Wabasso Beach to Boca Raton
Includes Vero Beach, Ft. Pierce, Stuart, West Palm Beach and Lake Worth.

Sept 3-5

WABASSO BEACH TO STUART

Expect to start seeing lots of small sailfish moving south, and if you want to catch some on light tackle, try trolling a small strip with a tiny skirt or Sea Witch. Expect to encounter odd pairs of dolphin in the process with many of the fish being far larger than what we saw much of the summer. Kingfish will be a solid contender in 70 to 90 feet of water with dead sardines, trolled spoons and slow-trolled live baits all great ways to catch them.

Red-hot action is certain to continue on the beaches as the mullet already begin their long migration south. Bluefish, Spanish mackerel, snook, tarpon, sharks you name it find a school of bait and everything else will be close behind. Those worried about the swells from the hurricanes offshore will be finding plenty of flounder inside the Fort Pierce Inlet along with plenty of trout and redfish on the grass flats inside. Live shrimp, finger mullet and soft plastics will all do just fine.

JUPITER TO LAKE WORTH

With the full moon finally behind us many believe the kingfish bite will improve markedly. Most of the commercial fleet has moved north but there are still plenty of strays off Juno and down off Lake Worth Pier. Large swells are famous for igniting a stellar mutton snapper bite, so have lots of baby pilchards, live shrimp and frozen sardines on hand. Dolphin will be present right on the blue water edge, which should be well defined after choppy seas this week. The bonito will be leaving soon if they haven't already and the wahoo go with them.

It is “load and shoot” on the beaches right now and it will only get better. Bring along lots of spoons, jigs and topwater plugs as well as ice for anything you want to keep cold. Snook season will probably not re-open this year I believe but there are still plenty around to catch and release. They will keep biting around the inlets until the bait gets thick. Then they follow the schools. Live shrimp under a mullet school is a great way to get a bite amid all that biomass.

BOYNTON TO BOCA

Small blackfin tunas, dolphin and the occasional wahoo are all still likely candidates for anyone doing some trolling this weekend (assuming the inlets are passable). Kingfish and mutton snappers will provide most of the bites on the reefs along with a few yellowtails. Mangrove snappers will be biting on some of the patch reefs. Expect to encounter a sailfish or two, especially in the afternoons.

Mullet are already showing up under dock lights and the snook and tarpon are well aware of it. Fish will also be moving along the beaches where a baby pilchard or mullet can be deadly but watch out for those waves! Inside, it’s all the ladyfish and small snook you want around the bridges. Use DOA TerrorEyz or small jigs and let the lure sink! Then work it slowly and erratically back.

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