Tania and I made it offshore for the third week in a row. We had trouble finding shrimp so we grabbed some frozen shrimp and we made it to the dock about 6:30am. Once the boat was loaded, we radioed the marina to see if they had shrimp. Fortunately for us they did and we grabbed four dozen. After we grabbed the shrimp, we started heading for the inlet; however, we had one stop left before we made our way offshore. We had to stop at War Daddy’s bait boat to pick up some pilchards.

Once we got our pilchards we headed to the boils. We were hopeful to land another permit today as we have seen reports of them being caught throughout the week, we got to the boils about 7:30am and as the sun drew higher in the sky, we could tell the water was dirty.

When we arrived, there was one other boat fishing near the buoy so we started drifting about midway between shore and the buoy. I ended up catching the first fish, which is usually a curse for the boat. Shortly after Tania caught a porkfish to match the first fish. The bite was slow today but with the storms coming early afternoon we didn’t want to run out to the reefs as we were fearful of getting caught in the storm.

With the SW wind we were drifting mostly west so our next drift we moved close to shore. While we were drifting one of the guides had a double hook up. Since the bite was slow Tania and I watched them bring in the fish. They ended up landing two permit! Tania and I were excited to see permit, and we were hopeful we could catch one or two.

We ended up catching porkfish, blue runners, lane snapper, mutton snapper, a ladyfish, a sonnet, and a shark. Tania also lost a large spinner shark after a five-minute fight. She lost the shark when it jumped right next to the boat that caught the permit. When the shark jumped it got all their attention. About 11:00am the storm started to brew. There was thunder and lightning off in the distance and from the radar it was going to past us to the south so Tania and I kept working the boils. About 11:30am the wind really kicked up so Tania and I decided it would be best if we start heading in.

Instead of just making the run back in we decided to start off by trolling silver spoons. It didn’t take long and Tania had a fish on. She landed a baby bonita. We had never seen a bonita so small before. We ended up trolling another 30 minutes without another bite so we pulled in our baits and headed in.

As we came into the inlet, we saw a large group of people on the beach at the state park. Tania thought someone was having a wedding, but when we got closer, we realized it was a group of people getting baptized! It was great witnessing this in public.

We made it back to the dock about noon and since we didn’t have any fish in the cooler it didn’t take long to get off the boat and load the car. We ran to the library to pick up a book Tania had reserved and when we came out the taco vendor from the Saturday market was still open so Tania and I went and got lunch and followed it up with gelato from Uncle Carl’s. It was our consolation prize for having a slow day on the water.

All in all, we had a good day on the water. It wasn’t a great day on the water but not every trip can’t be. It’s days like this one that really help Tania and I appreciate the good ones we have. Tania and I pray all who made it out had a blessed and safe trip. And all who are going out this week have tight lines and good times!

The Treasure Coast Chapter of Salt Strong is now holding monthly meetings in Fort Pierce. The meetings are being held on the 4^th Thursday of the month. The next meeting will be July 27^th. These club meeting are for inside members only. If you would like to become an inside member here is what the membership includes: access to the in-person meetings as well as all the other perks such as 20% off all tackle, Smart Fishing spots, and insider information on trends in your area. We will also have guest speakers at our meetings and we will be holding monthly tournaments. Click the link below to get a FREE pack of slam shady or a 10-Day Test-Drive of The Smart Fishing Spots App and The Salt Strong Insider Club . . . And We’ll Ship You $35 Worth of FREE Lures, an “Inshore Fishing Manifesto” Book (Physical copy) & Decals – Yours to Keep Even If You Cancel!