After the bad weather on Sunday, Tania did not want to go fishing on Monday. She suggested I go with Steven on my own. However, with plenty of room on the boat, I reached out to fellow Salt Strong Insider Keir and asked if he wanted to join us. He gladly accepted, and we all agreed to meet at the dock by 6:30 am, eager for the day’s adventure to begin.

As the first light of dawn broke, I found myself at the dock, eager for the day’s adventure to begin. The sight of the early risers already gathered at the dock only added to the excitement. The dockhands worked quickly to ensure we didn’t have to wait long for our boat.

With the marine and weather forecast in mind, I decided on our starting point- the boils- with the option to head to some shallow reefs if needed. About halfway to the boils, we were surprised to see bait fish everywhere. This unexpected sight led to a spontaneous decision to set up two sabiki rods. We spent about 15 minutes chasing bait, filling the live well with large pilchards. The abundance of bait was a pleasant surprise. After the unexpected bait stop, we continued to the boils, ready for whatever the day had in store for us.

We started drifting on the east end of the boils near the buoy, but without a bite and seeing nothing on the sonar, I moved to the west end to see if there was any life there. It didn’t take long for us to start getting some action. I was using my favorite jig, a 60g nomad design gypsy jig, Keir was dropping a power prawn on a 1/2oz football jig head, and Steven was using a squidtrex. I also was freelining a pilchard.

We made multiple drifts on the west end, each producing fishing for us. Even though the bite was slow, it was steady. During our first drift, I caught an 18-inch black drum and saw a school of giant spotted eagle rays gracefully gliding under the boat. There were probably eight of them, all larger than five feet across. Most of our drifts produced throwback fish; however, at about 9:00 a.m., I got the bite I was hoping for.

After the first big run, I knew I had a permit on the line. It is an unmistakable fight. Unfortunately, this fight did not end with me putting a permit on the boat. About five minutes into the fight, I saw the permit surface about 20 yards from the boat. Unfortunately, a massive shark was chasing the permit. Once I realized what was happening, I opened my bail, hoping to get the permit and a chance to get away.  Shortly after I opened my bail, the shark swam right by the boat with the permit in its mouth. I was really sad to have lost such a prized fish to a shark.

Shortly after my heartbreak, my buddy Keir hooked up. I am pretty sure he also had a permit; however, after a three-minute fight, he tightened his drag and was broken off, so we never got to see the fish. This was a hard lesson learned by Keir; with light tackle and big fish, you need to let them wear themselves out and not try to horse them in.

At about 10:30 a.m., Steven switched to dropping live shrimp on the bottom with a split shot. This produced a short mutton snapper and two bonefish. Steven had never caught a bonefish, so he was pretty happy to have caught them.

At about 11:00 a.m., the wind picked up, and the water started getting sloppy, so we decided to head back in, knowing we had given it our best. Although I did not meet my goal of putting both my friends on permits, I felt we had a successful day as I saw my permit, and I was able to put my friend on his first bonefish.

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. To learn more about Salt Strong, click the links below for a FREE pack of Slam Shady or a 30-day test drive.