While Tania attended a women’s conference at church on Saturday, I embarked on a fishing adventure with fellow Salt Strong Insider Vern and my buddy Ron. We had planned to meet at the dock, with me arriving at 6:30 a.m. and them at 7:00 a.m. The morning was a picture of serenity, with a 10kt SW wind that would later shift to NW. As per the weather buoy, the seas were 1.7 ft at 12 seconds, promising a perfect day for our fishing adventure.

By 7:30 a.m., we had navigated out of the inlet and arrived at the boils. The scene was already bustling with several boats and five kayaks. With it being dead low tide, I strategically decided to start fishing at the west end of the boils, with our sights set on snook or redfish. However, as is often the case in this sport, the fish had their own plans, and the bite was disappointingly slow, reminding us of the unpredictable nature of our beloved sport.

Vern seemed to have the hot bait of the day, what he called the golden boy. It was a chartreuse-colored jig. I started using squidtrex, and Ron had a slow-pitch jig on that was blue and silver. Once Vern caught a few fish with Golden Boy, I changed Ron to a Nomad 60g Chartreuse slow pitch, and I put on my favorite slow pitch jig, which is blue with a chartreuse line down the center.

The drift was near perfect, with a southwest drift. This kept us in the zone for much longer, but the bite was slow, even with the good drift. By 11:00 a.m., we had two black drums and one large lane snapper in the cooler. We had also caught bluefish, blue runners, and porkfish, but none of the targeted species. We all wanted more snapper in the boat, so I decided to fish the yellow buoy at the east end of the boils.

The bite at the buoy was hot. I believe it was the second bite Ron hooked himself into a nice fish. Unfortunately, we don’t know what it was, as after a few minutes of fighting and walking around the boat, it broke off. We believe it was a shark, but you never know what you have until you bring it up. Within 30 minutes, we put ten-lane snappers ranging from 12 to 14 inches in the cooler.

Just as we ran out of bait, we saw a guy drifting next to us catch a permit, so we decided to do a few drifts, hoping we would catch one. Unfortunately, today was not our day, but I was happy to see they are still in the area!

We ended up back at the dock at about 1:00 p.m. and had to wait a bit for a dock as the docks were full of people coming and going. When we got a spot on the dock, we unloaded the boat and cleaned the fish. Ron and Vern got excited watching all the big jacks and the 200—to 300 lb goliath grouper eating the carcasses as I threw them into the water.

Despite the slow bite, we all had a fantastic time, enjoying our fellowship and the shared passion for fishing. Days like this one, with their challenges and rewards, only serve to fuel our anticipation for the next adventure. Tania and I send our best wishes to all fellow anglers. May your fishing adventures be safe, blessed, and filled with 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 hosts monthly meetings in Fort Pierce on the 4th Thursday of each month. These meetings offer a range of benefits to members, including a 20% discount on tackle, access to Smart Fishing spots, and insider information on local trends. Additionally, there will be monthly tournaments and guest speakers featured. If you’re interested in learning more about Salt Strong, click the links below to receive a FREE pack of Slam Shady or a 30-day test drive.