November 27, 2003
INSHORE - The snook fishing is still slow compared to years past but there are still some good size fish being caught. The Ft. Pierce and St. Lucie Inlets are producing most of the fish and they are being taken on live croakers. The area's bridges in Ft. Pierce and Stuart are also giving up some big fish like the 27 pounder caught by Russell Blake while fishing aboard the Slow and Easy and fishing around the Twenty-five Cent Bridge using live mullet.
Croakers, black drum and big jacks are all over the Roosevelt Bridge. Try using a live shrimp. And if it is pompano you are looking for, then try the Sailfish point flats or Hell's Gate area down in Stuart. There are still plenty of small snapper all along the channel edges in the Intercoastal. A small live shrimp has been the best bait to use.
The flounder are starting to show up on the flats behind the Library in Ft. Pierce and also at the South Jetty in Ft. Pierce. Use a live shrimp or a finger mullet but make sure you have your bait on the bottom.
This past Sunday was the 1st fishing tournament for the local chapter of the Teen Anglers. There were 33 Teen's that fished and all had a good time. The winners for the Middle School Division were 1st place - Carlos Gonzales - Forest Grove Middle School, 2nd - Richard Salamak - North Port Middle School and 3rd - Vincent Serio - Forest Grove Middle School. For the High School Division 1st place and biggest fish trophies went to David Adams, 2nd - Mario Zungia, and 3rd James Huddleston and all were from Westwood High School. If you are interested in becoming a Teen Angler, just go to the website at www.teenagnlers.org for more info.
OFFSHORE - With a few good days of weather the reports are coming from everywhere. There were scattered dolphin in 120 to 240 feet of water out of the Ft. Pierce Inlet and in 600 or more feet out of the St. Lucie Inlet. The kingfish have been consistencely staying in about 70 feet of water. I did get reports of sailfish being caught to the south of the Ft. Pierce Inlet down around the Stuart area in 80 to 135 feet of water.
The snapper and grouper bite has picked up on the Offshore Bar out of Ft. Pierce and all along the Six Mile Reef out of Stuart. There has been plenty of spanish mackerel and bluefish cruising the beaches, just look for the birds and try using a small spoon.
If you would like to report a catch, call me at 772-201-5770 or e-mail me at cward11605@aol.com. You can also contact me on the web at www.captjoeward.com.
Capt. Joe Ward
He who loses to another does not get the satisfaction of losing to me !!!!!
