managed a morning to check out some flats and found the trout and redfish to be cooperating very nicely. Most of the reds are on the lower scale of the slot, but they will be the big boys of summer very soon. CAL jerk baits and grub tails worked good on the reds for me this week. I was also rewarded with a top water redfish as well. Sandy flats or around the docks of Fort Pierce will be good areas to look for reds in May.

Snook fishing has been good around the jetties and bridges lately. You will still find bluefish, mackerel and jacks patrolling the jetties. The big jacks are filtering into the river and you should be able to find some drag squealing action around some of the deeper docks. The baitfish are beginning to fill the flats and that means lots of big trout will be there to feed on the many bait schools. It's a great time of year to get out at first light with a top water lures to get in on some great action. Beaches are still producing whiting, jacks and some pompano. The bridges have been good for mostly sheephead this week. May will provide us with some great fishing!

Forecast:

Winds will continue to ease up around the area and early mornings will give you some great top water action around the river. Find the bait schools and fish around them to look for big trout. Redfish will become much more active as the water continues to heat up. You can find reds on the flats throughout the day during May. Snook will be feeding around docks and bait schools on the flats this month. May is always exciting on the river and with the past winter, the fish are ready to fatten themselves up on the baitfish. Plan on getting out this month and have lots of fun!

Remember, fishing is not just another hobby....it's an ADVENTURE!

Good Fishing and Be Safe!
Captain Charlie Conner

http://www.fishtalescharter.com
captaincharlie@fishtalescharter.com
772-284-3852


A couple of this weeks catch...

South Indian River Fishing Report 4/23

April 23, 2010

INSHORE REPORT:

The winds slowed down this week and allowed us to fish many areas around the river. Warm, sunny days around the Treasure Coast have melted away the memories of the cold weather we had not so long ago. The bite was a little slower this week, but we still caught fish around the river. It's wonderful to see those nice spring days out there!

Trout continued to be our best catch of the week. We have fished many of the usual grass flats from Round Island down to Middle Cove. Richard and Jacob were out earlier in the week. Mark Orr joined me on another day. Dan and Jack joined me the latter part of the week. We fished both north and south of Fort Pierce and was able to find trout on most of the flats along with the usual jacks. Try the DOA Deadly Combo or live shrimp when drifting for trout. We enjoyed good weather all week! It was a nice week to be on the water.

While trout will be the best bite for now, the redfish will become more active on the flats as May approaches. DOA shrimp or TerrorEyz around the docks can find you some action. The sheephead have thinned out around the structure, but you can still find some around the river. It's the time of year that I enjoy fishing docks. As the winds begin to slow down, you can spend the mornings with top water lures before the sun gets hot and can find a variety of fish hanging under the docks. The big jacks are coming into the river now and lots of baitfish can be found around the area as well.

The bridges and inlet has held Spanish mackerel, some bluefish, jacks and a few black drum. The pompano bite has been down towards the Stuart area lately if you are looking to surf fish. You can find whiting along the beaches for some great table fare. The weather will continue to improve and so will the fishing!

Tip of the Week:
The manatee zone in the Fort Pierce inlet will be shifted to summer rules on May 1. That allows boaters to use the ICW channel at 30 mph during the summer months. Keep it safe as all inlets have lots of boat traffic, especially on weekends. Just because you can go fast through an inlet, doesn't always make it safe for everyone. Fun and relaxation is usually number one on most anglers list for heading off on the water. Observe boating regulations and, above all, be aware of boaters around you. Let's all have a fun, relaxing and SAFE summer on the Treasure Coast!

Remember, fishing is not just another hobby....it's an ADVENTURE!

Good Fishing and Be Safe!
Captain Charlie Conner

http://www.fishtalescharter.com
captaincharlie@fishtalescharter.com
772-284-3852

South Indian River Fishing Report 4/17

April 17, 2010

INSHORE REPORT:

While April winds continue to blow along the Treasure Coast, the fishing has been great out there on the river. Lots of trout action on the flats have kept our anglers busy with some nice size fish. Most days we were fortunate to have the winds lay down early and give us a good window to fish before the afternoon blow began. It was a lot of fun out there on the river this week!

Dave and Cody Howard joined me and they caught a number of nice trout on the flats. Marcos Flores and his fishing buddy also found nice trout on the flats. Al Conklin was celebrated his 94th birthday with son, Al, and son-in-law, Ed, and show the guys how to catch fish. Al caught nice trout and sheephead on the flats and had a wonderful birthday fishing adventure.

