South Indian River Fishing Report 8/28

Inshore:

The weather patterns are slowly changing into fall. Look for milder temperatures and less rainfall as we get into September. Luckily, the rainfall has slowed and at least the Fort Pierce area is gradually getting back to normal. I get calls each day asking where can I fish safely. Most people are avoiding the Stuart/Jensen Beach area for now. Fort Pierce has held up well and the fishing has been good. The Saint Lucie River and Stuart area are still being flooded with fresh water from Lake Okeechobee and that will be a while for things to improve there. While the rainy season is about over, the problems in the Saint Lucie River are far from that. Businesses around the area are feeling the strain from the toxic waters in the Saint Lucie River. Charter boats, tackle shops and beach rentals are just a few of the locals that are being affected in the Stuart area. More and more anglers are fishing the Fort Pierce area now. My wife, Eva, and I attended one of the rallies recently at the St. Lucie Locks in support of cleaning up our waterways. There continues to be growing support for action and the momentum is in our favor. Check out on Facebook for groups like the Rivers Coalition, Save the Saint Lucie River or Citizens for Clean Water. There are a number of other support groups popping up and lots of activities planned, so get on board and get involved in saving the Saint Lucie River and Indian River Lagoon!

Fishing in the Fort Pierce area has improved greatly since the rains have slowed. The water has cleaned up nicely and gets better each day. Fortunately, we aren't dealing in all the Okeechobee water up there. We have enjoyed some good trips lately and caught a variety of species to make for lots of fun! Brian, Alan, Jr. and Matthew had a nice day on the river. Young Matthew showed up everyone with a 27" trout along with a nice redfish and lots of other species for an enjoyable morning. Mark, Ken and Steven caught lots of snapper, sheepshead and jacks on their morning. Matt took his daughters, Vickie and Charlotte, on a fishing adventure. Charlotte topped everyone with a nice redfish, drum and sheepshead to end a nice morning on the water. Ken and JT got to see a nice school of redfish to start their morning. Each ended up with upper end slot reds along with snook and snapper to make for a fun trip. It has been a fun week!

The trout bite has been somewhat slower lately, so we have been looking for redfish, snook, snapper and other fish. The redfish have started schooling up on the flats and if you are reading the water, you might just find some. September is always a great month to look for reds on the flats. Top water lures, DOA shrimp, CAL Airheads or live bait can all help you get hooked up on an upper slot redfish this time of year. We are finding both reds and snook hanging under the mangroves and hungry to feed. Work under the shadow lines to find where they are hiding. Look for lots of snapper along the channel edges and docks this month. You can also find some sheepshead in those areas. The inlet continues to have jacks, blue runners and other hungry fish feeding on the glass minnows. Along the beach you should find snook, tarpon and jacks feeding on the bait schools. The fall mullet run is about to take off and if brings in lots of hungry predators to the area. September will be a very productive month on the Treasure Coast.

Keep posted on the quality of the waters in our area by checking TCPalm.com daily and get involved. They have been very active and vocal to get things changed to improve our waterways!

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

Good Fishing and be Safe,
Captain Charlie Conner

www.fishtalescharter.com
captaincharlie@fishtalescharter.com
772-284-3852

Flat-Tactics on the Treasure Coast

Flat-Tactics on the Treasure Coast....

While snook fishing is on most anglers minds these days, I am still out there in search of redfish on the flats. We have been fortunate to have a growing population of red drum around the Treasure Coast. It's great to see so many slot size fish in our area once again. I have been lucky enough over the last fifteen years to witness the increase of size and number of our redfish.

I break down fishing the flats into three aspects:
1. Learning the area you want to fish.
2. Reading the water.
3. Presentation of your lures

Most flats in our area will be the hangout for reds. It provides lots of fun and excitement for the anglers. Learning the flats takes time and patience, but will pay off with that first hook up on a top end slot fish. I watch anglers idle up on the flats, which will make most fish high tail it out of there. Stealth is one of the most important parts of the puzzle. Start fishing off the flats and slowly work your way up on them. You will be amazed that a lot of fish hang just off the edges.

Pick one flat and learn it well. You might be amazed at the different contours and variety of bottom along the area. Tidal cuts give fish many options to feed or find a retreat from danger. One part may be shallow and almost unfishable, while another part provides deeper areas that are accessible to fish and anglers. Spend some time and be patient. Learn the area you want to fish and then move on to another area to learn.
Tides also play a role in how to fish different areas. Naturally, high tides provide more areas to fish, while low tides limit access to many shallow parts of the flats. Learn where to fish on both tides. I find that low tides will many times congregate fish into deeper cuts, while they wait for the water to turn around. Once again, time and patience pays off.

