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