Florida fishing: Flounder, gag grouper harvest closed; Will wind hamper bite?

It may too rough to get offshore for most smaller vessels the next few days. Marine weather forecasts call for easterly winds the next few days up to 15-20 mph and seas up to 5-7 feet. That means the surf zone will probably also be blown out.

Stayin inshore or fishing the fresh will be the only options available. Still, some action can be had inside the inlets. Spanish mackerel, bluefish, ladyfish, jacks, pompano and more will bite on a variety of spoons, jigs and pieces of shrimp or shrimp-tipped jigs.

The weather is typical for the time of year as we transition from early fall to late fall and into winter here along the Treasure Coast.

Florida fishing regulations and fishing season opening and closing dates:

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

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

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

• Hogfish: Harvest closes from Nov. 1 to April 30, 2024. Season re-opens for harvest 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: There had been some decent fishing for mangrove snapper and lane snapper on the reefs in 70-90 feet of water. Remember, gag grouper season closed early on Oct. 23 and are off limits to harvest until May 1, 2024.

Inshore: Sebastian Inlet has been a good place to fish (before this weekend) to catch Spanish mackerel and bluefish on spoons and jigs. A few pompano have been caught along the channel edges of the ICW on Doc's Goofy Jigs or lures like it. Try the low bridge at Wabasso Causeway or the channel south of Vero Beach.

Freshwater: Bass fishing will be at its best along the edges during the full and new moon phases. This weekend, a full moon phase should have the fish bedding along the edges of waterways like Headwaters Lake, Blue Cypress Lake or canals and backyard ponds.

St. Lucie County

Offshore: Dolphin have been caught along the current edges by anglers who are trolling ballyhoo. Nothing too big, but when sea conditions allow, bluewater explorers will find fairly decent fishing for dolphin, blackfin tuna and kingfish.

Inshore: There has been good current during the changing tides at the Turning Basin around the big red ship, near the South Bridge, along the sewer plant seawall and under the catwalks of the bridge. Live baits can get bites from tarpon, snook and catch and release goliath grouper.

Surf: Onshore wind conditions will make it unfishable along Hutchinson Island and also will dirty the water quite a bit. When the winds calm down and the water clears, the fishing should feature whiting, pompano, Spanish mackerel and bluefish.

Martin County

Offshore: Before the blow, party boats were catching good sized mutton snapper, mangrove snapper and lane snapper on the Six Mile Reef and the Loran Tower Ledge. That action will cool a bit until the winds allow anglers back on the reefs. The Spanish mackerel should be settling in soon at the Kingfish Hole, the part of the St. Lucie Inlet Preserve reef just off Peck's Lake.

Ed Killer: Should Army Corps keep building problematic reservoirs? I'm losing confidence

Sewage spill: FPUA spills raw sewage near Fort Pierce Central, St. Lucie River, Winding Creek homes

Inshore: Capt. J.J. Klarmann of Oh Boy! fishing charters in Stuart steered the Greenlee family of Stuart to a mixed bag of catches including snapper and Spanish mackerel while fishing around the St. Lucie Inlet. Snook fishing with live bait around the docks of Rocky Point, Sewall's Point and the St. Lucie River has been fair.

Lake Okeechobee

The water level is starting to inch downward now with rains holding off which is good. The fish have been scattered throughout the western and northern portions of the lake. Use wild shiners or lipless crank baits to get reaction bites.

Ed Killer is the outdoors writer for TCPalm. Email him at ed.killer@tcpalm.com.

This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Florida fishing: Flounder, gag grouper harvest closed; What's next?