Southeast Hot Spots

Look out for the big mack attack.

You know that flounder are biting in Sebastian Inlet when an armada of boats anchors just west of the A1A Bridge. Try soaking live finger mullet on the bottom for flatties.

Anglers might also catch redfish, mangrove snapper, bluefish and snook in the inlet and along the riprap shoreline. Early in the morning, fish the rock jetties during an outgoing tide for keeper snook before the season closes in mid-December. For bluefish, sharks, Spanish mackerel, pompano, ladyfish and big whiting, fish the surf from Sebastian to Stuart. Intracoastal channel edges and the area near the Wabasso Bridge should produce a few pompano on jigs.

In Fort Pierce, hit the flats near the Moorings and Round Island for trout. Bounce shrimp-tipped jigs or live finger mullet in the Fort Pierce turning basin for snook and flounder.

Offshore, head just north of Sebastian to the Pines, and fish the 90-foot ledge for smoker kingfish. A steady stream of cold fronts should signal the start of sailfish season, and the waters off Sebastian can be fantastic. Look for clean water and bait pods around Bethel Shoal. Troll naked ballyhoo or Sea-Witch and bonito-strip combinations to effectively cover territory when seeking sails.

For grouper, snapper and cobia, fish the artificial reefs east  of St. Lucie Inlet. Expect good grouper bites in 60 to 95 feet of water from Fort Pierce to Jupiter soon after a good ocean swell begins to subside. The Loran Tower Reef off Hobe Sound and the Six Mile Reef off Stuart offer top spots for gags. Drop live grunts, pinfish or goggle-eye on stout tackle around smaller, isolated rock or reef patches. For snapper, drift sardines on triple-hook rigs in the 65- to 90-foot depths off Juno Beach, or try east of the Bath & Tennis Club on Palm Beach and the area just north of Boca Inlet.

From Jupiter to Lauderdale, suspend a live goggle-eye, blue runner or pilchard under a kite rig to tempt big kingfish, sailfish and dolphin near a noticeable color change or temperature break. The area east of the Juno Pier in 120 feet of water, the 100- to 150-foot depths off Boynton's "Martini Glass" or the 120- to 150-foot depths around the Steeple off Fort Lauderdale offer very productive kite spots. Watch for soaring frigate birds that may lead to dolphin as well.

Spanish mackerel should school off Peck's Lake just south of the inlet. Troll spoons or cast flashy plugs like Yo-Zuri Crystal Minnows for light-tackle excitement. Green tube jigs and minnow jigs entice finicky macks. Anglers might find more Spanish mackerel, bluefish, jacks and pompano in the trough along Jupiter Island, especially around the Hobe Sound National Wildlife Refuge beach.

Inside the Indian River, trout gather in clean water 2 to 4 feet deep near the flats off Bear Point or the Port St. Lucie Power Plant. Trout tempters might also tangle with ladyfish, jacks, black drum, pompano and snook in the St. Lucie River between the Crossroads and the Roosevelt Bridge. Snook congregate around lighted docks at night during a moving tide. Any one of the three coves on the west side of Hobe Sound should provide plenty of light-tackle action from snook and ladyfish.

DOCK TALK
If you ask Mark Prazak of West Palm Beach and his son, Shane, what blue-water fishing is like in November off Palm Beach, they will quickly say "wahoo!" Last November, while trolling off Palm Beach, the anglers had the thrill of a lifetime when all five of their rods bent at the same time. Unknowingly, they stumbled upon a "fish magnet" adrift in the Gulf Stream.

"At first, we didn't even know the tree trunk was there because it was just below the surface," Mark says. "When the first fish came in, we got excited because it was a wahoo. Then we realized they were all wahoo! In all the years I've been fishing, that's a first."

The father-son team successfully landed all five fish, which weighed from 15 to 20 pounds. The day ended with two more wahoo and five dolphin. They kept three wahoo and released the rest on a day to remember off Palm Beach!

— Tom Twyford, Regional Editor