LOCAL FISHING REPORT
Offshore
Off Jupiter there has been a good bottom bite. Anglers are catching mutton and yellowtail snapper in 80 to 85 feet of water.
Off Boynton Beach they are catching dolphin along with football-size blackfin and skipjack tuna in 200 out to
800 feet of water. Trolling tuna darts and small-skirted bonito strips has been producing good results.
King mackerel and mutton snapper are being taken on drifted sardines on 1.5-ounce drift rigs in 120 to 180 feet of water.
Inshore
Anglers working the docks
and the pilings around the Jensen Causeway and the
Ernest Lyons Bridge in the early mornings and evenings are catching snook on live bait, including pinfish, croaker and mullet.
As a bycatch, they are
also catching good numbers of redfish. Anglers directly targeting them are having good luck using D.O.A. Shrimp lures and live shrimp.
Tarpon are also being caught in the St. Lucie and
Indian Rivers. The tarpon in the Indian River have been in the 20- to 40-pound range with
the ones in the St. Lucie a bit bigger.
In Jupiter, anglers are catching snook and jack crevalle at the inlet.
In the Loxahatchee River there have been schools of mullet cruising through. Anglers working those schools near the docks and sandbars are having excellent luck catching snook. Best bets are working the edges of the schools using top water lures like Rapala X-Raps.
Anglers fishingthe Lantana Bridge are catching small
mangrove snapper and sand perch on cut shrimp.
Lake Okeechobee
The shiner bite has been working well recently.
If going with an artificial, however, swim jigs and spinner baits are producing good results in the early morning. After that, switching over to flipping is working well.
Top spots for bass recently have been the King’s Bar and Monkey Box areas.
The bluegill bite is still good in the Kissimmee River, Henry Creek and the J&S Canal and they are being caught on crickets and worms.
Tournaments
The 10th annual Bluewater
Babes Fish for a Cure Tournament, Florida’s first
and only all-female fishing tournament, will be held Friday and Saturday out of the Sailfish Marina on Singer Island. Dedicated to raising money for local breast and ovarian cancer patients, the event features
the tournament itself as well as boat decorating, cocktail and costume contests and more. For information, visit sailfishmarina.com; bluewaterbabes.org or email info@sailfishmarina.com
The Reel Time USA Largemouth Bass Catch & Release Challenge was held
Saturday and featured 32
divisions. In this nationwide competition, which raises money and awareness for the Multiple Sclerosis society, five division winners were from Palm Beach County.
Palm Beach Gardens resident Steve Phillips caught 18 bass to win the Men’s Division; Darryl Wood of Loxahatchee caught 10 bass to win the
Men’s Division; Royal Palm Beach resident Jessica Rheney caught seven bass to win
the Women’s Division; Vance Weyandt of Tequesta caught 20 bass to win the Boy’s Division; and Commander Chuck Boykin caught three bass to win the Veteran’s Division. Contestants were required to hold their catches next to a daily paper to prove
they were caught Saturday. All fishing report information courtesy of Snook Nook in Jensen Beach, Fishing Headquarters in Jupiter, Bruce Cyr and Garrard’s Bait & Tackle in Okeechobee.