Tania told me she did not want to go fishing on Saturday because of the weather forecast. She decided to go to a baby shower instead and told me I could still go if I wanted. So, while out with Chris on Friday, I asked him if he wanted to go, and he was on board.

I arrived at the dock about 7:15 a.m. with four dozen shrimp. Chris was waiting at the dock for me to arrive. Our boat arrived shortly after we did. Once the boat had arrived, we loaded up and headed out of the marina. With the forecasted winds of 10-15 NE, I decided to run south to Nettles Island.

When we exited the marina, the wind wasn’t bad, and there was little chop. I ran south at a pretty good clip as it was reasonably calm, and we made it to Nettles Island at about 8:00 a.m. We started at the island’s southwest end and worked our way east. It didn’t take long for us to start catching fish; however, I felt like we found the fish nursery as we were catching baby jacks and ladyfish ranging from 6-8 inches.

We worked the entire south side of Nettles Island for the next few hours. While working the island, the wind increased in strength and changed directions from northeast to north. We could see the white caps just past the island as we returned to the channel. Chris and I looked at each other and knew it would be a fun ride back north. These conditions are precisely why Tania didn’t want to go.

It got pretty rough once we passed the southwest corner of Nettles Island. The wind was howling, and the river was white caps as far as we could see. Since it was still early, only 10:00 a.m. I asked Chris if he wanted to try the powerlines and see if we could catch something to bring home. He said we might as well try.

We pulled up to the far south power line on the west side of the river at about 10:20 a.m. It was a lot of work getting set up to fish the pilings as the trolling motor had a hard time with the high winds and roughly two-foot chop.

Chris and I decided to use live shrimp on ¼ oz jig heads. We both got a few bites; however, I felt we weren’t getting to the bottom, so I set up my other rod with a knocker rig to ensure I was holding the bottom in the rough conditions. While I was halfway setting up the second rod, the drag on the rod I had out started screaming. After a short fight, I landed a 17-inch black drum. Chris and I were excited to get a fish in the cooler finally.

We fished these pilings for another 15 minutes with little success, and with how rough it was, I told Chris we would try the north powerlines and then head in. Since we had no other structure to break the chop up, the trolling motor could not hold us at the northwest powerlines. I left the motor running, and when we drifted back to the pilings, I would put it in gear to push us away and then take it out of gear to drift back slowly.

While doing this slow drift, we got a bit more action. The first fish I caught at the northwest powerlines was a 16-inch sheepshead. Shortly after, I hooked up with another sheepshead; unfortunately, I lost it before I could get it into the boat.

After another 20 minutes, I told Chris I was ready to go in. I was getting beat up in the rough conditions, and since we had a few fish in the cooler, I was ready to head back to the marina. As much as I love fishing, the chop beat us too badly.

We made it back to the dock at about noon. It didn’t take long to unload the boat and for me to clean the fish. I gave Chris the black drum, and I kept the sheepshead. I enjoy black drum, but I love sheepshead!

Tania and I 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, access to Smart Fishing spots, and insider information on local trends. We also hold Monthly tournaments with cash prizes as well as guest speakers. 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!