Fishing Report for Ft. Pierce, Florida

JUNE 19, 2006 INSHORE - The inshore fishing has been tough with no live shrimp this past week. But, if you want to fish for trout then you will need to get a few pigfish which is like candy for the trout. The trout bite has been OK from first light until about 8:00am when using a top water bait. After that you will need to switch to a pigfish. I got reports from a couple of anglers saying that they had trout to 7 pounds. The redfish that were reported were caught on small jerk baits that were fished in 1 to 3 feet of water. The bottom fishing around the bridges with frozen shrimp has produced some sandperch, sheepshead and a handful of black drum. OFFSHORE - Everyone is fishing for dolphin with most anglers having some success in 70 to 300 feet of water. They have been trolling a skirted ballyhoo around the weed lines and color changes with a pink/white or a green/yellow skirt working the best. Look for the kings along the beaches and they will be taking live baits in 15 to 60 feet of water. The bottom fishing for snapper has been the best at night around the full moon. The bottom temps have been colder than normal but the fish are still feeding. Also, several cobia were brought into the docks last week from anglers who were bottom fishing. If you would like to report a catch, call me at 772-201-5770 or e-mail me at [email protected]. You can also reach me on the web at www.captjoeward.com. Capt. Joe Ward Capt. Joe's River Charters