Cool front will move pompano, blackfin tuna

Pompano fishing off the beaches was pretty good

Cool weather is returning in time for the weekend, but it should warm up fairly quickly, the national weather service says. The good news is that the seas should be calm enough for most boaters to be able to get out to sea. Here, bluewater anglers will find mahi mahi, sailfish and blackfin tuna in the eddy currents of the Gulf Stream.

Don’t forget to check anything that swims for tripletail and smaller mahi or wahoo that swim underneath.

The cool air mass may push more pompano south along Florida’s beaches. These fish don’t exactly replenish the Indian River Lagoon, and there are none in Stuart, where water quality is poor due to recent Lake Okeechobee discharges. Hopefully the volume of the discharges will not affect the bite of the Spanish mackerel at Peck’s Lake.

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Changes to Closures and Regulations: Anglers are reminded of these fishing closures that are currently in progress and will begin and end.

snook: Harvest closed from December 15 to January 31, 2023. Harvest reopened February 1, 2023.
grouper: Harvest closed from January 1, 2023 to April 30, 2023. Includes Gag Grouper, Red Grouper, Black Grouper, Scamp, Yellowfin Grouper, Yellowmouth, Coney, Graysby, Red Hind and Rock Hind. Harvest will reopen on May 1, 2023.
Spotted sea trout: Harvesting is open from January 1st in Volusia, Brevard, Indian River, St. Lucie, Martin and Palm Beach counties. The harvest ends in November and December 2023.
flounder: Harvest reopened on December 1st.
pork fish: Harvest closed from November 1, 2022 to April 30, 2023. Harvest reopened May 1, 2023.
red fish: Harvesting of redfish is prohibited in Indian River Lagoon and Mosquito Lagoon from September 1st. The FWC will reassess later in the year.
alligator: Hunting season open Aug. 15-Nov. 1. Permits required.
lobster: 48-hour sports season (mini-season) open from July 26th to 27th, 2023. Regular season starts on August 6th.
dolphin: New fishing regulations began May 1, 2022 for state waters. The catch limit is now five fish per day per angler; Ship limit is now 30 fish per day. Captain and crew may not be included in the limitation.
tilefish: Harvest is open from January 1st.
bass: Bass at Headwaters Lake will soon be all catch-and-release.

For complete Florida fishing regulations, visit MyFWC.com.

Chapman School Open House

The Chapman School of Seamanship is hosting an open house on January 26 from 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. on its campus at 4343 SE St. Lucie Blvd., Stuart. Visitors are given a tour of the 9-acre campus and see training programs for outboard mechanics, marine surveyors, professional seafarers and rowboat classes. To register for classes or for more information, go to Chapman.org.

Indian River County

Offshore: Big Easy with Capt. Terry Wildey of Capt Hiram’s Resort in Sebastian has guided his anglers to catches of triggerfish, mutton snapper, mangrove snapper, kingfish and cobia. The SISA reefs and other structures in the 70-90 ft zone were productive. Watch out for whales and give them 500 yards. It’s the law.

Coast: Spotted sea trout can be caught around the mangrove points at Vero Beach from Hole in the Wall Island, Jungle Trail and down to Round Island. Use copper or New Penny colored jerk baits on 1/8 ounce jig heads. Fishing for flounder was rather slow in Sebastian Inlet. Try fishing with live mud minnows in the middle of the incoming tide for bites.

Fresh water: Headwaters Lake has yielded good bass fishing from 2 to 5 pounds. Use wild shiners or spinnerbaits. When it cools down, try curled lip lures for action in 3-5 feet of water. Bacon fishing was pretty good at Blue Cypress Lake with live minnows.

County of St Lucie

Offshore: Lane snapper, mangrove snapper and mutton snapper fishing was better on the shallow reefs. Sheepshead and Margate are in the same areas. Use chunks of shrimp or sliced squid to get hooked. Sailfish are still caught and released by anglers trolling ballyhoo in 150 to 180 feet of water.

Coast: Captain Tim Simos of HookASnook.com in Fort Pierce said he guided anglers to catches of snook, snapper, margate and goliath grouper on Jan. 21 while fishing in Turning Basin, around the South Bridge and along the first reef just outside Fort Pierce fished inlet. Tripletail can be caught around crab trap buoys in the lagoon or channel markers with a live free-fed shrimp.

Surfing: Paul Sperco from Capt. Paul Surf Charters in Port St Lucie said the pompanos and whiting on the beaches at the moment are worth the trip. Incoming tide and fishbites EZ flea or yellow crab have produced bites from sandbar to trough. This cold front should bring more fish.

Martin County

Offshore: Blackfin tuna and wahoo are best caught near seamounts like those at Push Button Hill. Snapper fishing was still productive for the party boats fishing in 70 feet of water. Vermilion Snapper, Lane Snapper, Mutton Snapper and Mangrove Snapper can be caught. Fishing for Spanish mackerel is still ongoing south of the St. Lucie Inlet along the reef.

Coast: Anglers fishing bridges like the Ernie Lyons Bridge and the Frank Wacha Bridge are catching reliable rod tamers like Croaker, Black Drum, Jacks and Ladyfish. Use a shrimp tipped jig to catch all four and others like barnacle, redfish, snook and flounder. Snook fishing is still stable around DOA Terror Eyz structure in Root Beer.

Lake Okeechobee

The lake is at 16ft 1in on Thursday meaning there is a lot of water in the northern and western portions of the lake. IT is ideal for bacon fishing. Anglers get limits when using live minnows and bacon jigs. Fish in areas like Tin House Cove, Horse Island and the mouth of the Harney Canal near Lakeport for the best action. Fish get big too, starting at 13 inches.

Ed Killer is the outdoor columnist for TCPalm.com. Email him at [email protected]