Some fishing trips are planned for weeks, building anticipation with every passing day. Sunday was one of those long-awaited adventures. My boss, Joe, and my coworker from Oklahoma, Josh, had been eager to get out on the water, and after a month of planning, the day had finally arrived. Initially, we had set our sights on Saturday, but after checking the forecast, Sunday looked like the better bet. Unfortunately, with Tania’s schedule, she wasn’t able to join, so she encouraged me to enjoy a boys’ day out. With that in mind, I decided to head to the boils, a reliable spot for a good fight and some great action.

The plan was to meet at the dock between 6:30 and 7:00 a.m. I grabbed ice and bait from the Fishing Center—four dozen shrimp and a cup of sand fleas—before arriving at the dock right on time. The morning air was crisp at 57 degrees, with light winds and 3-foot seas at 11-second intervals, making for favorable nearshore fishing conditions. Once Joe and Josh arrived, we set off for the boils, full of optimism.

As we reached the boils, the excitement faded a bit—the water was murky, and there wasn’t much visible activity. We began drifting near the west end, fishing with 30g slow-pitch jigs. Joe was using a blue, pink, and silver one, Josh had a glow-in-the-dark chartreuse jig, and I used a glow-in-the-dark orange one. Despite our efforts, the fish weren’t cooperating. After about 30 minutes, Josh finally hooked into the first fish of the day—a small jack crevalle. Hoping for better luck, we repositioned near the east end by the buoy, but it was more of the same. Just as I was about to move north to target sheepshead, Joe’s reel started screaming. After a solid battle, he landed a beautiful 32-inch upper-slot snook—his biggest snook ever! Energized by the catch, we gave it one more drift but came up empty, so we made the call to move north.

Our next stop was Pepper Park, where the action picked up. On our first drift, Josh reeled in a 15-inch mutton snapper, followed by Joe landing a nice 14 ¾-inch sheepshead. At this point, we switched up our rigs. Joe used an orange sheepshead jig with shrimp and sand fleas, Josh fished with a knocker rig, and I stuck with my slow-pitch jig. The bite was slow but steady, with Joe seeming to have the lucky rod. Josh and I were losing fish while Joe kept reeling them in! By noon, we had a respectable haul in the cooler: one snook, one sheepshead, one black margate, and a bluefish.

After a productive morning, we decided to grab lunch at Little Jim’s. The place was packed, and we had to wait for a table, but the food and atmosphere made it well worth it. We ended up spending about an hour and a half there, enjoying good food and recounting the morning’s catches.

As we headed back to the dock, Joe suggested one final stop—drifting south of the South Causeway Bridge since we still had bait. That turned out to be a great call! We pulled in another 15-inch sheepshead, a whiting, a solid sail catfish, and more catfish than we could count. Eventually, we ran out of bait around 2:30 p.m. and made our way back to the dock.

Overall, it was a fantastic day on the water. Joe was thrilled with his personal best snook, and Josh, being from Oklahoma, was just happy to experience some saltwater fishing. The weather cooperated, and despite a slow start, we ended up with a great variety of fish and plenty of memories. I can’t wait for the next one!

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 Tuesday 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.