Once again, Tania was not feeling well this weekend, so I canceled the boat on Saturday. On Sunday morning, we took a walk at the jetty, and while talking to the fishermen, Tania looked at me and asked me to see if we could get a boat so we could go fishing. I called the boat club and got a boat; unfortunately, it wasn’t one with a trolling motor, but we would make do with the boat we got.

After picking up four dozen shrimp from Jigz Bait & Tackle, we arrived at the dock about 11:30 a.m. To our surprise, the good Lord blessed us with my favorite inshore boat, Fish Magnet, with a trolling motor. We loaded up and headed out of the marina by 11:45 a.m.

We started drifting south from the South Causeway bridge with the strong NE wind and incoming tide. Our first drift was more west than south. Tania did catch a hardhead catfish on the first drift, and I had a couple of hits but did not land anything. I set up differently on our second drift to get us to drift more south than west. Tania caught a lizard fish and a few short snappers on this drift.

On our next drift, I put out the trolling motor to help us drift more south, as it was along the channel that we generally had the best luck. This drift proved to be better as we caught multiple snappers. Towards the end of the drift, I hooked up with something, making my drag scream. I love hearing my drag scream and feeling the tug on the line. After a few minutes of fighting, I realized I had a shark on the line. I ended up landing a 36-inch bonnet head.

We continued to drift a few more times before heading to the entrance to Harbor Isle Marina. We caught many crockers last time we fished there, so I thought, let’s give it a shot. As we arrived at the entrance, I marked a massive pile of fish. I set up so that I could throw into the inlet of the marina and Tania could throw at the pile of fish. It didn’t take long for Tania to start getting bites, and after several bites, she landed a short mutton snapper. 

We continued working the inlet for another 30 minutes with little success, so I took us to Thumb Point. I was hopeful that since I found trout at Round Island on Friday, they would have found their way to Thumb Point. Unfortunately, that was not the case. Even though we saw lots of life in the area, the only fish we caught was a hardhead catfish on the cork popper with shrimp.

We ended our day fishing near the channel markers back by Thumb Point. We found a spot that we went through our bait quickly. Tania was catching short mutton snappers one after the other, all ranging from 6-14 inches. Tania was having fun bending her rod and catching lots of snappers. Unfortunately, today, we didn’t catch anything to bring home.

Overall, it was a great day on the water with Tania. I am grateful my wife loves fishing as much as I do. We send our best wishes to all fellow anglers, hoping your fishing adventures are safe, blessed, and full of tight lines and good times! Until next time, keep casting and chasing those dreams on the water.

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!