It has been a while since Tania and I have been fishing. With my hand injury and us traveling for the holidays, we just haven’t had a chance to go. Since Tania had the first week of January off, we decided to travel to Saint Augustine with our friends Don and Beth. Since we were in Saint Augustine, I reserved a boat and decided to chase some sheepshead on one of our days.

We reserved the boat on Wednesday, January 3^rd, which has the best weather for the week. When we arrived in Saint Augustine on Tuesday, we went to the boat club to check out where we were going on Wednesday and find out where to get bait. The boat club dock hands were great, and they told us about several bait shops in the area.

A bait shop, The Bait Shack, was across the road from the boat club at the Vilano Boat ramp. The young man working was very helpful and even pointed out a few spots to hit up specifically since we were targeting sheepshead. They also told us that since everyone was out of fiddler crabs, the best bait was live sandfleas on a Carolina rig with a size 2 hook.

It was nice meeting up with some locals and talking about fishing. Everyone seemed very friendly and willing to help us find some fish. We spent an hour at the bait shop before heading to our resort.

We decided that since it would be cold in the morning, we would arrive at the boat club at about 8:00 a.m. in hopes that with the sun up, it wouldn’t be too bad. On Wednesday morning, when we woke up at 6:30 a.m., it was only 44°F. When we arrived at the boat, the temperature rose to 46°F. This was the coldest we had ever been fishing on the boat.

As we loaded the boat up, the dock hand, Mike, was very informative and told us a few locations where members had caught sheepshead over the past week. Once we were checked out, we headed to Vilano Causeway Bridge, which was our first spot.

When we started fishing, it was nearly low tide. We worked the bridge pilings around the center of the bridge and moved east. We spent about 30 minutes between two pilings without a bite before moving to the Bridge of Lions. We were told by multiple people this was a better bridge to fish.

It was a cold ride to the Bridge of Lions, but we were hopeful our luck would change, and we would start catching fish. We had our first fish on the boat within 10 minutes of getting our lines wet. Tania landed a black seabass. I was surprised to see black seabass, as we rarely catch them in our area. We fished this spot for a few hours with little success. We caught three black seabass, one oyster toadfish, and one 13in sheepshead.

At about 11:00 a.m., we decided to head back to the marina and see if we could find the fish on the way back. We ended up back at the Vilano Causeway bridge, where many folks were now fishing. The water also raised about three feet so we could tie off to the pilings and fish off them. Tania preferred fishing this way, and it paid off as Tania landed a 17in sheepshead! She was really excited to catch a second sheepshead, especially one so large.

We continued to fish the pilings until roughly 1:00 p.m. before returning to the marina. We caught numerous black seabass, two sheepshead, an oyster toadfish, and one stinking catfish. I was slightly disappointed we didn’t catch more fish, but I am happy to have a few sheepshead for supper. Tania and I plan to return to Saint Augustine in March. Hopefully, we will have warmer weather and more action on the water.

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. 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!