Enjoyable Trips in Fort Pierce

Peggy showing off the elusive slot snook that became the dinner guest of honor!

This growing older ain’t for sissies! I suffered a herniated lumbar disc early in January and was unable to function for two plus months. I’m back on the water again, though I really need to be mindful of how I twist and turn my spine.

Recent trips have been enjoyable. A backwater trip with one of my favorite clients, Jean-michele, yielded a few fish on topwater plugs, including a twenty-eight inch spotted seatrout, a short snook and of all things, a mangrove snapper. He experienced quite a few blow-ups on the topwater plugs that did not turn into a bent rod… Such is the way of the topwater lure angler!

Scott agreeing that barracuda can offer a great fight!

Ric joined me on a scouting trip this past Wednesday. The jetty action was fair and we caught lots of jacks hooked a couple of sharks and boated a short snook. Moving inside of the inlet proved futile until the incoming tide turned, then the snook turned on. We boated a couple and lost too many during a really exciting forty-five minute session.

Finally, Scott and Peggy asked to catch their first slot snook. They’ve caught little ones in the past, though the “dinner guest” has always eluded them.

The snook bite was awful at sunrise, but they caught lots of jacks, a nice barracuda, a grouper, jumped three tarpon in the sixty pound range and hooked a few sharks that (thankfully) bit through our leaders. Once again, the action inside the inlet was nil.

Jean-michel posing with his twenty-eight inch trout he took on a topwater walking plug!

Right before tide change I positioned the boat where we caught snook the day before. Our first two baits were smacked, hard, but no hook-ups. The third bait proved magical, at least to Peggy, as she battled her biggest snook ever to the landing net. Yes, it was a keeper!

A few more under-slot snook and a possible top-slot snook taking a bunch of line with her were the only low points of this trip. However, they caught two redfish here as well, which was almost as exciting as for them as the snook!