Pompano are running the beaches and lagoon; Redfish are in Sebastian Inlet

Ed Killer, Treasure Coast Newspapers
·4 min read

Temperatures in the 80s. Sunny skies. Light winds.

Is winter on its way? Maybe not. But some of the fish are moving as if it is.

Pompano, perhaps one of the most popular catches swimming in Treasure Coast waters, are starting to show up in numbers high enough for anglers to enjoy catching a few of them.

On the beaches, around the inlets and in the Indian River Lagoon, anglers are finding a few for the dinner table. If we're lucky, they'll stick around awhile and we can enjoy catching the tasty table fare all the way until Easter.

Closures in effect: Anglers are reminded about three fishery harvest closures currently underway.

  • Flounder: Harvest of flounder re-opened Dec. 1.

  • Spotted seatrout: No harvest of trout is allowed in the waters of eastern central Florida, from Volusia to Palm Beach counties, from Nov. 1 though Dec. 31. Harvest will re-open Jan. 1, 2022.

  • Hogfish: No harvest of hogfish is allowed in the waters of the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Florida from Nov. 1 through April 30, 2022. Harvest re-opens May 1, 2022.

  • Snook: The closure begins Dec. 15 and runs through Jan. 31, 2022. Anglers have about two weeks to harvest legal-sized snook.

For complete fishing regulations in Florida go to MyFWC.com.

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Oversized redfish were caught and released by anglers fishing Nov 30, 2021 in Sebastian Inlet with Capt. Glyn Austin of Going Coastal charters.
Oversized redfish were caught and released by anglers fishing Nov 30, 2021 in Sebastian Inlet with Capt. Glyn Austin of Going Coastal charters.

Indian River County

Offshore: Cobia have been on the reefs in 70 feet of water. Kingfish and Spanish mackerel can be caught closer to the beaches. Drift live bait to catch kings and bonitos. Toss small chrome or blue jigs and reel fast to get Spanish mackerel.

Inshore: Pompano can be caught around the spoil islands and along the edges of the channels. Use 1/4-ounce or 1/8-ounce jigs in white, pink or chartreuse, or artificial shrimp jigs to get bites. The best fishing is during the incoming tide.

Lakes: Anglers fishing at Headwaters Lake and the Stick Marsh are catching bass to 6 and 7 pounds using wild shiners. Fishing with jigs will also produce catches in deeper spots. Fish spots where there is moving water to find bass eager to bite.

St. Lucie County

Offshore: The marine weather forecast indicates calm seas the next several days which should allow for good bottom fishing. Grouper can be caught on the deeper reefs by power fishing. Use dead sardines. Mutton snapper and mangrove snapper can be caught in 60-80 feet of water.

Inshore: Snook are still biting around docks, seawalls, in the Turning Basin, around the bridges and along the jetties at the inlet. Use First Light jigs in chartreuse or live shrimp. Flounder can be caught around the jetty and bridges, too, using live shrimp on a sliding sinker rig or a finger mullet on a naked jig head.

Surf: Paul Sperco of Bass Pro Shops fished with Gary Faircloth of Port St. Lucie to catch limits of pompano Nov. 29 from Hutchinson Island. They were using the Fishbites EZ Flea and also caught bluefish and jacks. The day prior, Sperco landed his pomps using the Fishbites Yellow Crab.

Martin County

Offshore: The sailfish have yet to be found in large numbers as the sailfish tournament season has begun. The fleet of 15 boats fishing the Fish Heads Quickie caught and released 25 sails Wednesday. Mahi mahi, blackfin tuna and even a blue marlin were also caught offshore of Stuart this week.

Inshore: Snook, sheepshead, croaker, black drum and snapper are all being caught around the area bridges on shrimp-tipped jigs and live shrimp. Anglers are jigging from the low bridges at Jensen Beach and Stuart causeways to see if there are pompano running yet.

Lake Okeechobee

Speckled perch fishing has been getting better with the longer, cooler nights. Use small jigs and live minnows and fish over ledges, brush piles and rock piles. Bass fishing is good around Point of the Reef.

Ed Killer is TCPalm's outdoors writer. Sign up for his and other weekly newsletters at profile.tcpalm.com/newsletters/manage. Friend Ed on Facebook at Ed Killer, follow him on Twitter @tcpalmekiller or email him at ed.killer@tcpalm.com.

This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Redfish, pompano can be caught in the lagoon, inlets & near spoil islands