Captain Bob Bushholz
Jensen Beach, Florida
(772) 225-6436
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ALL YEAR LONG!!!!' | | Fishing Report for
January 1st, 2005
"Happy New Year"
HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!
Cooler weather the past few weeks have kept water temperatures in the
upper 50's to lower 60's inshore. I've heard of scattered pompano catches
from a few of my commercial fisherman friends that search for pompano in
the surf during the winter months, and some other reports from people
fishing the bridges and flats, but nothing much to get excited about. One
of the best pompano-fisherman I know says sand fleas have been easy to
find and are the bait of choice. We have been catching a few pomps here
and there but lately most of my trips have been 5 or 6 anglers which
forces me to drift with jigs and shrimp rather than anchor up with
sandfleas.
Speaking of the pompano fisherman, Ward Woodruff from Jensen Beach, is not
only one of those commercial pompano guys, but he builds custom surf rods.
These rods are beauties, one-piece 14' lamiglass casting or spinning rods and
can include your name, pompano decals or anything else you might want to
include on your rod. The price of the rods at $185.00 is well worth the money.
He also carries l-lb. spools of 15 or 20 lb. black mono to fill the reels
with. Ward says that black line in the surf is a well-kept secret - oops, not
so much of a secret anymore. His latest report is that the best fishing lately
has been between North Hutchinson Island and Vero Beach. In the past month,
his best daily catch was 26 pompano. At $5.00/lb. paid by local restaurants
and fish houses, you can see why commercial fishing is not only a life-long
dream but profitable too. You can contact Ward at (772) 334-1708 to order surf
rods or line (or to just hear a good fish story). He's got a great workshop
and is always proud to show off his workmanship.
In the River last week, with trout season still closed, I've been running
south, fishing different areas near the St. Lucie Inlet. At full high tide or
dead low tide, I've been anchoring on the south side of the Channel about 200
yards west of the detached jetty. Water depth is around 9 feet with scattered
rocks. This is the best time for bottom fishing using minimum weight (1/4 oz.
Trollrites with frozen shrimp is the bait of choice). You can expect mangrove
snapper, mutton snapper under 16", sheephead to 4 lbs and an occasional
pompano, black margate and lots of spots. Normally an hour in this spot is
productive while the current is slack. Once the current starts cranking, it
takes lots more weight, so Plan B comes into action (drifting the Inlet).
On the drift we hooked some snook, sheephead, mangrove snapper and big
jacks. The Crossroads area has been holding a few pompano, ladyfish and jacks,
with one of my anglers lucky enough to boat a 10 lb. permit in the same area.
A couple of days last week were a real challenge with cold water in the upper
50's and high winds. Sometimes the cold water leads to lockjaw. The good news
is the water temps are back up to lower 70's in the inlet.
During the week, I cruised the Sailfish flats a few times when the water
was high. The pompano action was non-existent even though lots of boats were
drifting the area. A few ladyfish, jacks and others in the area. Sooner or
later the pompano action will pick up. I believe once the winds die down
around Wednesday and the water cleans up, we will see a huge increase in
pompano inshore. These fish do like the cleaner water. So far this year I have
not seen any large crowds on the SW side of the quarter bridge. The pompano
brigade took the holidays off but I expect to see them up on the bridge
shortly. Looks like you need to park on the east side of the bridge with
construction going on.
Spanish mackerel will remain thick around Peck's Lake (2 miles south of
St. Lucie Inlet). They should be in the area for about 3 more months, hitting
Capt. Joe's jigging spoons, minnow jigs, tube lures and various other shiny
baits. They should be real hungry with no fishing pressure the last few weeks
due to the high east winds.
Yesterday was a recon day and we played around using the ultra-lights in
the grass flats throwing DOA rootbeer and glow shrimp for a few hours getting
ready for trout season. For trout, fish early and remember 15" minimum size, 1
over 20", 4 per angler. Trout season will find me running northward to find
the "hot" spots. Many trout and small flounder were released that day. Up near
Walton Road in shallow water, trout and redfish running 24" can be found just
off the docks but the majority of fish has been up along the east side in
calmer water.
Snook season re-opens in February, and March through October will be
tripletail time. In 2004 we ended up with 140 tripletail with 10 over 20
pounds. Looking forward to a great year of fishing and hope to hear from lots
of you anglers soon. The water quality has incredibly improved since the
hurricanes. There are still some Planks and 2x4's floating around so keep your
eyes peeled. I have noticed some lately in the St. Lucie between the 10 cent
bridge and Sandsprit Park.
Again I would like to wish everyone a Happy New Year,
Capt. Bob Bushholz
(772) 225-6436
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