Lures are so varied that you could write volumes about what to use and when to use it. Everyone has their favorites that they tend to use most of the time. I always use a variety of lures on the flats. You won’t find me without a DOA shrimp tied on one of my rods along with a top water lure or CAL jerk bait. Don't be stubborn and not be willing to try something different. I always try my go to lures, but will change styles or colors when necessary. It's been proven, over and over again, that presentation is the most important part of lure fishing. Give two people the same lure and one will catch, while the other is mumbling sweet nothings under their breath. Don't give up on a lure till you have tried working it in different patterns first. Working a lure slow or fast can make a difference.

Learn to read the water. Most anglers will miss good fishing areas by not watching what is happening on the water. Redfish are lazy most of the time. A school will lie quietly on the bottom undisturbed unless you happen to work your way on top of them. The majority of times, you won't see them pushing water or tailing. One slight movement in the water could be a school of mullet or redfish. You just never quite know for sure. Work slowly and watch every movement on the water.

I've mentioned time and patience a number of times in this article. After over thirty years of fishing the Indian River, I still learn something new each time I get out on the water. Our flats are great places to fish and learning how to fish them will give you hours of fun and excitement seeking out the reds in the area. The Treasure Coast is a great place to live and fish. Redfish are back and the fishing gets better each year!

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

Good Fishing,
Captain Charlie Conner
www.fishtalescharter.com
captaincharlie@fishtalescharter.com
772-284-3852

September Fishing Forecast

September Fishing Forecast

September is always an exciting month to fish along the Treasure Coast. Anglers eagerly await the arrival of the annual fall mullet run. The beaches and rivers will be filled with mullet and you can find lots of predators following the bait this month. Look for tarpon, snook, jacks, bluefish and many other species feeding on the mullet this month. Top water and suspending lures work fantastic in September. Try a DOA Baitbuster or Big Fish lure while fishing around the large schools of mullet. It's a great time of year to fish early mornings along the beach. The fish will be cornering the bait along the surf and action can be fun and exciting.

Snook season opens again on September 1st. Anglers have been patiently awaiting the chance at keeping a slot fish for dinner. A few things to keep in mind while you are anxiously getting ready for the start of the season are making sure your license and snook permit are not outdated. Know the slot size, which is 28” – 32” and a one fish per day limit. Check your rods, reels and fishing line. Don’t lose that keeper fish because of something that you could have avoided by a little preparation. Remember that there will be lots of anglers heading out the first several days of the season. Have fun and be safe!

You will be able to find some redfish schools this month as they gather up to head out to the ocean. Look around the shallow sandy flats for them to be feeding. DOA shrimp or CAL jerk baits can coax them into biting. Trout will continue to bite around the usual flats like, Bear Point, Harbor Branch and Round Island. Deadly Combos fished on the edges of the bait schools will find some action with trout and other species. Snapper can be found along channel edges and around structure. Sheephead, drum and snapper can be caught on the catwalks of the bridges. Live or dead shrimp will find these fish.

September Tip:
Fish the bait schools! It's easy to spot the bait this time of year. If you don't find bait around your favorite fishing spot, you will most likely not find many fish there. Move around if you need to in order to find active bait. Fish love this time of year and they are out there gorging themselves on the bait in anticipation of the coming winter months. Try a CAL Airhead or DOA Bait Buster around the mullet schools. Early mornings can be exciting on the flats. You can find big fish in shallow water around the bait pods. It has been a long hot summer and finally temperatures will begin to mellow out and water temps will get back to normal. It's a great time of year to be fishing!

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

Good Fishing and be Safe,
Captain Charlie Conner

www.fishtalescharter.com
captaincharlie@fishtalescharter.com
772-284-3852

South Indian River Fishing Report 8/12

Inshore:

The heat of August continues along the Treasure Coast. Expect hot, humid days throughout the rest of the month. We have had a light breeze most days to take the edge off the hot weather for us. The rains have slowed down now, which is good for the area with all the drainage from Lake Okeechobee continuing daily. Water conditions around the St. Lucie are horrible and toxic! Fort Pierce has held up well to the south of the bridges. Taylor Creek continues to be pushed north of there with the incoming tides. The fishing has been good this week and should continue with the present weather patterns.

We have enjoyed a variety of fish this week on the river. I was out with Clint Walker of the Fishing Center earlier in the week and we got a tarpon in the 30# range to the boat before the bite shut down for the morning. Ron, Mike and Timberly caught a good variety of fish on their morning on the water. Timberly topped off her day with a slot redfish from under the mangroves and Mike boated a large flounder to end a good day of fishing. Vince and Bill landed a number of snook up to 27" and each hooked up on a redfish. Bill's threw the hook, but Vince caught his first redfish at 26". They also caught trout, snapper and ladyfish on their beautiful morning on the river. It's nice not to be dodging rain all morning!

