How To Fish A Popping Cork

Fishing Report
Fort Pierce - Port St Lucie - Vero Beach - Jensen Beach
April 9, 2009

INSHORE:
What turned out to be a real topsy-turvy week of weather, we enjoyed some great fishing action along the Indian River. It seemed that we had just about everything but snow this week. Once this last cold front passed, the winds died down and the sun came out to warm up the Treasure Coast. We had some fantastic days of fishing.

Trout continues to be the staple on the flats. Lots of trout in two to five feet of water. Mike and Delia Bove' caught their share of trout as did Tom Hull. We used live shrimp part of the time and DOA Deadly Combos most of the time. There are some nice trout out there this time of year along with a lot of schoolies to keep you busy. Harbor Branch and Round Island has been hot spots for trout lately. We caught some nice snook around some of the docks in Fort Pierce. Most were just below slot size, but gave us a battle to keep them out of the pilings. Mike, Delia and Tom all caught snook. Snook fishing has been good for night anglers using live bait or jigs around the inlet area. Redfish were a little quiet this week, but they are in the shallows and waiting for the water to warm back up after this latest Arctic front. It has been a good week of fishing!

Mike ended his day by catching a nice 17" tripletail in the Fort Pierce inlet. We found Spanish mackerel, bluefish, jacks and ladyfish around the inlet. Live shrimp or shiny spoons and jigs have worked well for us. Bridges have held sheephead, black drum and snapper. The beach still has pompano and whiting cruising the surf. You can also find some jacks and bluefish, too. Spring has finally arrived.

Tip of the Week:
Popping corks are a great way to target sea trout. Live shrimp is the normal bait of choice when fishing this way. Want to try something different and effective? Tie on a DOA shrimp instead and work it a little harder than the usual live stuff. You will be surprised at the results. Snook will also readily strike at this combination. It's a great way to fish when you run out of live bait. Try it sometime and you might just get hooked on artificials!

As always, remember, fishing is not just another hobby....it's an ADVENTURE!!

Good Fishing and Be Safe,

Captain Charlie Conner
www.fishtalescharter.com
email: captaincharlie@fishtalescharter.com
772-284-3852


(Captain Charlie Conner has been fishing the Indian River Lagoon for over twenty-five years. Specializing in light tackle fishing in Fort Pierce, Vero Beach, Jensen Beach, Stuart and Port St Lucie, Florida. His weekly South Indian River Lagoon Fishing Report gives you the latest inshore fishing information for the Treasure Coast area on the Indian River Lagoon.}