This past week, the weather was questionable, with 2-3 ft seas and 10-15 kt winds. Given that forecast, we had to fish the river, which wasn’t a bad thing, as I have seen many reports of pompano being in the river. When Wednesday arrived, I noticed the wind was becoming more favorable—SW 5-10 kt—but the seas still showed 2-3 ft, which, depending on the duration between the seas, was pushing our limits since we’re not as young as we used to be. By Friday, the conditions looked good to head to the Boils, our favorite fishing spot.

I invited a few folks to go fishing with us, but everyone has other plans, which is fine by me since it relieves some pressure of getting people on fish. Well, I should say most of the pressure, as I still need to get Tania on fish. 

Saturday morning, when we woke up, the first thing I did was check the weather buoys to see the current sea conditions. The buoy reported 2.3 ft at 11 seconds, and SW winds at 9 kts, indicating light chop. 

We left the house around 6:00am to pick up bait and ice before heading to the dock. When we opened the garage door, we noticed how foggy it was. We hoped the fog wouldn’t be too thick once we were on the boat. On the way, Tania and I said our morning prayers for protection, opening our eyes to see His creation and to catch lots of fish if it was His will.

After picking up bait at The Fishing Center and ice at the icehouse in the parking lot, we reached the dock around 6:30 am. A few other club members were there before us, so we had to wait to get our boat, but it wasn’t long. Once our boat was pulled up to the dock, we loaded up and headed out. 

We were heading out of the Fort Pierce Inlet around 7:30 am, since it was taking us a bit longer to get out due to manatee season. It was also foggy, so we went a little slower than usual because we couldn’t see very far in front of us. 

There was some chop as we left the inlet due to the incoming tide and SW winds, but once we reached the ocean, the water was as smooth as a lake. I had to stay close to the shoreline just to see visual cues to know where we were going. I could rely on the GPS and navigate by instruments, but I prefer having some visual cues. 

We arrived at the Boils shortly after 7:45 am. Several boats were hugging the west side of the Boils, and a few more were heading that way, so Tania and I decided to start fishing at the east end. The Boils were full of activity, and it didn’t take long for us to hook up. Within 30 seconds of the first drop, Tania was hooked up and in a good fight. She ended up losing the first fish shortly after the fight began; the hook broke on her jig. Good thing there are two hooks, so she dropped again, and bam, she was fighting another fish. This time it was a massive bluefish, but unfortunately, it came off after we got it to the boat before I could net it. 

I spent most of the next few hours fishing and netting fish for Tania because whenever she dropped, she would hook a fish. I managed to land several fish, mostly large jacks, but nothing to take home; however, Tania was able to put a couple of fish in the cooler—a Spanish mackerel and a pompano. Unfortunately, it was tough to get past the bluefish, jacks, and sharks to land anything else. 

While we were drifting, we saw many dolphins, including some juvenile dolphins surrounded by their parents. At 10:30 am, we were fortunate to see a humpback whale surface three times before it disappeared. We called 877-942-5343 and left a message to report the sighting. It is uncommon to see such a large whale in shallow waters; however, it swam away, so I do not think it was in distress. 

Around 11:00 am, we headed to our Margate spot to add some meat to the cooler. We fished for margates for about an hour, catching around ten, but only kept three. Tania and I also caught several bonnetheads. They’re fun to catch but tough on the tackle, and I don’t eat them, so it wasn’t really fitting with the purpose of where we were fishing. 

Around noon, the wind picked up, making the water a little rough, so we decided to head back into the river. We wanted to try a few spots where we usually catch sheepshead, since a buddy told me they were catching them in the river. While we were near the South Causeway Bridge, we started to see dolphins. Once we went under the bridge, a pair of dolphins came up to the starboard side of the boat and played in our wake for a bit.

Unfortunately, this didn’t work out for us. We caught several short lane snappers and a sail catfish. Actually, the sail catfish came up and grabbed a lane snapper that Tania was reeling in. It was really cool to see. 

We ended up drifting a bit south of the South Causeway Bridge, but the drift was quick because the current and wind were moving in the same direction. After getting caught on the bottom a few times, I told Tania, let’s head in. We had a good day of fishing, and I wanted to finish on a high note before losing any jigs to the giant rock fish!

We returned to the dock around 2:00 pm. Tania and I were both exhausted from fighting all the large jacks and bluefish. It was a good workout. Tania and I had a blessed day with answered prayers. The good Lord brought us home safely, opened our eyes to see His wonderful creation, and we caught plenty of fish, as well as bringing fish home.

Tania and I send our best wishes to all our fellow anglers. May your time on the water be safe, blessed, and filled with tight lines and good memories. Until next time, keep casting, keep believing, and keep chasing those dreams on the water.

The Treasure Coast Chapter of Salt Strong now hosts monthly meetings at Islamorada Brewery and Distillery on the 4th Tuesday of each month. These meetings offer members a range of benefits, including guest speakers and fellowship with local anglers who share their knowledge and help one another catch fish. Membership to Salt Strong includes a 20% discount on tackle, access to Smart Fishing spots, and insider information on local trends. To learn more about Salt Strong, click the link below for a FREE 30-day test drive.