Fishing Report for Indian River & St. Lucie River - Offshore

Last Thursday was a beautiful day as we left the St. Lucie inlet and headed south. Bait had been scarce the previous few days but we could see a fleet of boats in 40 ft. of water two miles south. Large greenies were breaking the surface and it did not take long to fill our bait well. We stayed in the area and waited for most of the boats to clear out and run offshore. We baited up two ugly sticks with bait runner reels and bump-trolled the area. Within minutes a sailfish exploded on one bait and stripped the hook clean. Ten seconds later he grabbed the other bait and after a few seconds of letting him run, we set the hook and the light tackle battle began. The pole was handed to Jerry who had never fought a sail before. The look on his face as this fish dragged him all around the center console was priceless. Several times we had the fish next to the boat only to have him streak away in leaps and bounds. After a twenty minute fight, we were able to bring him aboard, get the hook out, and snap a quick picture of this magnificent creature. Needless to say it was an experience that Jerry will never forget. Ten minutes later we had another sail peel all the 20 lb. test off of our reel in a matter of seconds. He had such a running start that we were unable to stop him. We ended the morning by grabbing some Spanish Mackerel on the way in. There is still a decent trout bite in the Indian River up by the power plant. Plenty of jacks with an occasional redfish are also being caught. The Pompano bite is sporadic with both good and bad days. Blue fish and Spanish Mackerel are also roaming the rivers. The north fork of the St. Lucie has plenty of finger mullet which are being pounded by Jacks and Snook. I caught a 30 inch Snook just the other night on a finger mullet in my yard. There is plenty of great fishing in the area so just get out there and do it. More later.