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Florida fishing: Dolphin, pompano, bluefish and Spanish mackerel will be in the mix

ed killer, treasure coast newspapers
·6 min read

The marine weather forecast for the next few days could not be better for all kinds of fishing. From the lakes to the edge of the Gulf Stream, all zones should be firing off.

Dolphin will be one of the most targeted species since sea conditions will be calm. The fall dolphin run can be as good as the spring run, except the average size of the fish is generally a little smaller and there is a much smaller chance of catching a 40-pounder or larger.

The surf zone should be productive, too. Bluefish, whiting, croaker and Spanish mackerel will definitely be caught from beaches. The only unknown will be how good the pompano run will be. Has it started? Did some move through the area during the windy weekend? We'll know by Monday.

Inshore fishing will be good, too, just remember you have to release these lagoon catches for various reasons: all redfish (harvest prohibited until further notice), spotted seatrout (harvest closed until Jan. 1) and flounder (harvest closed until Dec. 1).

Dolphin, blackfin tuna and catch and release sailfish have been in the mix for early November customers of Off the Chain charters in Stuart.
Dolphin, blackfin tuna and catch and release sailfish have been in the mix for early November customers of Off the Chain charters in Stuart.

Florida fishing regulations and fishing season opening and closing dates:

  • Spotted seatrout: Harvest closed November 1 through December 31, 2023 in Volusia, Brevard, Indian River, St. Lucie, Martin and Palm Beach counties. Harvest reopens Jan. 1, 2024.

  • Hogfish: Harvest closed from Nov. 1, 2023 to April 30, 2024. Season re-opens for harvest May 1, 2024.

  • Flounder: Harvest closed Oct. 15 to Nov. 30, 2023. Size limit: 14 inches. Bag limit: 5 fish per person.

  • Gag grouper: Harvest closed for both recreational and commercial sectors on Oct. 23. Re-opens May 1, 2024.

  • Snook: Harvest opened Sept. 1. One fish bag limit, 28-32 inches, snook stamp required. Harvest closes Dec. 15.

  • Blueline tilefish: Harvest closed Sept. 1 in Atlantic state and federal waters. Season re-opens for harvest May 1, 2024.

  • Golden tilefish: Harvest closed July 17. Harvest opens Jan. 1, 2024.

  • Lobster: Regular season opened Aug. 6-March 31, 2024. No egg bearers, 3-inch minimum carapace length. Lobster stamp required.

  • Alligator: Hunt season opened Aug. 15-Nov. 1. Permits required.

  • Grouper: Harvest opened May 1. Includes gag grouper, red grouper, black grouper, scamp, yellowfin grouper, yellowmouth, coney, graysby, red hind and rock hind. Harvest closes Jan. 1.

  • Cobia: New bag and size limits for state waters. Bag limit: Two fish per vessel. Size limit: 36 inches fork length.

  • Redfish: Harvest of redfish has been banned in the Indian River Lagoon and Mosquito Lagoon since Sept. 1, 2022. FWC will reevaluate in the future.

  • Dolphin: Bag limit is 5 fish per day per angler. Vessel limit is 30 fish per day. Captain and crew may not be included in limit. These fishing regulations began on May 1, 2022, for state waters.

  • Bass: Bass at Headwaters Lake will soon become all catch-and-release.

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

Citizen catches wanted

ORCA in Vero Beach is sponsoring a contest to encourage recreational anglers to donate catches to science. There is a raffle going on for catches donated from Oct. 1 to Nov. 30. Snook, flounder and pompano get three raffle entries each. Spanish mackerel and bluefish are among the catches that receive two raffle entries. Coast Del Mar Tailfin sunglasses are first prize. A Z Man fishing lure package is second prize. A DOA Lure fishing package is third prize. Instruction on catches and more information can be found at TeamORCA.org.

Indian River County

Offshore: Capt. Terry Wildey of BigEasyFishingCharter.com out of Capt Hiram's Resort and Marina in Sebastian said the dolphin bite will be well worth the trip to 150 to 180 feet. Trolling along current edges where there is a slight temperature change or color change will produce bites from several dolphin at a time. Kingfish and occasional cobia will be available in 40-70 feet of water on live bait.

Inshore: Capt. Glyn Austin of GoingCoastalcharters.com in Sebastian said oversized redfish and tarpon can be caught and released while drifting live croakers through the inlet during the outgoing tides. Anglers can also catch snook and big jacks in the same zone using the same techniques.

Freshwater: Big bass are showing regularly at Headwaters Lake along the edges and under the vegetation. Use crank baits and spinnerbaits to get reaction strikes from bass that may be bedding.

St. Lucie County

Offshore: Capt. Tris Colket of Last-Mangocharters.com out of Fort Pierce City Marina said the mahi mahi fishing is good, but anglers will be also be excited about the size of the blackfin tuna they can catch. Recent trips have yielded tuna in the 15-20 pound range. Those are big enough to make any angler ask, "Got wasabi?"

Inshore: Capt. Mark Dravo of Y-BNormalcharters.com in Fort Pierce said anglers had some challenges with the wind and high tides last week, but all that's gone. Snook are biting taking live mullet pitched under docks, into mangrove shorelines and along seawalls. Other catches include tarpon, trout, jacks, redfish and tripletail on live shrimp.

Surf: Capt. Paul Sperco of Capt. Paul's Rigs and Fishing Charters will be on the beach bite the next few days. With waters calming he expects to find great fishing for whiting and croaker, bluefish and Spanish mackerel and pompano, all during the incoming tides. Use Fishbites in the E-Z flea or crab flavors and add a piece of shrimp or sand flea to the hook. Sand fleas have returned to many beaches so bring your rake.

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Martin County

Offshore: Capt. Scott Fawcett of OfftheChainFishing.com out of Sailfish Maria in Stuart said the dolphin fishing the past week has been excellent. Anglers can also pick up blackfin tuna, wahoo, sailfish and more action while trolling ballyhoo. Trolling enables anglers to cover more territory. The next few days will also be good for bottom fishing for mangrove snapper in 60-70 feet of water along the Six Mile Reef and Loran Tower Ledge.

Inshore: Capt. Bob Bushholz of Catch22fish.net charters out of Four Fish Marina in Jensen Beach said now that the winds have died down, his anglers can expect to find catch and release flounder, redfish, tarpon and trout, keeper snook, pompano, bluefish and Spanish mackerel, and good rodbenders like jacks and ladyfish. Fish with shrimp-tipped jigs around structure like the Stuart Causeway bridge and the Crossroads.

Lake Okeechobee

Capt. Angie Douthit of SouthFloridabassfishing.com said try areas along the west and north side of the lake like Cochran's Pass and Observation Shoal near there, the Monkey Box and the north side of Dupree Bar depending upon wind strength and direction. November is good time to find bass bedding to spawn with topwater frogs, senkoes and whit spinnerbaits.

Ed Killer is the outdoors writer for TCPalm. Email your fish stories and photos to ed.killer@tcpalm.com.

This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Florida fishing: Dolphin days; Pompano pursuit; Snook slaying