Got my boat back last week and went out to East Lake from Lakefront Park and the wind was blowing more than expected so I went across the lake and fished to the left of Boggy Creek ramp along the reeds where it was a little bit calmer. Caught 3 total all weighing about a pound and a half, biggest was 1.68lbs. First one was on a Gamakatsu Willowvibe, 3/8 ounce with a white DOA paddle tail. Others were caught on a Yum Swim n Dinger in watermelon pearl 5 inch and a Zoom Craw stick in watermelon red. Fished about 2 hours then got off the lake before it got too windy, few white caps on way in rough ride.

Good morning East Side family, not much to report this week besides continued swell and onshore winds that will be switching directions to offshore for about a day then going right back out of the north. We ventured up to Canaveral National Seashore this week to target Pompano and Whiting, the conditions were far from good but we were able to harvest some nice fish for dinner. Here are a few tips that helped us stay active on the bite.

1. Regularly check your bait. When the current is rough and the swell is high it’s hard for the fish to find your bait, so make sure the bait is on the hook and fresh (we like to tip our hooks with a piece of FishGum incase our bait gets taken or is lost on the cast).

2. Utilize Sputnik sinkers for rough surf, we had to fish 5oz Sputnik sinkers to hold bottom. You can purchase them here at pompanorich.net

3. Don’t be afraid to move or cast into a new zone, sometimes the fish can be 10-20 yards down the beach from you, but you won’t know unless you cast a line there.

All in all it was a good time hitting the beach and fishing away from our typical haunts. The fishing should improve as our conditions improve so keep an eye out for a weather window and go fishing!

There has been a little low pressure rising up from the Caribbean this past week bring us some wet and windy weather but it did seem to faze the bite. We are continuing to boat several species like trout, redfish, snook and black drum making for a great time on the water. The bite has been good on both artificials and live bait like shrimp and finger mullet. The weather looks to be good into the week of Christmas which will just secure the bite even more.

Cool water temperature at 60 to 65. Fish staging to pull up on flats and the spawn will be good in January.

Shiner dunking all day artificial more fun in afternoon warmup. Jerk bait spinner baits chatter are fair. Worm fluke and plastic bite good. Dates available — let’s go get a big one!

We got to fish for red snapper last week as part of the EFP Snapper program. Needless to say everywhere we went we caught a red snapper of large size. These were the first red snapper over the rails. We managed 1 gag in the mix and 1 set of red grouper lips lol. The rest was taken by very large bull sharks.

The water temp is 63 degrees when we started this morning. The canal is blocked just below the cut into the north lake.

Top baits this week for me were the Bass Assassin RSB worms, Jackhammers, Lure Concept Spinnerbaits and the Mike Bucca 6″ Trick Shad in Gizzard Shad color.

I’m fishing the Bass Assassin RSB worms with an 3/8oz weight due to the high winds lately. The fish are in the hydrilla near spawning flats. I’m using a 5/0 VMC Redline EWG hook. I like letting these sink to the bottom and pull it along the bottom fairly slow.

I’m fishing the Green Pumpkin Jackhammers along hydrilla edges in water 5’ or less. I only use a 1/2oz with a Zako trailer to match or a Bass Assassin Whoopa Craw to match. I’m concentrating on the wind blown sides of the grass lines.

The 6″ Mike Bucca Trick Shad in Gizzard Shad color is my go to swimbait this week. I’m fishing these along thick grass edges near deep sharp drops or cuts near main canals. It is a fish catcher and it will work all over Headwaters. Swim these just under the surface for best results. Get on the Bullshad email mailing list so you can get the bait drop info.

I’m fishing a white Lure Concept 1/2oz spinnerbait with no trailer along the same structure I’m fishing my chatterbaits. The wind blown side of the grass seems to be the deal.

If you want to catch a bunch of fish pick up some shiners and free line them in deep water areas.

Call or text me at 304-610-6066 to book a trip of a lifetime. I have some outstanding guides that work for me that have availability as well.

Tight lines!

We’ve had good action in the lagoon. Plenty of trout and a decent snook bite even though they are smaller fish. There are some redfish and black drum being caught in the inlet, shrimp and croakers have been the best baits. The flounder bite has been decent, as well.

Fishing for sheepshead and snapper in the lagoon has been pretty good as well and the pompano have been on the flats too. Nearshore, some pompano and mackerel as well as blues and jacks when we can get out with some blacktips and spinner sharks following the macs and blues and jacks. Looking for some warmer weather this week and strong winds according to the forecast.

