Captain Bob Bushholz
Jensen Beach, Florida
(772) 225-6436
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ALL YEAR LONG!!!!' | | Fishing Report for
October 21st, 2002
"Finally Cleaning Up"
The waterways surrounding our area are
finally showing signs of improvement. Water releases from spillways and
the "pulse" releases directly from Lake Okeechobee have slowed
down to a trickle allowing mother nature to flush out this
"stuff" we have been patiently dealing with since mid-June. I
noticed the change early in the week while fishing the outgoing tide in
the St. Lucie Inlet. The water running out of the St. Lucie River was
still brownish but much lighter than the dark sludge that has plagued the
area for months. Within a week, if there are no more releases, I expect
conditions to improve dramatically making my job easier and more enjoyable
for myself and my charters. It's such a pleasure to take people out,
whether anglers or sightseers, and be proud of our waterways.
Last week I spent a short time drifting the crossroads with live
shrimp, mullet and greenies on two separate trips, jumping a few tarpon
around 40 pounds. My main focus was scouting areas to bottomfish for the
upcoming season. The jetties at the St. Lucie Inlet held plenty of fish,
which on 6-lb test always proves to be quite sporty. An array of species
including mangrove snapper to 13 inches, black margate, blue runners,
porkfish, spots, grunts, grouper and lookdowns kept everyone on their
toes. Inside the rocks, the bottom has changed considerably since the
recent dredge. Off of Sailfish Point there are some sweet rocky edges
holding some quality mangrove snapper and sheephead. In the winter, I
often bottom fish near slack tide when this method can be fished with ¼
oz jigs. Each tide allows about an hour before things speed up and it's
time to move on to bigger and better fishing. Slack tides may seem boring,
but a little of this action prepares the angler for what comes when the
tide starts moving and the action really begins.
Heading north up the Indian River, we tried the Sailfish Flats briefly
for ladyfish action hooking a few, but nevertheless giving that terrific
air show that only ladyfish (or tarpon, of course) can provide. The Jensen
Bridge continues to hold several undersized snook, with some big guys
still showing up at night, mangrove snapper and black drum to 7 lbs. The
trick is to get there when the mullet are cruising and watch the tarpon
show. Speaking of silver kings (tarpon "poons", or anything else
you want to call them), look outside Sundance Marine, Anchor's Aweigh and
the Dolphin Grill on the west side for fish well over 100 lbs. Yesterday,
outside my marina, we played with tarpon for well over an hour and this
was at 1:30 in the afternoon!!! These fish were pounding larger mullet in
the 10" range. In the grass, trout are everywhere but the bite is
early up until 9 or 10 am. Until the time changes, sunrise is a little
later so if you don't quite make the 5 a.m. wake-up call, you still have a
chance to hook up with some trout. DOA , live shrimp and topwater lures
are the ticket. Most of the trout caught lately are 16-19 inches and there
have been good numbers of them. But, don't forget, trout season is closed
in November and December.
There are scattered Spanish mackerel just outside the inlet. Can't
wait for the Mother Load (a/k/a big mac attack) to show up. I plan on
running lots of mackerel trips to Peck's Lake this season aboard Catch 22.
Several trips last year resulted in as many as 60 macs a trip brought to
the boat, releasing most of them. Nothing like watching six anglers hooked
up at once.
There's a big issue pending in our local government. Councilwoman
Elmira Gainey (before her much-anticipated and well-deserved defeat)
brought the seine net issue back to the local governmental drawing board.
Please e-mail Mark Robson at mark.robson@fwc.state.fl.us and give him the
input he should have to keep recreational and sport fishing at the level
it's been able to maintain since the net ban. If the nets go back out and
the fish disappear again, what will that do to our economy that depends so
greatly on tourism? Take a minute and send an e-mail to Mark Robson, or
call Henry at the Snook Nook for Mr. Robson's phone number. Every voice
should be heard and unless everyone speaks, there's no reason for
"them" to listen. And if you don't make your voice heard, you'll
have no reason to complain about the consequence.
Tight Lines,
Capt. Bob
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