On Friday, I went fishing with my buddy Don. We met up at the dock at about 6:30 a.m. I tried to pick up bait; however, everyone was out of shrimp, so we were to head out with just artificial bait. Since sunrise was 7:00 a.m., we had to wait for the boat.

While waiting for the boat, I threw the Moonwalker topwater bait. Don chose not to fish while waiting as we saw several massive jacks, and he said he didn’t want to lose his lure or get spooled. I was more daring and kept throwing the Moonwalker. The jacks kept hitting the Moonwalker, but it took a few casts to get one to commit to taking it. Luckily, the jack crevalle that took my bait was not the monster, and after a short two-minute fight, I landed the fish.

At the end of the fight, our boat pulled up to the dock. Don and I loaded the boat and started to head out of the marina. The marina was flying its flag to show they had live shrimp, so we stopped and picked up a few dozen shrimp.

We made our way to Harbor Branch. At the marker, when you have to start going slow, we trolled west to the bank and started working the shoreline north. I was throwing a donkey rig with two Slam Shady colored jerk baits, and Don threw a top water. The shallows were full of pilchards, so we tossed the cast net and netted nearly 100 baits in one throw. At this point, we decided to stop throwing artificial lures and start using live bait.

The bite was slow, and just as Don said he couldn’t believe nothing was hitting the pilchards, his drag started screaming. He was using light tackle, and by the time we got the boat turned around to chase down the fish, he only had a few wraps of line around his spool. Motoring the boat, we quickly got some line back and let Don finish fighting the fish. We were both excited to see what was on the other end of the line. I was so excited that when I thought I was videoing the fight, I only took a single still shot. Well, the fish turned out to be a decent-sized crevalle jack. Since I have a Men’s group on Monday, I decided to keep the jack to make fish dip. While we were dealing with the jack, Don’s other pull went, and he had a nice-sized sheepshead, which also went into the cooler.

We kept working our way north until we reached the Harbor Branch entrance, where we spot-locked and fished the channel. By this time, the wind picked up to about 15 knots, and it was getting a bit choppy, but Don and I were not ready to call it a day. While fishing the channel, I was broken off six times, five times on my lighter tackle and one on my heavier rod, which had a 50lb leader. I was getting frustrated; however, it happens when you have good bait and are catching larger fish.

While at the channel, we caught a few jacks and a couple of ladyfish. Since we weren’t catching anything to take home, we moved north to Round Island. We fished the island’s west side from north to south and did decent. We caught multiple mangrove snappers; two were 12 inches, and they went into the cooler with the sheepshead. At the island’s south end, Don put a snook on the boat; unfortunately, it was too small to bring home.

We decided to return to the main channel and head towards the inlet. There were a few spots I wanted to try before we headed home. While trolling out, I hooked up with another decent Crevalle jack. This one also went into the cooler to ensure I had enough fish for a double batch of fish dip. Unfortunately, nothing else hit on the way to the main channel.

The last spot we fished for the day was The Cove near the inlet. We fished there until about 3:30 p.m. In that time, Don had a couple of big hits. He lost the first fish; however, he landed the second one, and it was a black grouper.

Friday was an exceptional day on the water with my good friend Don. Beyond the diverse catch in the cooler, the fellowship and shared adventures made the experience memorable. Despite the occasional lull in the action, our day was a testament to the simple joys of friendship and the thrill of angling. Tania and I pray all who made it out this weekend had a blessed and safe trip. Those heading out this week, 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!