Volume 12, Issue 10

August 1, 2011

Angler’s Tales

Golf & Yacht Club

Port St. Lucie, Florida

 

Ballantrae Angler’s Club

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Donn Bearman, Ed Killer, and Paul Daly put on their wading shoes and tried their luck on the flats in the Indian River off of Fort Pierce on Friday, 7/22. Unfortunately, the fish were few and far between.

 

Ed Killer reviewed the trip as published in his Treasure Coast Fishing Report of July 23, 2011 in the St. Lucie News Tribune, excerpted and reprinted here for your convenience.

 

St. Lucie County – Inshore, conditions lined up Friday morning for great fishing around Jaycee Park. Glass minnows and finger mullet were everywhere in the huge bay. The tide was outgoing. The water was gin clear. Anglers including (yours truly) fished the area with artificial lures like Rapala, Skitterwalks, D.O.A. shrimp in sever color options and other lures. But there was little production except for Donn Bearman of Ballantrae who ended the day with three gag grouper, a small snook, and a couple of trout catches.

 

To quote Donn, “That was my best day for grouper.  Plus, Ed meant my snook was short of legal (28”) – at 24”, it was still a nice snook to catch.  I have never seen better, more perfect conditions  - the type under which I have had many banner days of multiple large trout and my biggest snook ever – and had so little action considering Ed and Paul (both can fish) got nothing and I got grouper (targeting trout and snook) having started fishing at 530 AM until 10:30.  My opinion is that there is a definite lack of predators as bait (mullet and minnows) were all over the place.  Ed says fishing in Ft. Pierce is now much better and easier than here.  He also says he thinks the winter kill and extended cold of the last few years has resulted in the deaths of many larger fish and then less of a hatch and, well you see where that goes.  This has been happening to me all spring and summer as well as there being obviously less pompano showing than there used to be.  This is not very promising from here on out I would say.”