“Lobster Fever”

August 4, 2016 | by Steve Beare

Lobster Fever is about to kick in high gear with the opening of the main Lobster season on August 6th. Inevitably, this means more boats on the inshore and nearshore waterways. If you aren’t familiar, brush up on your boating laws and maintain the required distance from vessels with the diver down flags out.

The Trout bite remains consistent with your best times to target being Dawn and Dusk. Use a top water Rapala Skitterwalk in Gold Chrome or Blue Mullet. As the sun and temperatures rise the fish will migrate to the deeper water off the flats so switch to live bait or paddletail grubs rigged weedless or on 1/8 oz jig heads.

Snook are still hanging along the mangrove shorelines from Grand Harbor south the Harbor Branch and along the docks south of the Ft Pierce Inlet down to the Power Plant. Look for bigger Snook in the surf and off the beach as we get closer to the Mullet run. While the catch and release Snook action has been steady, they are still out season for the entire month of August so remember to handle them with care.

If you fish in or around the Sebastian or Ft Pierce Inlets, look for Snook, Tarpon and big Jack Crevalle’s, working the pods of glass minnows. Target the jetties for Snook, Redfish and Flounder using live Mullet, Pilchards or some select Shrimp.

The Snapper bite is still strong while fishing the channel edges both to the north and south with bigger fish being caught near the Inlet. Live shrimp and Pilchards have been the way to go.

Redfish success has been found around the docks off South Indian River Drive and the shallow grass flats near the Moorings and Round Island. Gold spoons, Paddletail Jigs or live Shrimp have been the go to baits. If you’re going to target Redfish, I want to remind everyone that the CCA STAR Tournament is still active until September 6th. Don’t miss your opportunity to win a new boat. For more information visit www.ccaflstar.com for more information.