Corpusfishing.com

[landlocked beachbum]

Hey y'all,
My first day of fishing here in the Vero Beach Florida area. I've been so wiped out from the drive and bad sleep that Sunday and Monday went by with nothing but some high intensity recon work yesterday, checking out the boat ramps here and down in Fort Pierce.

I got up this morning before first light and the wind was already going at it....... checked the weather and they were calling for east winds at 15-25 and a chance of rain/thunderstorms. I am a fairly firm believer in the old adage "When the wind's from the east, the fish bite the least" and was also going to be taking my soon to be 81 year old mom with me, so I talked myself out of taking my BIL's boat. We went back to bed to give it a few hours and then take another look.

Wound up taken her shore fishing in Vero with nothing but a few under 10" Mangroves to show for it, so we headed for Sebastian Inlet with about 4 dozen live shrimp. Fished first at a dock in the channel and had the same luck, then moved out to fish the catwalk on the south side, under the bridge. It was great to be in the shade!!!

Firstly, you Texas folks have never seen a tide like they have here, at least fishing in Texas. Instead of a few measly inches between high and low tide (on average), this area has a few feet!! Sebastian Inlet ain't very wide either, maybe about the same to slightly wider than Packery. The tide was going out with a vengeance carrying lots of freaking weed with it. I quickly surmised that trying to keep a line out in the flow (and clean) was fruitless, so I chose to fish in an eddy on the second bridge pier from shore. The water was only feet deep, but fairly slow and relatively clean.

Caught a small Mangrove straight away, then my almost moment came: second cast into that spot and I got a good hit and set the Owner Mosquito Hook. An honest slot Snook (28-32") came blazing out from under the bridge pier and half out of the water!!!!! As fast as he was there, he was gone............. Then I remembered all that I had read since childhood about a Snook's bony mouth and began wishing that I'd been using a hook maybe 2-4 sizes bigger. Still, second guessing gets one nowhere, and I did something right to even hook that fish for an instant, as nobody was catching squat and we saw no other fish caught in our two hours or so there by anyone but us!

Ended the day with one keeper (11") Mangrove in the ice chest and lots of woulda, coulda, shoulda, but now feel fairly good about it all in retrospect. We at least have the makings of a small batch of great ceviche!

Oh yeah: the wind out at the inlet was maybe 12 knots and the whole freaking day was sunny, high pressure. Not a great fishing day, but the boat would not have been a big deal unless one wanted to go outside with breaking 4-6 footers! Once again I reminded myself that if I'm going fishing or hunting, just go no matter what the weather guessers say. I may be washed out and have to turn around at some time, but more often than not it turns out to be a really nice day.
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Dave


"The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has it's limits". Albert Einstein

[Mad Dog]

Hey Dave! Since you are in Vero Beach you might want to look up Bateau Boats. As a boat guy you should meet Jaques and Joel. Joel has a very nice runabout he built around a jet ski drive and engine.

http://forums.bateau2.com/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=40346

You might even get some tips on fishing the area from Joel.

MD
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Ego piscor, ergo sum

http://s175.photobucket.com/albums/w150/cstockton/Aquasport/

[landlocked beachbum]

Thanks Charles! Since it's supposed to be crappy tomorrow and REALLY crappy Thursday, something to bide the time would be nice. Then again, look at today's weather predictions......

Funny on the boat thingy: I've often wondered about putting a PWC power plant/pump in something like a long John Boat for a river running demon. There's no free lunch on anything though..... The lack of a lower unit and all that entails might not mitigate the extra weight and fuel consumption, not to be outdone by the continual possibility of sucking gravel into the pump and leaving one's self up the proverbial creek! oops:
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Dave


"The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has it's limits". Albert Einstein

[ceejkay]

some good sharks caught have been caught from that inlet. me personally, i prefer jupiter inlet for fishing. cast net you some greenies and free line them. you will get tired of catching snook. welcome to my home, good luck!
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If I spent half as long fishing , as I do reading this bloody forum , I'd be twice the fisherman I am.

[landlocked beachbum]

Thanks! The weather guessers are at it again today, with the forecast being 100% chance of rain and NNW 10-20 mph. Right now it's sunny and clear with a fairly light breeze!!!!

Oh well, I finally got some sleep. On the fishing: I have zero interest in sharks, I like to catch things that are good to eat, and to me at least shark ain't it! A guy at a tackle shop told me that that the only big snook that he knew of in the Vero Beach area are below the spillway on the drainage canal just south of the Highway 60 bridge and that live bait is a must. I'll give that a shot today barring the predicted bad weather.
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Dave


"The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has it's limits". Albert Einstein

[illest23]

I've always had good luck fishing along the rocks at the actual inlet with live bait and artificials. Especially at the very end. Also less crowded than the catwalk and pier.

[landlocked beachbum]

Thanks for the tips, what lures were you getting action with?

This morning, I read the Sebastian Inlet Fishing Report for yesterday. It said SLOW day at the inlet, so I felt all the better for having at least put a bait in the right spot to have enticed a Snook of some size, landed or not.

The main problem right now is what y'all are having: really thick weed in the water. Of course the fish couldn't care less, there's LOTS of bait in there, but cripes, it darn sure makes it tough and frustrating to try and keep a line or bait clean!

Went out on the south jetty yesterday to fish a tad after the catwalk thingy. There was a manatee feeding in the eddie just to the south where the weed balls up. That's three trips to the south jetty and three difference not manatee sighting with 5-6 different manatees. There were fish feeding like crazy in the weed ball. Looked like 12-16" blues or blue runners wearing something out, with said something trying like crazy to hide in the weed!
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Dave


"The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has it's limits". Albert Einstein

[lifeaquatic]

Legend has it that you must pass thru Snookdum before arriving at Valhalla

Keep the reports coming and good luck.
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kick your shoes off and cast a line

[landlocked beachbum]

My gut feeling is that it's a lot like bowhunting: a never ending school of hards knocks punctuated with brief but fleeting moments of glory! Hey, wait a minute........ i think that perfectly describes golf!!!!!

It was blowing the oysters off the rocks here today. Tried fishing in some of the boat canals, but with me trying to fish and keep us from drifting into other boats and docks and my mom acting like she had never cast before, it was more than I could stand. I did locate a few 3 footish cudas lurking under docks that would knock the hell out of a popping cork though, so I'll be back in there pitching some topwaters to them! Cuda are GOOD eating, just need to stay away from the big ones out on reefs and such. I did catch a 2 footer on a freelined live shrimp but tossed him back to grow. Cripes, even a 2' cuda has some teeth almost 1/2" long!!!!!
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Dave


"The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has it's limits". Albert Einstein