Speckled perch and sheepshead bite heats up when the weather cools down
Another cold front will descend along the Florida peninsula by Saturday keeping temperatures cool in the morning and at night. Sunny conditions will lead to a warm up each day to mild conditions.
How cool will it get? Nothing like this same week in 1977. That's when snow actually fell on the Treasure Coast.
Don't worry. The cool conditions won't shut off the action. Anglers will be able to find good fishing for sheepshead, speckled perch, Spanish mackerel and bluefish — all species which tend to feed aggressively when they feel the mercury dip.
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Closures in effect: Anglers are reminded about these fishery harvest closures currently underway and ones about to begin and end.
Snook: The closure began Dec. 15 and runs through Jan. 31.
Grouper: Shallow water grouper are prohibited from harvest Jan. 1 through April 30, 2022. That includes gag grouper, red grouper, scamp and six other lesser species.
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.
For complete fishing regulations in Florida go to MyFWC.com.
Indian River County
Offshore: It may be too rough to head offshore in a small boat, but those going on larger boats can have a chance at mahi mahi, blackfin tuna and sailfish. When seas calm, the snapper fishing will also be good.
Inshore: Tarpon have surprisingly been around Sebastian Inlet the past two weeks. Use live mullet to get hooked up. Redfish are being caught in and over the slot. Fish the center of the inlet channel on drifting boats with live mullet or from the shorelines west of the A1A bridge with live croaker. Redfish and trout can also be caught along the shoreline just north of Harbor Branch.
Freshwater: Bass fishing continues to be very good at Stick Marsh and Headwaters Lake for anglers using wild shiners. Since these are now catch and release fisheries, anglers are putting them back.
St. Lucie County
Offshore: The Pelican Yacht Club Invitational Billfish Tournament wrapped up its fishing Saturday finishing up one of the slowest Treasure Coast sailfish tournament seasons in over two decades. The fleet of 19 combined to catch and release just 77 sailfish on the week. That's a far cry from the tournament fleet's 969 caught the same week in 2019.
Inshore: Fishing from the catwalks and jetty have been producing catches of sheepshead, snapper and flounder. Use small shrimp-tipped jigs or curly-tailed jigs. Fiddler crabs, cut bait and, for the flounder, live mud minnows on a sliding sinker rig, all will help get bites.
Surf: There should be good conditions to fish this zone Friday and possibly Saturday morning. However, conditions may deteriorate by Sunday as the front passes through and winds pick up and shift. Action has been spotty, at best, for pompano and whiting. Spanish mackerel can be caught on long casts with spoons.
Martin County
Offshore: The Spanish mackerel school has settled into its usual location at Peck's Lake and the crowd of boats fishing the school is thick. Be courteous and give others a wide berth. Remember, those same fish are scattered as far north as the inlet and several miles south, too — there is no need to pile in on top of each other. Cast netters are allowed to practice their trade there, but do not take kindly to anglers fishing too closely. Fly rods are picking up a few, but remember to strip the line fast.
Inshore: Try fishing fiddler crabs or shrimp around the fenders of the bridges, but don't fish in the channel impeding boat traffic. Jigs with shrimp will reach bottom where black drum and croaker will bite. There have been a few pompano caught in the channel and on the drop-offs of the flats. Use Doc's Goofy Jigs in chartreuse or pink.
Lake Okeechobee
Capt. Rob Ward of S & K Fisheries in Fort Pierce has been steering his anglers to limits of speckled perch (also known as specks, crappie and black crappie). They have been using jigs and sometimes live minnows. Fish drop-offs and edges to find them. The cooler weather seems to have the small feisty fish fired up.
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: Speckled perch, sheepshead both bite better when the weather cools
