Amanda caught this 18-pound blackfin tuna on a day of trolling out of the Fort Pierce inlet in May. The fish was hooked up in the 120-foot depth and ate a C&H Rattle Jet Lure being pulled in open water. This was Amanda’s first offshore catch and also her first-time fishing offshore. Photo credit: Capt. Danny Markowski.
With June upon us, the seas will be smoothing out so smaller boats will be able to have more time offshore. The end of the major mahi run will be over soon but there will still be some that stay in the area through the summer. Trolling ballyhoo and lures from 80 foot on out will be the way to locate them. Look for floating debris, weeds and rips. Once any of these are found, make a pass or two by them to see if anyone is home. If nothing hits your spread, it is a good idea to toss some chunk bait or some live baits as close to the debris without getting tangled with the debris. If you want to go for the larger mahi or possibly a wahoo, another method is to drop a heavy grub on a big jighead or a butterfly jig deep under the debris and back to the surface to entice a strike.
Kingfish will be moving into our area this month. For kingfishing, I recommend using a fast tip rod to keep steady pressure on the fish. A reel with fast line retrieval is the way to go for getting all the slack line back in fast if your fish is swimming back towards the boat.
Marina At Fort Pierce Fishing Reports🎣• Fort Pierce, Fl (united States) Fishing
Look for kings in the depths of 15 foot off the beach to out to 80 foot. For kingfish you can troll a drone spoon or ballyhoo 40 to 50 foot behind your boat, but I would suggest having one below the surface in midwater depth with a downrigger or a planer. My preferred way of fishing for kingfish is looking for the bait schools and then slow troll a live threadfin, pilchard or a big blue runner with a live bait hook through the nose and a treble hook (also known as “stingers”) near the tail, as kingfish like to strike short. Always use wire leader as these fish have razor sharp teeth and will cut through mono like butter, then use wire to attach the nose hook to the treble hook.
Kingfish can also be found in the deeper waters around structure or hard bottom. Troll live baits around these areas and keep watch at your depth finder for bait pods on the bottom. Kingfish will usually be near these bait pods and structure. In the deeper depths you should cover the water column. I recommend using a downrigger if available and put it halfway down between the surface and the bottom and then have your other baits at the surface. Some days all your bites will be on the surface baits and some days on the downrigger baits and other days you will have bites on both the downrigger and surface baits. The live baits in our area for kingfish are pilchards, threadfin herring and you can’t ever go wrong with a big blue runner. I suggest putting the big blue runner on the downrigger, if possible, or on the surface he should be the farthest line out in your spread. All of these baits can be caught in our local waters.
Kingfish are edible. Smaller kingfish are good on the grill or broiled. Bigger kingfish are great smoked. There are also many good fish smack (fish dip/spread) recipes that you can find on the internet. If the smaller kingfish are schooled up and you have had your fill of catching kingfish, watch your bottom machine, many times you can drop baits to the bottom in the same area and catch snapper. The snapper hang under schools of kingfish to eat the leftover bait pieces that the kingfish are eating.
Fort Pierce Fishing Reports By Captain Mark Wright
Enjoy all the fishing opportunities we will have this month. Check your rules and regulations and catch’em up. Remember keep an eye on the sky for any afternoon storms.
Winter’s Best Bets For Anglers With Cabin FeverHow to be successful while winter fishing this year, from location to techniques.Editorial StaffDec 21st, 2023
It’s Dorado Season In Costa RicaNosara in Costa Rica discuss how dorado season is shaping up. For much of the U.S. it is time to … Editorial StaffDec 1st, 2023Sorry for the long absence, but up until recently fishing has been infrequent for me. Not only has “life” gotten in the way, but this odd weather has kept the bite very sporadic. Cold fronts are a regular factor in the winter months, however this unseasonable heat has kept our local water temps into the mid to upper seventy degree range; not a good scenario for a winter pattern.
Fishing In Fort Pierce: The Complete Guide
Pompano and sheepshead have been my favorite targets as of late. While the river pompano are still in a state of flux due to the flip-flopping water temps the sheepshead are quite predictable.
Hard structure holds sheepshead this time of year. Bridge pilings, rocks, docks, oyster mounds and hard bottom spoil islands are all holding convict fish. Small live shrimp and sand fleas are working well for me and my parties and most of the fish we’ve caught are of keeper size.
For pompano, Goofy-jigs tipped with fishbites or a standard three hook pompano surf-rig with fleas are working, though the hardheads and other bait stealing critters tend to abscond with too many of my hard earned fleas to spend a lot of time looking for them. I’ll continue scouting the IRL and tossing the jig until the pompano show up in force!
Week Of August 1: Snookman Has Added The Catwalk To His Fishing Report
A couple of my favorite pompano spots near the inlet are holding numbers of bonefish… you heard me; bonefish! Kim (my wife) and I have caught quite a few “jigging” for pompano. How cool is that?
Spanish Mackerel are here in good numbers. Cast small spoons, jigs or “Gotcha” lures at them from the jetties or troll small spoons and lipped plugs for them from your boat. There’s plenty to go around once they show themselves.
Lastly, target our remaining tarpon along with our winter resident spinner and blacktip sharks on afternoon outgoing tides. They’re rolling and jumping across the mouth of the inlet when the current is strong. They’re blasting the black mullet as they swim back and forth through the inlet. Once these mullet migrate south this pattern will weaken and become more and more sporadic. Large top-water popping plugs are excellent lures to entice a trophy!
