South Florida Weekly Fishing Report - Dec. 2, 2021

Want to catch a wahoo like this beauty Capt. Bruce Cyr caught a few months back? There's a good bite happening right now from Boynton up to the Lake Worth Inlet.
Want to catch a wahoo like this beauty Capt. Bruce Cyr caught a few months back? There's a good bite happening right now from Boynton up to the Lake Worth Inlet.

Offshore

With relatively calm winds, light seas and plenty of fish moving through the area, now is the time to get out and fish.

Off Jensen Beach, in 110 to 140 feet of water and southeast of the St. Lucie Inlet, there has been good action for dolphin, sailfish and even a blue marlin that was estimated at 250 to 300 pounds before it was released. Live baits including pilchards and trolling ballyhoo are working. Watch for color changes.

Bottom fishermen in the area are catching good numbers of mutton and mangrove snapper on live baits and grunt plugs. They are also getting lots of lane snapper using chicken rigs with squid.

The Snook Nook will hold their 2021 Tent Sale from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Dec. 18. There will lots of excellent deals for the holiday season.

Off Jupiter, there are still dolphin being caught along the edge out to 300 feet.

There should be a good sailfish bite along the edge as well for the next few days using live bait.

Though there are a few small king mackerel being caught off Jupiter, it's nothing to write home about and is actually perfectly normal for the area in Dec. As more bait fish move down, the 'smokers' will follow and will start being caught, photographed and consumed in the coming months.

Off Boynton Beach, the dolphin bite has moved well offshore with the prevalent west winds. Most are being found in 400 to 700 feet and are being taken on trolled ballyhoo and small, top water, skirted lures in blue/white and pink/white colors.

The wahoo bite has remained steady from Boynton to the Lake Worth Inlet. Though most have been between eight and 17 pounds, Capt. Geno Pratt caught an impressive 30 pounder on Sunday. Sea Witch, Ilander, Tormenter and Black Bart Sushi Lures, in pink, pink/blue, red/white and blue/white, have all been effective. The fish are being found in 130 to 300 feet.

There have been a few king mackerel taken in the past week in 90 to 125 feet. Fish up to 10 pounds have been hitting drifted sardines on three-quarter ounce drift rigs.

Working the reef edges, in 50 to 70 feet, off the Boynton Beach area has been producing jumbo triggerfish and mangrove snapper. Cut sardines or squid strips fished on hi-lo rigs are working best.

Whether it's a monster or a minnow, if you've got a good fishing photo send it to us at eritz@pbpost.com

Inshore

The snook bite remains good in the St. Lucie River, especially around the dock lights at night. Though many have moved farther up into the river, there are still some being caught around the Jensen and Stuart Causeways as well as up around the power plant. Though live baits are still getting hits, because of the cooler water, live shrimp, which offer a slower presentation, are working slightly better.

Also in the St. Lucie River, sheepshead are being caught around structure using either live shrimp on a jig or fiddler crabs.

Black drum are being caught around the bridges.

On the beaches of St. Lucie and Martin Counties, the pompano action is still good. Again, it's for the long rods as most of the fish are being caught 70 to 110 yards from shore. Fishbites in yellow crab and E-Z flea flavors are working best.

Though the Peck's Lake area in Stuart is loaded with Spanish mackerel right now, it's not the only game around. Anglers are finding good numbers of them from the Lake Worth Inlet north through Jupiter. They are being caught trolling spoons in 20 to 30 feet of water and are congregating along the bait rocks. They are also being found by watching for color changes, birds and schools of minnows. Remember to use a trolling spoon (not a casting spoon) like a Clarkspoon or a drone spoon small enough for Spanish mackerel.

When you do catch a few of those tasty Spanish mackerel remember to get them on ice, with a bit of salt water mixed in, immediately to preserve them. Also, remember, unless you're going to smoke them, they are best eaten the day they are caught so only take what you need.

Finally, this time of year, it pays to have your gear set up and ready as in addition to Spanish mackerel, there are plenty of other species cruising down the coast including bluefish, ladyfish, jack crevalle and even cobia along the beach.

At the Boynton Inlet, anglers working the south jetty are reporting catching some impressive flounder. Up to five pounds, they are hitting live shrimp on a half-ounce jig head during slack tide.

In the Intracoastal Waterway, there has been a plethora of different species to target. Pompano, bluefish, Spanish mackerel, sand perch, sheepshead, jack crevalle and snook are being caught from the Boynton area to the Flagler Bridge.

For the bluefish, Spanish mackerel and jack crevalle, trolling spoons or yellow feathers are working.

Live shrimp, sand fleas or clams have been producing strong responses from the sand perch, sheepshead and pompano around the bridges, docks, seawalls and area flats.

The snook are hitting live mullet, live sand perch, greenies or shrimp fished around bridges at night and during the early morning hours.

For past reports and other fishing related information click here

Lake Okeechobee

The bass bite has been slow on the lake the past week. They are mostly being caught by anglers working the outside grassline at first light using wild shiners. For artificial, Senkos in blue or black have been producing some action.

The spec bite has been a bit hit or miss the past few days. One day anglers are getting 30, the next five. It has been best at first light and right at dark. Minnows are working best in the river and jigs in the grassy areas in the lake.

Local anglers come up short

Though they made it to the Bass Pro Shops US Open National Bass Fishing Amateur Team Championships, the team of Kail Stevens, of Okeechobee, and Bradley MacQueen, of West Palm Beach, came up a bit shy in their quest to win the $1 million grand prize.

Fishing the event on Table Rock Lake in Missouri, they made the first cut on Nov. 19 and fished the next leg of the event the following day. Unfortunately, they did not advance to the final on Nov. 21.

Stevens said the conditions were pretty brutal with the first day being 22 degrees and the second day a balmy 30 degrees.

He said they definitely learned a lot about fishing out of state in conditions like that and that they are looking forward to traveling and learning more.

The event, and $1 million prize, was won by Tucker Smith and Logan Parks of Shoal Creek, Ala.

All fishing report information courtesy of Alec at the Snook Nook in Jensen Beach, Fishing Headquarters in Jupiter, Capt. Bruce Cyr and Garrard's Bait & Tackle in Okeechobee.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: South Florida Weekly Fishing Report - Dec. 2, 2021