South Indian River Fishing Report 5/31

May 30, 2012 Inshore: It's obvious that the rainy season has arrived on the Treasure Coast. Chances of afternoon rains and thunderstorms each day will determine if you want to venture on the water or not. Early mornings are generally the best time to get out fishing before the wetness moves in. Keep an eye peeled for lightning and keep safe out there. I had a wonderful day on the river this past week. Taking my son-in-law and my granddaughter, Chloe, out on the river along with a good friend, Wayne, from Long Island and his grandson, Justice for an outing. Justice has been out with me before and was excited about another adventure on the river this year. He is a special needs child with autism and loves riding in the boat and enjoying the water. He and Chloe decided that they wanted to catch ten fish that day and succeeded in catching eleven before the winds moved in on us. It was wonderful watching the kids fishing and examining each of the eight species that they caught. I look forward to the next time Justice visits the area again. Sea trout are still the best bite along the river. Look for drop offs along the grass flats or sand holes to find some big fish still feeding. DOA shrimp, CAL jerk baits or drifting live bait can get you in on the excitement. Look for redfish on the shallow flats and along the mangroves this time of year. DOA shrimp is hard to beat on a redfish. Snook season is closed as of June 1st and will be catch and release until fall. The snapper should be working their way into the river soon and you will begin finding them around the bridges and structure throughout the river. Live shrimp is always a good bait for them. The surf will continue to hold whiting and there are still some bluefish around as well. June begins the full swing into the summer patterns and you can find many calm mornings to work top water lures for some exciting action around the river. It's a great place to live and fish! As always, 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 Justice and Chloe on their fishing adventure!

June Fishing Forecast Summer has arrived and you can bet on hot afternoons and lots of great fishing action around the Treasure Coast during June. The mornings will be calm and it is certainly to your benefit to get out early to beat the afternoon heat. Being on the water at first light is worth the effort to watch the sun rise. Expect a chance of afternoon thunderstorms each day…we could sure use some rain around the area this year! It’s a fantastic month to fish. Inshore will provide lots of redfish, snook and trout action on the flats. Get those top water lures cleaned up and plan an early morning to get some of that explosive action in the shallows. Switch to DOA shrimp or a CAL jerk bait as the sun warms up to continue your success. Watch for bait schools on the flats and you can be assured there are fish nearby. You can expect the fish to be feeding shallow early and move to the edges of the flats as the sun rises. Look for sand holes on the flats! Fish are traditionally lazy and love to sit in a sand hole and wait for the tide to bring the food for them to ambush. You should be able to find plenty of redfish around the shallows. The population this year has been outstanding and they have been growing all spring. Lots of schools will be feeding on the flats, so be on the lookout for them. Most will be slot size to just over the slot. I love using a DOA shrimp while fishing for reds. Try along the mangroves as well. Lots of fish will move under the mangroves as the sun heats up for the day. Trout will be on the grassy flats and feeding on the same food out there. Move out to three to five feet of water as the day heats up to continue your action. A Deadly Combo can provide inexperienced anglers with lots of fun learning to fish artificial lures. Don’t forget to fish the docks around the river. Lots of big fish will be hanging around many of the docks along the Indian River. Live bait, TerrorEyz and DOA shrimp can find some exciting action in June. Harbor Branch, Queens Cove and Bear Point will all be hot spots for action all summer. Snook will provide lots of action around the bridges and jetties this month. Snook season closes on May 31 and won’t open again until fall. Night anglers will be heading to the jetties for catch and release snook and maybe some tarpon action. Top water lures, feather jigs, TerrorEyz and Bait Busters can all get you in on some fantastic action. Handle the snook carefully and release them quickly and safely so that they will be there this fall. Jacks will also be hanging around the inlets and give you some rod bending activity. Make sure you take plenty of water with you. It will be hot out there. Drink plenty of fluids to keep yourself hydrated and reduce the risk of heat stroke. Slather on lots of sunscreen! Sunburn isn’t a good feeling at the end of the good day of fishing. A little common sense and a few minutes can a big difference. Make that part of preparations for your adventures on the water. It will just make a great day even better!