The fishing should be pretty decent if you can get out of the wind.

Kim shows-off the first of several trout we caught near a mangrove shoreline!

Guides often get charter requests where the client doesn’t care what we target. I find it refreshing and always enjoy these trips. It’s not unusual for me to start with a simple jig or spoon and see “what happens” and it gives me a few minutes to assess the clients casting abilities. If the jacks, ladyfish and trout are active, we might stay with this routine. If the constant casting is bothersome for the clients we’ll change up and grab the live shrimp rods and go “old school”, in essence, feeding the fish.

Dave kept a handful of sheepshead, then left them biting as we switched gear to try for tripletail!

Recently, I received a request to target sheepshead. Not my first request for these tasty striped critters, but the first in a long time. I replied to Dave that his request was perfectly timed and ensured him we’d be able to catch a few and maybe more than a few. Though the bite started slowly as we waited on the tide to get moving, it only took a very short time to catch enough fish for a couple of great meals. I was surprised at Dave’s request to stop catching convict fish and try for tripletail instead.

Off we went, leaving the sheepshead biting hard, to inspect every crab trap buoy and channel marker in our immediate area. We failed a boating any trips, but Dave did get bit a couple of times and he even saw the flash of one of the TTs that bit his live shrimp.

So, in one half day charter, my client learned a whole bunch about targeting two completely different species of excellent table-fare fish. I hope I didn’t teach him too much, I’m really looking forward to fishing with Dave again!

Kim and I scouted the backwater jungles of North Fort Pierce recently. The snook we were hoping for were hiding way back in the mangroves as is typical during high water periods. We did manage several spotted seatrout that were stacked up along one particular mangrove shoreline. They eagerly ate our
Zman four inch Diezel Minnowz in a variety of colors!

A lone angler and his feathered companion stake out the breakwater at the Sebastian Inlet tidepool.

Good morning, Sebastian Inlet fishing fans. I hope everyone had a good weekend, despite the winds! This is another short report because the high winds and huge surf at the inlet for the last few days have made it difficult to fish some areas — especially the south jetty where it has been wet and wild! This week isn’t going to be much better, until the weekend possibly.

The fishing on both side of the inlet west of the bridge has been hit-or-miss, but there have been fish caught in small numbers. Over the weekend, the water quality and clarity looked great, but was still pretty chilly at 66 degrees. Along the shorelines west of the bridge, north side, there were reports of whiting and sheepshead being caught back in the area of the steel on live and dead shrimp. West of that area, back by the mangroves, anglers were catching small undersized snook on live shrimp and thumper jigs. Everything was too small, but still fun.

On the south side, west of the bridge, there were a couple anglers catching sheepshead on dead shrimp and sand fleas; either tide was good — you just had to find the fish. I did talk to a couple guys who saw some flounder caught back there on live finger mullet. The three fish they saw caught were in the three to four-pound range, with one they heard about in the 10-pound range! I’m hoping that this year will be a better flounder bite, because last year was horrible.

Near the cleaning station on either tide, black drum and sheepshead are possible on live and dead shrimp. At the T-dock, with the cleaner water, Spanish mackerel have shown up on small white jigs. Around the north side in the back of the inlet in the intercoastal, there have been reports of a good pompano bite on shrimp and goofy jigs, along with spotted sea trout on swim baits and live baits, but you can’t keep them until January 1. Good fishing for kayakers and boaters.

That’s all I have for now. We need the weather to calm back down, and it will get better. Reminder: Snook season is now CLOSED until February 1. Have a great week, everyone!

The fishing has been absolutely on fire lately! The sheepshead bite has been particularly hot, with several catches exceeding 20 inches. As we progress deeper into the season, I expect the action to only intensify.

For those targeting sheepshead, be sure to focus on structure like docks, pilings, and rocky areas. Effective baits include mangrove crabs, sand fleas, and shrimp.

In addition to the exceptional sheepshead fishing, I’ve also been enjoying some fantastic snook action in the area. By working small lures slowly just off the mangroves, we’ve been catching some impressive snook, as well as a few bonus trout.

As we head into the coming week, I’m excited to see the fishing continue to improve. With the sheepshead and snook bites already going strong, it’s shaping up to be an incredible season.

Get the latest word on the bite with Damon from Spacefish on the Mark Moses Show. We talk local fishing every Friday on the air at 4pm.