Hello, my fellow anglers and adventure seekers! Grab a seat and let me whisk you away on a maritime journey that unfolded on a crisp Veterans Day with my fishing partner in crime, Tania. As dawn painted the sky, we set sail into the promising waters, leaving behind the routines of everyday life for a day filled with the thrill of the open sea.

With a boat reserved and a spirit of anticipation, our expedition began at the break of dawn, navigating the Fort Pierce Inlet, fueled by the promise of hooking into the mysterious and the magnificent. The weather forecast hinted at challenges, but with fishing rods in hand and the open ocean ahead, we were ready to embrace whatever the day had in store.

So, join me as I recount the highs and lows, the excitement of the catch, the frustration of lost gear, and the camaraderie shared on the waves. This is not just a fishing trip; it’s a tale of perseverance, surprises, and the timeless dance between humans and the sea. Cast your imagination alongside our lines, and let the adventure unfold!

On Friday, Tania and I had the day off for Veterans Day. We reserved a boat on Thursday evening and planned to go fishing. We arrived at the dock at about 6:45 a.m., loaded the boat, and headed out at about 7:00 a.m., full of anticipation of what the day had in store.

As we made our way out of the inlet, it was a little rough but wasn’t bad, and the weather trend was showing the conditions would improve as the day progressed. When we left the inlet, the weather buoy showed 2.3ft at 5 seconds and 5-10kt NE wind.

Tania and I decided we would run to the boils to see if we could catch a permit. We saw tons of fishing jumping all around about four miles north of the Fort Pierce Inlet. I stopped the boat, and we could see it was spanish mackerel so we tossed out jigs to see if we could put some in the cooler.

The spanish mackerel were aggressive and it didn’t take long to put some fish in the cooler. I was lucky to get one in the cooler before Tania caught her first fish. Once Tania caught a fish, by the time I was ready to cast, Tania already had another fish at the boat. After her fifth fish, I told her we would continue to the boils as I wanted to fish also!

From when we first saw them to the boils the spanish mackerel were thick. We could have filled our cooler with them; however, we were hoping for a permit or two. Once we arrived at the boils, I set up our first drift near the buoy. Shortly after we started drifting, a boat pulled up next to us, and it was fellow Salt Strong Insider and friend Vern. He shouted to Tania and asked her not to catch all the permits so he could finally get one.

There was a ton of life at the boils. Tania started jigging a Nomad Design Gypsea slow pitch jig, and I started with a 1oz slow pitch jig from my buddy Adam of A&S Jigs. I knew we would lose a few jigs with all the tooth critters we saw.

On the first drift, Tania and I started to catch fish immediately. We started catching blue runners and small jack crevalle. About 5 minutes into our first drift, I got cut off. As I was rerigging my rod, I heard Vern yelling. Turns out Vern was in luck, and he caught a permit! This made Tania and I more hopeful that we would catch one.

Tania and I drifted near the buoy for a few hours, during which time we put nearly 100 fish in the boat but no permit—mostly blue runners and jacks. Tania suggested we move closer to shore and see what we could catch. We caught a 16-inch mutton snapper and two large black margates, but we lost a ton of rigs to the spinner sharks we saw jumping all around us. We lost count of all the sharks we saw jumping.

While drifting near shore, we saw two boats land a few snooks and jump a few tarpons. They were spot-locked on the SW corner of the boils and were using live bait. While drifting past them, Tania hooked up with something nice, but unfortunately, her braid broke. As we inspected her line, it was frayed in multiple places. The line was only four months old, so I wondered why it was breaking like it did.

After losing lots of gear to sharks, we moved back towards the buoy. This was a good decision, as Tania caught a 16-inch pompano on the first drift. It wasn’t the permit we hoped for, but they are just as good eating. We continued to drift several more times, mostly catching blue runners and jacks once again, and after Tania was broken off again, she was fed up and said she was done fishing. She was frustrated losing all the gear.

Since we still had live shrimp, I suggested anchoring up at the buoy and catching a few snappers to round out our catch. It didn’t take long for us to run out of bait fishing the buoy. We put five-lane snappers from 12-16 inches into the cooler.

At this point, we returned to the dock with a cooler full of fish. I have enough fish to make fish dip for the holiday potlucks and my Monday men’s group. We returned to the dock at about 12:30 p.m. when the fun ended, and the work began. I had a table full of fish to clean, 11 spanish mackerel, five-lane snappers, and one pompano.

Tania and I were exhausted from a blessed day on the water, catching fish and making memories. 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, 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!