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

August 14-16

WABASSO BEACH TO STUART

Black sea bass and mangrove snappers along with the occasional gag grouper or cubera snapper have been the staples on the party boats while the large kings have been farther inshore closer to the bait schools. Sailfish have been scattered in the same areas but everything could change this weekend if the tropical wave moves far enough north. Trollers have been catching dolphin and wahoo out around 200 feet of water.

I made the prediction on the radio show that the mullet run will be early this year and if we get some rough weather it certainly will be. In the meanwhile, there are tons of snook to release in the turning basin at Fort Pierce inlet as well as in the surf all the way from Stuart to Hobe Sound. Fish the east side to stay in the lee if the winds pick up to target trout and redfish on the grass beds north of the power plant. Live shrimp are miniscule right now so use artificials.

JUPITER TO LAKE WORTH

I have been convalescing this week from a fall on the boat but the kings and sharks were biting good on my last trip and the bonito still almost impossible to escape. That will all change very quickly now however as the bonies will soon be gone. The bad part is the wahoo and the sharks go with them. Yellowtail and keeper mangrove snappers continue to be the daysavers on the reefs. The more chum you have the better.

Snook are spawning in the inlets right now so catching them is quite simple. The tragedy is that even though it hasn’t rained here in days the intracoastal is still black from releases meant to lower Lake Okeechobee. Hopefully a few flushes of the tide will help now that the practice has ended temporarily. Lane snappers will be biting at high tide at the artificial reefs and barracudas are beginning to move back in at least when the water is tolerable.

BOYNTON TO BOCA

Stock up on bonito strips now because they will soon disappear down here just like they do to the north and it won’t take long for them to be missed. Bull sharks are still here for the moment and a few cobia are still being caught as well--provided the sharks don’t get them first. The afternoon sailfish bite remains solid but watch for swells at Boynton inlet late in the weekend.

Spillway action will slow markedly with no water passing through, but the bridges nearby will still have plenty of snook in the shadowlines. It’s hard to believe the season reopens in just a few weeks. Black drum, sand perch and a few sheepshead, along with moonfish and ladyfish will comprise most of the nighttime action—which is the only way to beat the heat.

By Capt. Eden White |  Web Site | FSeden@aol.com | 561-902-8170

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