Boatless Fishing Forum, Reports, Info

My wife and I went out Saturday from around 1-5 p.m. to a few spots around the Jensen Beach Bridge and along the Indian River Park and used finger mullet and shrimp but never got a single bite. I know there are good times and bad times for fishing, but I would have thought we'd have at least gotten a bite or two, especially on the finger mullet. I was wondering if anyone has some good ideas for me? We're faily new to salt water fishing so I don't have a huge supply of artificial baits. I do have a spoon, and a couple of other lures, but haven't had a ton of luck with them.

Are there some better spots to fish from? Do I need to study the tides and moon better? Do I need to take up bass fishing? We actually have done that a few times with better success in that we did catch a few bass. But I'm determined to catch some "dinner" and we both love sitting out somewhere enjoying hte breeze and being near the water. Just wish we'd catch something on occasion.

I know my questions are broad, but I'm just wondering where I can start making some improvements that might lead to a fish or two on occasion. then I can keep trying to hone in my skills and knowledge.

Thanks for any advice you have!!!

Thanks for the response. to be honest, I'm not real sure of the size of the stuff I'm using. I use steel leaders that are probably medium sized. not huge, but not tiny either. I have circle hooks and think they are size 5? medium in my opinion. i have 15 lb. monofilament on my rod. so i just attach the leader to the monofiliment and then put on the hook. I also have steel leaders with the hook already attached. Maybe they are too big? the hooks I use saltwater fishing are the same hooks i use bassfishing. so i just guess at their size.

Saturday i got some nice finger mullet from snook nook. after no bites and having a couple die, we went back and got a dozen shrimp. still no bites. but it was nice sitting outside. but it would sure be nicer if every now and then we took a fish off the hook.

i thought about beach fishing but wasn't sure what areas are better than others. being so new to the area, i don't know abotu a lot of the areas like so many of you veterans do. I'm eager to learn and know it will take time. I really enjoy reading the info you all post here. very informative and interesting. Thanks.

Lose the steel esp for snook. Try doing a search on this topic I wrote a big article on the area and how to fish it not to long ago and it is to big to rewrite it.

yea... ditch the steel.

Thanks for the feedback. I need new leaders so I'll go by the clear kind. Any certain size you recommend?

For snook or overall bait fishing in the river try 30 - 60 mono esp when using circle hooks.

and try a loop knot with those circle hooks.

Also try focusing on the sun up and sun down rather than the middle of the day.

or at night

Focus at 2 hours before the high tide esp incoming .

Thanks. All good info. We tried fishing early on the river once but didn't have any luck. But I also understand i need to have patience and try different things until I find the right combination. Thanks for the tips.

Take a notebook and a pen with you when you go fishing. Record tides, lunar phases, and how you did on what bait. Always write down anything that was good or bad esp if you see others catching fish. Bring an extra soda or some snacks with you offering someone a ''bribe'' will loosen lips real quick. When my dad and I lived up that way we saw an old man in the parking lot trying to get into his truck, seems a wave washed his keys out of his pocket as he raked fleas. Well we gave him a 20 minute ride to get his spare as he lived alone. Since then he couldn't go out of his way to help us out with spots and information on fishing in the area everytime he saw us. He had been fishing the area 30 years so he knew a bit about it. A small act of kindness reaps a lifetime of reward sometimes. I know some of his knowledge was invaluable.

fishnfool73 wrote:Take a notebook and a pen with you when you go fishing.

well roll tide. looks like you got homework there.

You aren't kidding. But I appreciate the tips and pointers. I'll try to use this advice and see if I can begin catching something. I'm sure it will happen sooner or later. I'll definitely follow these tips and keep reading all the posts. Thanks again for everyone's advice.

This time of year the beach would be where I was during the day and the bridges or inlet snook fishing at night.

fishnfool73 wrote:This time of year the beach would be where I was during the day and the bridges or inlet snook fishing at night.

fishnfool73 is correct and beat me to it, so allow me to expand on this.

Cerberus' Guide to Sure Fire Ways to catch fish in Jensen Beach:

1) Go to the BEACH - Any beach on South Hutchinson Island is good. Start anywhere and move north or south as needed to find fish. Bathtub Beach, Bob Graham Beach, Waveland, Walton Rocks and Normandy Beach are all good places to try first. There are aways fish on the beach. The best times to fish the beach are early in the morning from right before sunrise to about 9-10 am and the last two or three hours before dark. It is even better when you have a rising tide in the morning and evening.

2) Bring two rods -

a) Rod One is a medium spinning or conventional setup, 7'-8' rod & 12-15 pound line on the reel. Rig it with a 30-40 pound mono or flourocarbon leader, a 1/4 or 1/2 oz sliding sinker (fishfinder) rig and a 2/0 to 4/0 Circle or Live Bait hook. You will bait this with live greenies or finger mullet, or whole or chunked dead bait. Live small whiting and croakers also make good bait. Cast this into the first trough - NO FARTHER - unless you see schooling baitfish, then cast into or on the edge of the school. With this setup you will catch snook, bluefish, tarpon, Jacks, Spanish mackerel and small (and maybe large) sharks.

b) Rod Two is a light or medium spinning or baitcaster setup, 6'-8' rod & 8-10 pound line on the reel. Rig it with a two hook dropper rig (sold as "whiting" or "pompano" rigs) and a 1 or 2 oz pyramid or bank sinker to hold the bottom. Connect this rig to your main line with a small black snap swivel. You will bait this with live or dead shrimp, sand fleas or small chunks of cut bait. With this setup you will catch whiting, croaker, pompano and even snook and bluefish.

If you do this you will catch fish on Jensen Beach.

Now that you will catch fish it's time for some more details and advanced techniques:

Use a swivel to connect the terminal rigs on your light rod. With a swivel you can quickly switch to a sabiki rig to catch live bait, or hook up a 1/2 or 1 oz silver spoon to throw at blues and Spanish Mackerel. Same principal applies to your bigger rod. Eventually you will bring a dedicated bait rod with you because the bait schools pass quickly and you don't want to take the time to change rigs.

Minimize the metal - Avoid unecessary snaps or swivels. Tie your leader directly to your main line whenever you can. A 3/0 live bait hook on the end of 40lb leader tied right to your main line is an excellent way to freeline live bait and is nearly invisible to fish.

In the same way, learn to tie the "dropper loop" and make up your own two-hook dropper rigs. I make mine with two loops for the hooks, a small loop on the top end for the snap and a larger loop at the bottom to loop over the weight. I often just tie the droppers right in my main line and tie a weight on the end. Again, nearly invisible to the fish.

Bait - Learn to catch your own with sabiki rigs or a cast net. Sand fleas can be caught by hand, with a small bucket or a sand flea rake. Don't buy the nasty frozen "bait shrimp" from the bait shops or Wal-Mart. Get the "food shrimp" from Publix, uncooked shell-on 40-50 count medium shrimp is perfect. Use whole or cut into thumbnail sized chunks for your whiting rigs. Peel them first to release more scent.

Artificials - The silver spoon is a must have for the beach. Lot's of different plugs and lures will work, but something with a red head/white body should always be in your tackle box. Soft plastic shads on light jig heads either bounced along the bottom or a straight retrieve are also a good choice.

You can bait your fishfinder and dropper rigs with plastic curly tail grubs, small plastic shads or any of the Gulp-type artificial baits. A Southern California-style rigs with 1.5" Gulp Swimming Mullets on Owner #6 Mosquito hooks (on a double dropper or light fishfinder rig) is like magic for whiting and croaker.

There is more to talk about for the river and bridges, but I will get to that later. Let us know how you make out.