Trout has and will remain a mainstay on the flats. Top water works early and DOA shrimp or CAL jerk baits work great once the sun comes up. Live shrimp also will get you plenty of action on the flats. Redfish were a little quiet for us this week. With the east winds, it was difficult to fish the docks along the river. We concentrated on the east shore on some of the better trout flats. Queen's Cove, Round Island and Bear Point gave us some good size trout in two to four feet of water. We found some nice sheephead holding in some of the deeper holes on the flats. You can also expect to find plenty of jacks and ladyfish out there as well.

There are still some pompano and whiting being taken along the surf. Most of the pompano seemed to be down towards Stuart lately. Bridges were slower, but there are still sheephead, snapper and jacks hanging around there. The jetties have been holding snook around the rocks and deep trolled lures can get you some good strikes along there. Some mackerel will be hanging around the mouth of the inlet, too.

Forecast:

The winds will normally begin to slow down towards the end of April. Early morning will be fantastic top water action on the flats. Try a Deadly Combo around Queen's Cove or Harbor Branch for some good trout activity. Watch for redfish schools to become more active in the shallows as May gets closer. Fishing docks will be very productive most of the day for a number of species. Look for drop-offs as the sun rises in the sky for some big trout. Don't forget the deeper mangroves on a hot, sunny day. The fish are happy to see some warmer water temperatures and are hungry. As the river fills with baitfish, you can bet that May will be an exciting month to fish the Indian River!

Remember, fishing is not just another hobby....it's an ADVENTURE!

Good Fishing and Be Safe!
Captain Charlie Conner

http://www.fishtalescharter.com
captaincharlie@fishtalescharter.com
772-284-3852

April 8, 2010

INSHORE REPORT:

Spring is definitely here on the Treasure Coast and both air and water temperatures continue to warm up the area. We enjoyed a variety of fishing and lots of success around the Indian River this week. Next week should again provide us with some good action all around the area. We will still have those windy afternoons, but mornings will begin a little more calmer than we experienced in March. Get out early for your best fishing opportunities.

We fished north of Fort Pierce most of the week and will most likely be there for another week or so. The slimy seagrass to the south of the area has made it difficult to fish both artificials and live bait. It has been thick from Bear Point and south of there. I gave up trying to fish to the south for now until the seagrass has thinned out that direction. The water north of Fort Pierce has provided much cleaner water to fish and the fish have been biting up that direction.

Trout fishing has been our best bite lately. Fishing DOA Deadly Combos and live shrimp most of the week has given us some nice catches. The slot fish have been fat and sassy and a few over the slot as well. You can expect plenty of big trout around the river this month and action will continue to get better as the month wears on. Round Island, Queen's Cove and Harbor Branch have all been good flats for us lately. Fish in three to five feet of water and you should be able to find some good fishing. We have been drifting around the flats until we find our bite and then anchor up and fish those areas. Sometimes patience will pay off quite nicely!

I had a number of new clients and also some old friends back on the boat this week. Greg and Lori Mihilak, Josh and Kyle Lukat with friend, Luke, and Ken, Mark and Steven McIntosh were all back to enjoy the river and the fishing. Ray Patalano and Glen Parath were out with me for a fishing adventure around the river. We enjoyed everything from trout and redfish to jacks, snapper and mackerel. Redfish were in shallow on the flats and we caught our fish on DOA shrimp this week. There is a good variety of fish out there to keep you busy.

Forecast:
While windy conditions will continue the rest of the month. Early mornings will provide the best and maybe the calmest time of the day. It will give you an opportunity for top water action and fishing areas that will become wind blown later in the mornings. Choose the bottoms that the fish you are going to target will most likely be feeding on. Large grassy flats with scattered sandy holes are ideal for trout fishing. Flats with more sandy areas than grass are usually good redfish areas. Set up and drift the flats until you find lots of bait activity or catch fish. Then you can always anchor up and fish those areas. We set up drifts using the tides and winds to our advantage and give us the largest areas to fish. The rest of April promises to be great trout fishing days and some good redfish days as well. Get out fishing this month!

Remember, fishing is not just another hobby....it's an ADVENTURE!

Good Fishing and Be Safe!
Captain Charlie Conner

http://www.fishtalescharter.com
captaincharlie@fishtalescharter.com
772-284-3852

Josh Lukat with one of his trout and Donald Buckingham with a nice redfish.