Our trout bite has been slower this month with the warmer water. Early mornings has been the best trout bite with top water or DOA shrimp. Fish grass flats two to five feet deep for best results. We have been catching a number of snook along the mangroves. All have been under slot, but a good fight since they are out of season anyway. Top water, CAL paddle tails or DOA shrimp will all work on snook around the mangroves. Redfish have also been under the mangroves staying out of the sun. Skipping your lure or bait under the mangroves is essential to getting a bite. I like to use the CAL paddle tail to skip under the mangroves. They are under the shadow lines and you have to get back in there if you want a bite. Snapper have been all over the river and many have been keepers lately. Docks, bridges and channel edges have all held good numbers of snapper. The inlet has been invaded by ladyfish, jacks, blue runners and other hungry species looking for an easy meal. Look for the glass minnow schools and you will find plenty of action, especially for the kids!

August is always a hot month. Keep hydrated and use plenty of sunscreen this time of year. Snook season opens soon on September 1st. Now is a great time to check your license and snook permit along with all your tackle and gear in anticipation for opening night. There are always lots of first night anglers so it pays to be prepared. Have fun and be safe out there!

Remember, as always, fishing is not just another hobby……it’s an ADVENTURE!

Good Fishing,
Captain Charlie Conner

www.fishtalescharter.com
captaincharlie@fishtalescharter.com
772-284-3852

South Indian River Fishing Report 8/7

Inshore:

August continues to bake the area with hot temperatures and lots of rain storms just about every day. Expect more of the same the rest of the month. Water temps have ranged in the mid to high 80's. Water quality is the main issue right now. As daily reported by TCPalm and many other news agencies along with a huge Facebook presence, the Saint Lucie River continues to suffer from all the Lake Okeechobee drainage. Things seem to worsen each day as more rain arrives daily. Water in that area is now unsafe for humans due to the toxic algae growing throughout the river area. The Indian River Lagoon is suffering from all the runoffs as well. The situation is critical and everyone is urged to get involved to get things changed and save our rivers. Check on Facebook for the Rivers Coalition, Speak Up For The St. Lucie and many other pages that are daily keeping citizens posted on the river conditions.

In Fort Pierce, Taylor Creek continues to dump runoff water into the Indian River. The fresh water is being pushed to the north with the tides. Water quality there has held up well to the south of Fort Pierce. Incoming tides has provided the best bite as it brings in cleaner seawater. There is a variety of fish to be caught this month. Snapper and sheepshead are around docks, bridges and channel edges. Live or dead shrimp is the bait of choice. Look for trout in two to five feet of water. Top water lures, DOA shrimp, CAL Airheads or live shrimp and pigfish are great choices for trout fishing. Redfish are in the shallow flats and around the mangroves. CAL paddle tails are one of my favorite lures around mangroves. Snook will be hanging around the mouth of the inlet, bridge, mangroves and docks. Top water, TerrorEyz and CAL Airheads will all work around these areas. Beaches have held a variety of fish including snook and tarpon chasing bait.

The turning basin in Fort Pierce has been loaded with ladyfish, blue runners, jacks and assorted other species that are all feeding on the glass minnow schools that come in with each tide. Great action for the little ones or anyone just wanting to bend a rod. Small shiny lures work best. Look for clean water and lots of bait action on the flats to find the fish. Getting out early can give you some great opportunities to fish top water lures in shallow water before the sun drives them to deeper water. Fish the bait schools. You can find lots of mullet, glass minnows, etc. around the river. Fish the edges and you increase your chances of hooking up. Fish the mangroves this time of year. As the sun gets high, lots of fish will hang under the shadow lines of the mangrove trees. Skipping a lure under there is a great way of finding fish in the middle of the day. August can be challenging with the heat and thunderstorms, but you can still find fish to catch!

The Treasure Coast Casters held its 2nd Annual picnic for the kids, parents and volunteers. The kids had a wonderful afternoon of fishing, swimming and enjoying all the great food that everyone shared. The group covers just about all ages of kids from kindergarten through high school. Got a child that loves to fish, call Cammie at 772-201-5773 to get the information on getting your child involved in a great organization. Go to http://www.treasurecoastcasters.org for more information! I am also a volunteer for the group and it's always a pleasure to see the smiles on the kids faces as they enjoy a morning fishing!

Remember, as always, fishing is not just another hobby……it’s an ADVENTURE!

Good Fishing,
Captain Charlie Conner

www.fishtalescharter.com
captaincharlie@fishtalescharter.com
772-284-3852