From the land to the deep sea, Stuart’s inshore and offshore waters offer an abundance and variety of different catches. We’re proud to team with the Coastal Angler to bring you the latest fishing reports to help put you on the fish and keep your lines tight
Warning! Warning! Banner Fishing Alert!
It’s been a long time since I’ve predicted a season like what I expect to see this December off the Treasure Coast. For the last two months, we’ve been hearing of large numbers of sailfish, dolphin, blackfin tuna, wahoo, kingfish, and even blue marlin moving south in search of warmer water and abundant food sources.
Cold northwest winds trigger the bite this time of year. As fish flee the colder waters of the Carolinas, they “tail down sea” funneling through Sailfish Alley; right off our inlet. When we get that first major cold front, expect a strong push of sails, dolphin, and blackfins. If you happen to miss the initial wave, don’t worry—there’s more coming.
We typically focus our efforts in depths between 120 and 220 feet of water. However, the best action can often be found considerably shallower or deeper, depending on the conditions. Covering ground and finding the bait is the name of the game this time of year off the Treasure Coast.
If you’re lucky enough to have an Omni sonar, that makes the search much easier. We have been using an SY 50 on our 39’ Contender for over a year now and have been extremely happy with its performance. I have countless stories about how it has led us right to the action and kept us in the bite.
I primarily look for color changes, weed lines, temperature breaks, and baitwhen trying to locate where the fish will be. If I can’t find any of those indicators, I then revert to structure like reefs and wrecks.
Small ballyhoo rigged on circle hooks, trolled just behind our dredge teasers, is a pretty standard approach. However, this time of year, I like to incorporate a larger bait rigged on wire for the chance at a blue marlin, a large dolphin, or a wahoo. It’s also always a good idea to secure a few live baits in the morning and bring them with you.
For dredges, natural ballyhoo and mullet usually work best, but there are a number of excellent artificial alternatives. A 50/50 combination of natural bait and Fire Tailz has been working very well for us.
A great standard setup is a 6 1/2-foot circle hook rod made by Blackfin, spooled with 15-to-20-pound line, a 50-pound leader, and a 6/0 circle hook. Be sure to have a spinning rod or two rigged and ready (with dead or live bait) to cast to any fish that follow your spread.
December fishing is off to a good start for many inshore anglers. Pompano, sheepshead, blackdrum, seatrout, & the occasional snook have been keeping anglers busy as of lately. Drifting local sandbars and long stretches of shallow sand flats have been producing good action for pompano when casting pompano jigs. I Suggest using lighter 3000 or 4000 size quantum combos for good casting distance and for good lure presentation for additional hookups this time of year. Sea trout fishing has been great up around the St. Lucie power plant. Drifting and casting along grass flats in 2-5′ of water casting DOA Cals with a slow retrieve should produce the bites you are looking for. Shrimp fishing on the bottom has been great for snapper, sheepshead, blackdrum, and the occasional snook fishing along the Indian river lagoon.
Nearshore fishing remains steady for Spanish mackerel, bluefish, Jack crevelles, and even the occasional cobia. Pecks lake is a great place to target spanish mackerel with great success. Find the concentration of boats and cast a shiny lure with a fast retrieve and catch as many mackerel as your arms can handle! Targeting cobia can be tricky but if you’re willing to drive long distances just offshore of local beaches north and south you can find schools of cobia swimming along with small cow nose rays and or with manta rays. Cast to the larger lead cobia with a cobia jig or a live bait fish for an instant bite. While running the beach you can also find schools of mackerel, bluefish, & jack crevelles. Again cast to the lead fish & Hold On!