South Indian River Fishing Report 5/9

May 9, 2012 INSHORE: The winds calmed down most of the past week and allowed anglers to enjoy the fishing along the Treasure Coast. Lots of action on the grass flats lately with sea trout being the best bite for us. We will continue to get a few windy days, but I think the worst of it is finally behind us and we can now enjoy the summer fishing! I helped Sunday at the Treasure Coast Casters championship tournament. Laine Pruitt was on my boat and we had some very nice weather to fish that day. Laine caught two sea trout early along with a lot of other fish and came in third place in the championship. Congratulations to all the Casters who fished this past school year! You can check them out at http://www.treasurecoastcasters.com if you are interested in becoming part of a great group of teens! We have fished both north and south of Fort Pierce on the grass flats in three to five feet of water. Using DOA shrimp, Mirrolure Mirrodines and live baits most of the week and having good success on the trout most days. There have been quite a few bluefish in the mix on the flats as well. The snook bite was good at night with the full moon and lots of anglers out there in search of a keeper. Snook season will close at the end of May, so you have a few weeks left to try and get that slot fish. We found most of our redfish along the mangroves and docks this week. Fishing for these fish will only improve now that the winds are calming down and you can fish the flats without getting blown around. The inlet has been full of bluefish, mackerel and jacks. I did spot some tarpon this week in the turning basin this week. It's a great month to enjoy the river! As always, 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 Forecast - May

May Fishing Forecast for the Treasure Coast Inshore: Finally, the windy months of March and April are almost behind us and we can look forward to the great fishing weather that May has to offer us on the Treasure Coast. Other than the usual windy days, it has been a pretty mild winter and spring has arrived. Look for warmer temperatures and little less blustery days. As the water temperatures climb, the fishing will steadily improve on the river. It will provide fantastic mornings for top water and lazy afternoons to drift the flats. May is one of my favorite months on the water! Redfish will be our main target throughout the month of May. The past several years have bought us schools of slot sized redfish along the Indian River. Most of the fish we have caught have been in the 18 to 30 inch range. They have been sunning on the flats and May gets their blood pumping and turns on the feeding. I always have three lures ready during May…DOA shrimp, CAL jerk baits and top water lures. Gold spoons will also be a great addition to the arsenal when fishing for redfish. As the fish school up, look for them around the edges of the flats. Most of the river here on the Treasure Coast has been holding redfish and you should be able to find some on your favorite flats. I tend to enjoy the east side of the river, but we have found many on the west side as well. Snook fishing in the early mornings will bring some rod bending action as they head up on the flats for an early morning or late evening meal. Top water lures, Baitbusters and DOA shrimp are all great lures to tempt a snook into biting. Docks will also hold snook lurking around for an easy meal. Live shrimp is hard to beat around the docks. In the inlet areas, try around the seawalls and bridges with live bait, Terror Eyz, feather jigs or deep diving plugs. I love early morning for great snook fishing opportunities! Trout will continue to feed on top water at first light and live shrimp on popping corks during the day. As the sun rises, they will head off the shallows to deeper water in the two to four foot range. We have had some nice gator trout of late and should see some still in the river in the early parts of May. I have had great success with CAL jerk baits and Deadly Combos this year in place of live shrimp. Both sides of the river have been productive in early mornings. Winter fishing for trout has been good this year and spring should continue to give you some great action. Bridges will hold the usual Sheephead catch, while snapper will be moving into the river along with flounder. Jacks will be patrolling the areas and creating havoc all over the river. Beaches will produce whiting with still a few catches of Spanish mackerel and bluefish. Tarpon will begin their trek into the river and you can start looking for them in the St Lucie River, Big and Little Mud areas and into the channels of the river. May is a great month to fish the Treasure Coast….plan on a trip out on the river soon! As always, 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