On Friday, August 18, my buddy Arturo invited me to go fishing with him. I was excited to go fishing with him! He told me to meet him at his house at 4:00 pm and asked if I could bring a few bags of ice, which I happily brought.
We loaded the boat with our equipment and lowered the boat into the water. We also had some live bait, which we hoped would get us a tarpon or two. Once Art’s cousin, Rene, arrived, we headed to the first spot.
It took us about five minutes to get to the first spot under the trolling motor. Art and Rene were fishing with Rat-L-Traps, and I used Nomad Design Vertrex Swim Vibe. I had a couple of hits on my first few casts, but Art landed the first snook on his third cast.
We continued to fish this spot a little bit longer. After five minutes without a bite, Art moved us to the next spot. Just as he started to go, I hooked up with a snook. It jumped and then came off. However, it must have been hungry as it hit right away, and I was able to land my first snook of the night.
While moving to the next spot, we trolled the Rat-L-Traps behind the boat. Unfortunately, nothing hit them. At our second spot, known for holding tarpon, we tossed out the live bait we had brought. I realized I had not said my pre-fishing trip prayer as we got to this spot. At this point, we all bowed our heads, and I prayed over our trip. We fished this spot for about 15 minutes, and Art was the only one to catch a fish. He landed another snook.
I saw a huge tarpon jump out of the water as we reached the third spot. There appeared to be more life in this area. I was hopeful this spot would be more productive, but I was not. At this point, we decided to work the offshoot of North Fork, where I saw the tarpon jump. This area held many fish; however, only two were landed. Art and I landed snook while we all had lost multiple fish.
The offshoot brought us back to the main river at North Fork, and we started to work our way back home as it was getting dark, and the bugs were getting pretty bad. While working the main river, we had live bait drifting behind the boat.
The live bait got us excited twice as the drag started screaming; however, we found out the live bait found some form of structure and got hung up. Although we were disappointed, it still got the blood pumping when we heard the drag screaming.
About halfway through this drift, Rene finally landed his first fish of the trip. He was pretty excited as it was the boat’s largest fish of the night and his first snook ever! Rene closed us out for the night as his snook was the last fish caught. It was a great evening fishing with my friends and having a great time of fellowship. We ended up back at Arturo’s home at about 8:30 pm.
All in all, we had a great fishing trip. I am blessed to have friends like Art to go fishing with. Tania and I pray everyone had a blessed weekend with safe trips full of bountiful catches. May those heading out this week have tight lines and good times!
The Treasure Coast Chapter of Salt Strong now holds monthly meetings in Fort Pierce on the 4th Thursday of each month. These meetings are exclusive to inside members, who receive various perks, including 20% off tackle and access to Smart Fishing spots, and insider information on local trends. Monthly tournaments and guest speakers are also set to feature. To become an inside member, click the link below to receive a FREE pack of slam shady or a 10-Day Test-Drive of The Smart Fishing Spots App and The Salt Strong Insider Club. They ship you $35 worth of FREE Lures, an “Inshore Fishing Manifesto” Book (Physical copy) & Decals – Yours to Keep Even If You Cancel!
Captain Mike's Treasure Coast Fishing Adventures 
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