On Wednesday evening, Tom and I went fishing for a few hours. I arrived at the dock about 4:30 p.m. and checked out the boat. Tom told me he would arrive at 5:00 p.m., so while I waited for him, I tossed a bomber paddle tail on a 1/8oz owner twist lock hook.

There was a ton of bait in the marina, glass minnows and threadfins, so I was hopeful to get something. It didn’t take long for me to hook up with a jack. I knew it was a jack as I saw it take my bait. It wasn’t a large fish; however, I wouldn’t get skunked tonight.

Since we had to be back at the dock by 7:00 p.m., I decided we would run south and work the docks on the west side of the river. We trolled in from the channel, and with the southeast wind and outgoing tide, I ran further south so we could work the docks while drifting northwest.

We saw birds, and there seemed to be lots of bait, so I was hopeful we would catch some fish. I started throwing the slam shady bomber, and Tom began to with a slam shady 2.0 on a Texas eye 1/8ox jig.

 Unfortunately, the bite was slow, so I changed it up by the time we hit the third dock. Since the sun was lower, I grabbed my rod with the Skinny Lipper and suggested tossing the Moonwalker to Tom. About my third cast, I had a nice snook hit my bait just behind the boat; however, it just hit the bait out of the water and did not swallow it. I had just started to twitch it when the fish decided it would strike. It was just bad luck with the time of me working the bait.

The cast right after the snook hit, I lost my Skinny Lipper. As I cast near the dock, my bait kept flying, and my braid broke. I tried to get to the other side of the dock to find my bait floating; however, with the chop and the current, we could not locate it.

At about 6:45 p.m., We called it a night and headed back to the marina. As we pulled into the marina, another boat was already pulling in, and they were cleared to the dock before us, so I took us to the rock on the east side of the marina, and we continued to fish. Another boat came in after us, and I told them to go ahead and dock before us as I was hoping to get Tom a fish.

Tom got a few bites but could not get any fish to fully commit to taking his bait. I was fortunate to land two more small jacks before we were called to dock the boat. I feel bad when guests don’t catch fish, and I do, but sometimes that is how the day goes.

Tom and I enjoyed our time on the water. We got to see dolphins feeding and a manatee swimming around. It’s always great seeing God’s creations. Tania and I pray that everyone who makes it out the rest of the week has a blessed and safe trip. May you 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), and decals – Yours to Keep Even If You Cancel!