South Florida Fishing Report 8/16/21
Capt. Mark’s passion for inshore saltwater fishing began while living in Stuart, Florida at the southern reaches of the Indian River Lagoon. Here he learned the fine art of snook fishing from the area’s lighted bridges while fishing at night. Here too he learned how to catch trout by the hundreds on the expansive flats from Jensen Beach to Ft. PieINSHORE – The bite has been steady inshore this week. For the most part everything is on schedule, aside from the recent wind which has thrown a few fish off. Trout and Redfish are resilient and when anglers are able to make it on the water they are catching fish. Target Trout during the golden hours, sunrise and sunset. With the weather and murky water you’ll want to be using live bait for attraction. The same story goes for Reds, however they are pushing up to the shallower water. They don’t necessarily mind a bit of dirty water, but they still like to keep shallow. Searching areas such as Pumphouse Road in Titusville will be key. Of course, we can’t forget about the Snook as they hold up on docks and mangrove shorelines up and down the coast. Sizes and numbers are good throughout. They too, will likely come on live bait. Deeper docks may be holding Drum, so don’t be surprised if you hook them as a bycatch. The new kid in town has been Bluefish, and they’re coming in with style. Huge sizes have invaded the beaches, in some areas scaring off other species. Pompano and Whiting can be caught from the beach as well, however they aren’t as consistent down the coast. Towards Indian River you can find them in the inlets, but be prepared for a fight.
OFFSHORE – Unsurprisingly wind has made it tough to get offshore this week however a few weather windows have allowed anglers to make quick trips and take advantage of the bite. By far, the best bite has been from the incoming Dolphin as they make their way in. Towards Daytona, anglers are still travelling quite far, to 2500 feet of water to find them. By the time we get to Indian River they are as close as 120 feet of water. The sizes are decent so far and when the weather allows they are definitely worth going after. The bottom bite is also producing this week. Amberjack have turned up from roughly 90 feet of water out of the
Pompano and sheepshead have been my favorite targets as of late. While the river pompano are still in a state of flux due to the flip-flopping water temps the sheepshead are quite predictable.
Hard structure holds sheepshead this time of year. Bridge pilings, rocks, docks, oyster mounds and hard bottom spoil islands are all holding convict fish. Small live shrimp and sand fleas are working well for me and my parties and most of the fish we’ve caught are of keeper size.
For pompano, Goofy-jigs tipped with fishbites or a standard three hook pompano surf-rig with fleas are working, though the hardheads and other bait stealing critters tend to abscond with too many of my hard earned fleas to spend a lot of time looking for them. I’ll continue scouting the IRL and tossing the jig until the pompano show up in force!
Week Of August 1: Snookman Has Added The Catwalk To His Fishing Report
A couple of my favorite pompano spots near the inlet are holding numbers of bonefish… you heard me; bonefish! Kim (my wife) and I have caught quite a few “jigging” for pompano. How cool is that?
Spanish Mackerel are here in good numbers. Cast small spoons, jigs or “Gotcha” lures at them from the jetties or troll small spoons and lipped plugs for them from your boat. There’s plenty to go around once they show themselves.
Lastly, target our remaining tarpon along with our winter resident spinner and blacktip sharks on afternoon outgoing tides. They’re rolling and jumping across the mouth of the inlet when the current is strong. They’re blasting the black mullet as they swim back and forth through the inlet. Once these mullet migrate south this pattern will weaken and become more and more sporadic. Large top-water popping plugs are excellent lures to entice a trophy!
South Florida Fishing Report 8/16/21
Capt. Mark’s passion for inshore saltwater fishing began while living in Stuart, Florida at the southern reaches of the Indian River Lagoon. Here he learned the fine art of snook fishing from the area’s lighted bridges while fishing at night. Here too he learned how to catch trout by the hundreds on the expansive flats from Jensen Beach to Ft. PieINSHORE – The bite has been steady inshore this week. For the most part everything is on schedule, aside from the recent wind which has thrown a few fish off. Trout and Redfish are resilient and when anglers are able to make it on the water they are catching fish. Target Trout during the golden hours, sunrise and sunset. With the weather and murky water you’ll want to be using live bait for attraction. The same story goes for Reds, however they are pushing up to the shallower water. They don’t necessarily mind a bit of dirty water, but they still like to keep shallow. Searching areas such as Pumphouse Road in Titusville will be key. Of course, we can’t forget about the Snook as they hold up on docks and mangrove shorelines up and down the coast. Sizes and numbers are good throughout. They too, will likely come on live bait. Deeper docks may be holding Drum, so don’t be surprised if you hook them as a bycatch. The new kid in town has been Bluefish, and they’re coming in with style. Huge sizes have invaded the beaches, in some areas scaring off other species. Pompano and Whiting can be caught from the beach as well, however they aren’t as consistent down the coast. Towards Indian River you can find them in the inlets, but be prepared for a fight.
OFFSHORE – Unsurprisingly wind has made it tough to get offshore this week however a few weather windows have allowed anglers to make quick trips and take advantage of the bite. By far, the best bite has been from the incoming Dolphin as they make their way in. Towards Daytona, anglers are still travelling quite far, to 2500 feet of water to find them. By the time we get to Indian River they are as close as 120 feet of water. The sizes are decent so far and when the weather allows they are definitely worth going after. The bottom bite is also producing this week. Amberjack have turned up from roughly 90 feet of water out of the
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