Ft. Pierce Inshore - Offshore Report

APRIL 19, 2010 INSHORE - This last week was not the greatest time to fish with all the wind. The fishing did start to pick up on Saturday and Sunday. There has been a decent redfish bite along the docks of Indian River Drive. Try free lining a live shrimp -- this has been the best thing. The mangrove snapper are showing up and are in the 1 to 2 pound range. A live shrimp fished on the bottom has been the way to go and try around the bridges and any structure you can get to. Same thing for the sheepshead they are in the same area as the snapper and have been from 2 to 5 pounds. A few flounder have been reported and they were caught at the South Jetty on a live shrimp. Still a few jacks, ladyfish and bluefish to keep you busy. OFFSHORE - The offshore bite started to pick up on Saturday and was okay on Sunday and today. We had several boats fishing on Saturday and they all had dolphin, kingfish and sailfish. Most of the dolphin were caught in 140 feet of water on medium size ballyhoo and went to 22 pounds. The kings were in 60 feet and caught on smaller ballyhoo. Same thing with the sailfish release -- 140 feet of water and a medium ballyhoo. The snapper and seabass bite has been good when fishing the near shore reefs. There were several reports of big tarpon rolling at the Boils. TEEN ANGLERS - Sunday - April 18th was the last inshore fishing tournament for the Treasure Coast Chapter of Teen Anglers for this school year. There was a total of 24 Teen's that fished. In the High School Division 1st place - Dylan Sholander - Westwood - Ft. Pierce - 3lb. 7oz. redfish 2nd place - Pierce Hostetler - Westwood - Ft. Pierce - 3lb. redfish 3rd place - Robert Dumont - Lords Heritage - Port St. Lucie - 1lb. 13oz. sheepshead In the Middle School Division 1st place - Dylan Rutyna - Stuart Middle - Stuart - 2lb. 13oz. sheepshead 2nd place - Lane Burton - St. Andrews - Ft. Pierce - 2lb. 7oz. sheepshead 3rd place - Maxwell Higgins - Palm Pointe - Port St. Lucie - 2lb. 4oz. redfish Biggest fish of the tournament trophy went to Dylan Sholander for his redfish. If you would like more info on Teen Anglers for the 12 to 18 age group or on Junior Teen Anglers for the 5 to 11 age group -- you can call 772-201-5773 or go to the web at www.teenanglers.org BRAGGING BOARD - On Saturday Barry Hankinson on the High Voltage with crew members Eddy & Thomas Merritt caught 11 dolphin to 22 pounds and released 1 sailfish. On Sunday Robert Clancey caught 2 dolphin to 21 pounds and 1 king that was 15 pounds. Also, on Sunday Jack Walker & Ben Wilson reported catching 3 dolphin to 25 pounds and released 1 sailfish. Most all of these fish were caught in 140 feet of water except for the kings that were in 50 to 60 feet of water. If you would like to report a catch you can e-mail me at [email protected] or call me at 772-201-5770. You can also reach me on the web at www.captjoeward.com Capt. Joe Ward Capt. Joe's River Charters