I fished with my friend and fellow Salt Strong Insider Tony on Friday. I picked up a few dozen shrimp and met Tony at the boat ramp at 7:00 am. We loaded his boat, and then I backed him into the water. Once the boat was launched, I parked the truck and were on our way.

We started fishing the west bank of the Intracoastal Waterway, just south of Fort Pierce City Marina. The conditions were rough, with 10-15 knot winds and a fair bit of chop. I started fishing with Nomad Max Vibe bait, and Tony chose the Salt Strong Skinny Lipper. I also had a Rat-l-trap and a 1/8oz Texas Eye jig head with a slam shady 2.0. Tony also had multiple rods set up, one with a cork popper and one with a paddle tail.

We worked the docks on the west bank for about an hour and a half with little luck. We didn’t see much life. However, we got excited as we saw pelicans diving on some bait.  Tony tossed a shrimp on the cork popper, and after a short while, he had a fish on; unfortunately, it was a catfish. I was surprised we caught a catfish with how clear the water was. We continued to work the docks south until roughly 9:30 am, when we decided to move. In that time, we caught a few catfish, a baby lane snapper, and a few short mutton snapper.

Our next spot was the sandbar just east of marker 190. While we were heading to the next spot, I trolled a slam shady. About halfway to the channel, I got a hit. It ended up being a short mutton snapper. I put my slam shady out; however, I had no further action the rest of the way to the sandbar.

Once we got to the sandbar, Tony dropped the power poles, and we worked the sandbar, starting at the northeast corner around the east side. There were many short mutton snapper, but nothing else seemed home. We worked the sandbar for at least an hour before we moved on.

The next spot we started working was the eastern bank starting north of Bear Point. I couldn’t believe how much bait was in the area. We had glass minnows, finger mullet, and larger mullet as far as the eye could see. We were hopeful we would catch some trout with the clear water and all the bait. Unfortunately, we only caught a short mutton snapper and a catfish in this area.  

About 11:30 am, we decided to run further south and try by the power plant. While heading east off the channel, I once again tossed out a slam shady; I figured I might as well troll some bait while having to go slow. Well, it paid off; I had a nice hit as we were about ¾ of the way to the west bank. This fish had my drag screaming, and with the head shakes, I was pretty confident it was a crevalle jack. When I finally got it to the boat, I confirmed it was a jack. It wasn’t large, but this fish had a lot of fight.

We continued to fish the east bank south towards the power plant until 2:30 pm. Once again, there was a ton of bait and many signs of life, but we were not fortunate enough to catch a targeted species. We caught a few more small snapper and catfish, but that was the extent of our catch today.

We made it back to the dock around 3:00 pm. I backed the trailer in, and Tony drove the boat onto the trailer. Once we parked, I helped Tony unload the boat and secured everything for his drive home. I thanked Tony for a good time on the water. It was a great time of fellowship while exploring different areas.

Tania and I pray everyone stays safe with Hurricane Idalia affecting Florida’s west coast.

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), and decals – Yours to Keep Even If You Cancel!