Captain Bob Bushholz
Jensen Beach, Florida
(772) 225-6436
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ALL YEAR LONG!!!!' | | Fishing Report for
April 18th, 2002
"Trout
bite is on"
Trout and ladyfish remain the hot species
caught on the Catch 22 last week. Starting around the power plant the east
side of the Indian River is holding the majority of the bait with large
schools of finger mullet being chased around by jacks in the 10 lb range.
Some trout caught in this area last week but the west side has been most
productive. Nine - eleven a.m. seems to be the best bite time. We have
been throwing DOA CAL lures along with rootbeer and glo shrimp while
trailing live shrimp on popping corks behind us. The majority of the trout
are keepers in the 15-20 inch range with 4 -5 pounders landed last week.
Some decent trout just off the spoil island just south of the powerlines
near #207.
Channel markers from Jensen Beach Causeway north to Fort Pierce remain
slow for the usual sheephead, snapper, flounder and tripletail. As a
matter of fact, these markers have been well below par since November of
last year The perimeter wall around Nettles Island remains good holding
mangrove snapper and a few flounder. We use 6 lb ultra light with a small
piece of shrimp on a 1/0 trollrite without any leader. Most of the
snappers are below 12 inches so it pays to fish as light as possible.
Along the fenders on the Jensen Beach Causeway you can find snook and
jacks. Here you can beef up your tackle up to 80 pounds. Big fish and lots
of structure requires a different approach. Most of the time I use Penn
750's with 30 lb mono or 50 lb power pro and still get my clock cleaned
from time to time. These guys know where their house is and will surely
try to take you there.
Working south, the sailfish flats have been red hot with ladyfish
action all week. Best bite time happens after 10 a.m. when the breeze
picks up. Out there the windier the better. You want to cover as much
ground as possible while casting downwind. Retrieve speed depends on wind
speed. Cast as far as possible and retrieve just fast enough so there is
no slack in your line. On the average you should land maybe ¼ of the
ladyfish that strike. They don't call them poor man's tarpon for nothing.
Remember to check your leader after each fish. They are great at fraying
about the first 3 inches under your hook. Want to have a blast, try 6 lb
test with a 20 lb leader for them. Fishing this light it is not uncommon
for ladyfish once hooked to circle the boat 3 times.. With a large group
aboard it can get pretty comical at times. The past 2 weeks in the flats
have appeared senate out of nowhere. These fish normally appear closer to
summertime. Great sportfish, just beware of it's barracuda like
teeth.
The St. Lucie Inlet has produced a mixed bag including sheephead,
black margate, jacks, blue runners, pompano, flounder, and the other day a
rare bonefish. Snook remains slow on the drift but expect it to pick up
any time. Bottom fishing at slack tide like we did all winter has slowed
considerably. Still a few Spanish running around the inlet but where are
the blues. April means big bluefish but we haven't encountered any for
weeks now. I know they are thick in the surf but hard to find inside. Have
not gone outside the rocks all week with the seas sporty. Did fish the
detached jetty a few times with small mangroves all about. That's all for
now..
Tight lines,
Capt. Bob
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