Water Quality Key to Success

Report Date: July 9, 2013

The past couple of weeks I have been avoiding the St. Lucie Inlet area on the outgoing tide due to the current water releases from Lake Okeechobee. Our last trip we did fish the last few of hours of incoming hoping to see some cleaner water but it remained on the dirty side even near high tide.

Most of our efforts have been north of Nettles Island where the water starts picking up the Fort Pierce Inlet making it cleaner and more fishable.

Some of the spoil islands are holding trout to 17 inches while throwing a combination of DOA root beer and live shrimp. I've heard reports of bluefish and jacks following bait schools closer to Fort Pierce but I have not seen a bluefish since April. Under a few docks on the east side, DOA glo shrimp are working best for small trout.

Structure fishing docks and channel markers are holding a mixed bag of black drum, sheepshead, flounder, lane-mutton-mangrove snapper, small sea bass and bonnethead sharks. The tripletail action had been on the slow side lately. I plan on spending most of our time fishing north in the near future until these water releases are over.

Capt. Bob Bushholz
(772) 530-1496

 

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