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

Fishing has gotten a lot better in the past couple of weeks. The main reason is the return of live bait. Acres of threadfin herring have returned to their usual haunts just outside of the St. Lucie inlet. The sailfish bite has improved greatly with many fish being caught in 55 feet of water north of the inlet. Find the bait pods, load up your live well and drift or slow troll through the area and you should do well. One boat had nine hookups the other day. Double and triple knockdowns are common. Several cobia have been boated as well and a few mahi were brought in at this depth as well. There is a decent dolphin bite further out from ninety to two hundred and sixty feet. Find the flying fish and troll or live bait the area. Several wahoo are being caught while trolling also. The Spanish mackerel are red hot south of the inlet and down to Peck’s Lake. Trolling fast or throwing any bright colored or shiny lure will get you plenty of these fish. There are some big jacks mixed in with these fish so be ready for that possibility. Bluefish are roaming near the beaches and can be caught from the surf as well as a boat. The cooler night time temperatures have slowed the snook fishing somewhat. The bridges are yielding some but you have to get your bait or lure down near the bottom. As the water temps rise the snook will become more aggressive. A few tarpon were seen rolling near the inlet but I have not heard of many being caught. The inlet is in the process of being dredged and a thirty inch pipe is stretched across it. Be very aware of the new markers and proceed through with caution. Some of the larger boats have been damaged passing over it. More later.