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Florida fishing: Hurricane season is over, right? Why fishing is out of the question

Ed Killer, Treasure Coast Newspapers
·5 min read
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Don't know why, there's no sun up in the sky; Stormy weather. ~ Lena Horne

No, the marine weather forecast wasn't filed by Freddy Kreuger. However, it certainly reads like a nightmare for Florida's Atlantic Coast:

  • Winds from 20 to 25 knots Friday, Saturday and likely Sunday

  • Waves from 8 to 10 feet occasionally to 14, 16 or even 18

  • Small craft warnings in effect through the weekend

It's almost like someone doesn't want us to go fishing. The winds will be from the northwest mostly, too, which wipes out fishing in the Indian River Lagoon and on western lakes, too. Winds that high also make Lake Okeechobee treacherous so use caution if boating there, too.

It's speck season, says Capt. Rob Ward of S & K Fisheries in Fort Pierce. These Lake Okeechobee speckled perch were caught in an hour Dec. 10, 2023.
It's speck season, says Capt. Rob Ward of S & K Fisheries in Fort Pierce. These Lake Okeechobee speckled perch were caught in an hour Dec. 10, 2023.

Florida fishing regulations and fishing season opening and closing dates:

  • Snook: Harvest closes Dec. 15. Catch and release until Feb. 1, 2024.

  • Flounder: Harvest re-opened Dec. 1. Size limit: 14 inches. Bag limit: 5 fish per person.

  • Spotted seatrout: Harvest re-opens Jan. 1, 2024.

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

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

  • 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.

Snook Nook annual sale Dec. 16

Snook Nook, 3595 N.E. Indian River Dr., Jensen Beach, an iconic Martin County institution since 1949, is having its annual tent sale from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Dec. 16. Get bargain prices and special deals on a huge variety of rods and reels, lures, cast nets, beach carts, tools, accessories, clothing and more. Follow Snook Nook on Faceboook for more information.

Santa's Wonderland

Stop by Bass Pro Shops, 2250 Gatlin Blvd., Port St. Lucie for a free 4 x 6 photo with Santa until Dec. 24. Special deals on numerous favorite fishing, hunting, boating and camping products, free kids activities, Santa's Wonderland and more will be available during store hours for the entire month. Go to Basspro.com for more information.

Indian River County

Offshore: Rock me like a hurricane. It's going to be Monday probably before anyone can venture within a quarter mile of the mouth of the Sebastian Inlet. It will resemble the Scylla and Charybdis of The Odyssey, the great Greek tale by Homer. If you venture out in a small boat this weekend, stay very clear of the inlet. Please.

Inshore: Friday, Dec. 15, the snook harvest closes down for the six-week cold weather period. Harvest will re-open on Feb. 1. You can still catch them, of course, but you have to release all of them. As water temperature continues to dip a little bit, sheepshead, croaker, flounder and Spanish mackerel will replace snook, tarpon and tripletail in the catch report.

Freshwater: Use caution out of wide open lakes like Headwaters Lake and Stick Marsh. Northwest winds can easily create hazardous boating conditions. There has been a good bass bite during the waxing full moons along the edges where they are bedding.

St. Lucie County

Offshore: I'm riding, riding on the wind. It's a good week to start kite boarding, windsurfing or wing foiling, isn't it? Will they be at the Fort Pierce Inlet jetty flying around? There may be too much wind for even that this weekend.

Inshore: Pitch shrimp to dock pilings, bridge pilings, seawalls and rocky shorelines for bites from jacks, sheepshead, croaker, drum, flounder and more. Any open water of the lagoon will be hard to control casts and boat drifts due to high northwest winds in the forecast for the next few days.

Surf: Cross the beaches off your list for fishing the next few days. Even after winds stop huffing, water will be dirty for another day until tides carry away the sand-stirred water. Look for that green color for the return of pompano, Spanish mackerel and bluefish.

Martin County

Offshore: "Winter winds they do blow cold, The time of year, it is chosen. Now the frost and fire, And now the sea is frozen." ~ Winter Winds, Fotheringay. Don't try to go out to sea this weekend. You'll only cause someone else like Towboat or Sea Tow or Martin County Sheriff's Office to have to come try to save you, risking their lives in the process.

Inshore: Fish bridge pilings for croaker, drum, sheepshead, tripletail, catch and release snook, redfish and even trout. Pompano and Spanish mackerel may be caught in channels or along the edges on shrimp-tipped jigs, but being anywhere in open water the next few days will likely not be comfortable for the winds.

Lake Okeechobee

Really heed the lake wind warnings, if there are any. A low deadrise bass boat can easily get in trouble when the lake water gets to 2-4 feet in wind-driven waves. There has been a good crappie bite, so if in a pontoon boat, try to stay in the Kissimmee River or Rim Ditch where you can get out of the wind some.

Ed Killer writes about the outdoors for TCPalm. Email him at ed.killer@tcpalm.com.

This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Florida fishing: Hurricane season ended. Why is it still howling?