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
You don’t have to wait all the way to the 31st to get your treats this October. Sailfish, blackfin tuna, dolphin, wahoo, kingfish and cobia along with a good catch of snapper will highlight this month, and I’m going to say this will be the best fall and winter we’ve had in over a dozen years. The conditions we have off the Treasure Coast right now between bait, water quality and resident fish this summer are not only providing great action already, but setting us up for an epic season baring any storms. The shrimp boats are already here and when you find the right one it can be like a scene right out of National Geographic, but don’t focus all your time on them.
Mostly, fish will be migrating down the edges, weed lines, and color changes as the water starts to cool above us and the winds start to come out of the northwest. If you can’t find an obvious weed line or condition, fall back to fishing over structure, the six and eight mile reefs, the Hill, various artificial wrecks along with scattered pieces of live bottom will at times hold bait and in turn bigger fish.
Knowing what’s below and around you is probably the most important part of the game so we wear Costa Del Mar polarized sunglasses with the 580 lens in various shades depending on the lighting and for our fish finder/ sonar we use HumminBird apex units with their side imaging and Airmar transducers giving us total spatial awareness.
Whether we’re trolling or live baiting this month we use 15 pound line on super light 6’3 custom Blackfin Rods. They are made right here in Stuart Fla., and we’ve been using them since they started about 20 years ago and will continue to until we find something better. So many people don’t realize the importance of a well-matched rod to your style of fishing and these guys get it.
BEACH
October brings changes with the first cooler weather moving in. The mullet run should be coming to an end at the end of the month. Snook and tarpon will still be looking to fatten up for the winter. Bluefish, jacks and sharks will be taking over most catches along the beach. Spanish mackerel will also be thrown into the mix. Spoon lures will be your go to lure for the next few weeks. Look at cold fronts to really turn on the bite.
BRIDGE FISHING
Snook fishing will be hot with finger mullet still being around. Nighttime or early morning being best time to go. Make sure to have a bridge net to land and release these fish unharmed. Tarpon will still be in the mix and look for bluefish and jacks to move in. Best bridge locations are either the Stuart causeway or Jensen causeway. Big drum near the bunkers will hold fish. Get those fiddler crabs out.
FLATS FISHING
Bait will be still easy to find, mullet being the top choice. Look to fish near the St. Lucie Power Plant on the east and west side of the river. Use topwater plugs at first light. In the Herman’s Bay area try popping cork and shrimp. Redfish will be up close to the mangroves. Snook will be in deeper holes. Jacks and lady fish will be everywhere.
Don’t forget to take a kid fishing!
The 2024 fall mullet run is in full swing! This is my favorite time of year to fish here on the Treasure Coast. Big fish are plentiful and so is the bait. Break out the bigger spinning gear and a castnet to load up the livewells with fresh live mullet. It’s time to catch big fish!
Snook, tarpon, jacks, sharks, redfish, flounder and sea trout are plentiful this month. Snook fishing around structure on outgoing tide has been great. Tarpon fishing around channel edges has been producing XXL sized tarpon on larger live and dead mullet. 8/0 BKK circle hooks are doing well with 80–100-pound Tsunami fluorocarbon leaders. I suggest snelling your knots to ensure a better hookup ratio on these larger tarpon.
Nearshore fishing has been excellent when you find mullet schools along the beach. Fish the edges of these mullet schools for steady hookups. Tarpon, snook, sharks, jacks, bluefish, and kingfish are to be expected this month when fishing nearshore beaches. I also like to walk the beaches this time of year with a few of my favorite artificials at first light and around sunset, fishing these beach mullet schools can be a blast from shore. Fly fishing is also a great idea when the tarpon and snook are in close feeding on mullet in the first trough of the beach. Polar fiber mullet patterns work great and can produce plenty of action.
Tight lines!
The local motion of October’s ocean will include the introduction of large schools of mullet into our fishing seascape. These baitfish will take up residence in Martin County`s estuaries, inlets, and surf zones. This seasonal movement of mullet and their arrival in our local waters, heralds the official beginning of fall and the journey that mullet undertake. These schools of mullet and other baitfish have the tendency to attract and tow many species of hungry, traveling fish along with them, including pelagics like king and Spanish mackerel, cobia, dolphin, and sailfish. Resident species are in turn activated by the arrival of vast expanses of these baitfish and give local anglers a reference point for nailing down a good spot to fish. While these baitfish typically stay close in proximity to the surf and beach zone and points inside of the inlet (through the lagoon and river), they will sometimes be seen several miles off the beach. Many other species of migrating fish will arrive in the “deep sea zone” during October, as they are propelled by the same forces of nature that motivate baitfish into their seasonal journey.
Wind velocities will noticeably increase this month, making for a choppy offshore playing field. Near shore reefs in 50 to 60 feet of water will become the “go to zone” during these rougher days, allowing fishing crews to take it slow into choppy conditions and make the first offshore stop on a vast array of reef structures that are within three to four nautical miles of our St. Lucie Inlet (for GPS coordinates of these reefs, go to martinreefs.com).
Strategies that highlight bottom fishing will continue to be highly desirable, as lane and mutton snapper will solidly populate these near shore bottom structures, along with grouper and other species of edible “ground fish”. Cobia will also be attracted to these same reef sites and become a prized “grocery trophy” for deep sea anglers this month. So, in October, explore the many varied reef sites that are just within a few miles of the inlet and round your fish up, close to home.
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