St. Lucie County Artificial Reef Program:

The St. Lucie County Artificial Reef Program has collected enough concrete materials for its upcoming deployments this summer and will be applying for grant funding to deploy another 1,500 tons of concrete in 2024. At least 2,500 tons of high quality, clean secondary concrete have been collected and stockpiled at Harbour Pointe Park. To create diversity in reef size, three 500-ton reefs will be deployed near the FishAmerica Foundation reefs on the. Lee E. Harris Memorial Site. The FishAmerica Foundation reefs vary in size and type of materials. FishAmerica Foundation reefs consist of (1) a 65 foot DMC barge, plus 500 tons of secondary concrete reef; (2) a 1,000-ton secondary concrete reef, and (3) a 500-ton secondary concrete reef. The three reefs deployed this year will all be 500-ton secondary concrete reefs deployed in a line between FishAmerica Foundation reefs one and three. The reefs will be separated from each other by approximately 25 feet and will be used to test the effects of producing sand/hardbottom ecotones on fish assemblages. Materials already collected include concrete building foundations from the Henry King power plant delivered by Audubon Development. The plant operated from 1912 until 2008 and in 1963 was named after a past superintendent of the plant. Approximately 1,500 tons of the plant’s building foundation will be used to create cryptic habitat for small bottom fish, which will become forage for larger predator species like mutton snapper and gag grouper. The small fish will be lured from the reef’s crevices during monitoring by cameras containing chum.

Subject to permitting, large

Forecasts Fishing

Martin County Offshore

Capt. Scott Fawcett

Off the Chain Fishing Charters (772) 285-1055 offthechainfishing.com fishscottyf@bellsouth.net

Earlysummer has always been a favorite time of year for me while growing up fishing off the Treasure Coast. Schools out, the seas are calm, the bait is here, and the fishing is usually pretty great. Aside from grouper season opening back up this month, May has historically been the month to catch big dolphin, wahoo and even marlin out here. The Hill, The Peanut, The Pinnacles, Loran Tower ledge, and Juno ledge are all good places to focus. I’m hoping this year will follow suit as the leading edge of the sargassum island makes its presence known as it slowly approaches. If it’s as bad as I’ve heard it is, fishing may get very difficult the next few months.

Troll ballyhoo rigged on J hooks, naked or skirted along weed lines and current rips using light to medium tackle. Have a small spinning rod with a jig on it handy to pick off schoolie mahi, this is a good time of year to bring a fly rod too if you’re into that. When you come across a nice school of mahi it’s sometimes hard to not beat up on them. It takes a good bit of self-control to leave them chewing and move on to the next spot, but it will return itself ten-times if everyone started to selfregulate. Please fish responsibly and don’t take advantage of the fishery when opportunities like this arise. We are actually practicing a one female mahi per angler rule aboard Off The Chain for now, hopefully it helps a little.

May is one of those months where you should fish a down rod. Whether you’re trolling or live baiting, a down rod or deep bait this time of year as the water warms works wonders. Start out with a loose drag because you will catch many sails, dolphin, and kings on this bait and a tight drag at first will encourage pulled hooks.

May also offers great swordfishing and nice weather windows making Bahamas trips and long rage trips a possibility. Yellowfin tuna, blue marlin and gaffer dolphin are migrating their way to the north right now and venturing a little further offshore than normal can pay off big.

Whichever style of fishing you decide to do this May, I hope your next trip is Off the Chain!

Good luck and hope to see you out there. Please give me a call to set up a trip.

Capt. Jonathan Earhart

Chaos Fishing Charters (772) 341 – 2274 www.chaosfishigcharters.com jon@chaosfishigncharters.com

May is a great month to target keeper snook in the Indian River near our St. Lucie Inlet. As the fish gear up for the summer spawn, this means larger snook will be plentiful.

Live bait fishing can be some of the season’s best early morning and late evening. Typically pilchards, greenies, sardines, and croakers will be your bait of choice for slot size

Martin County Deep Sea

Capt. Rocky Carbia

Safari I Deep Sea Fishing

Pirates Cove Resort and Marina

Reservations: (772) 334-4411

Safari-1.com

Offshore anglers of the Treasure Coast will focus on the lower levels of the water column this month. The catch and keep season for grouper will open on the first day of May, ending a four-month closed season on these tasty bottom brawlers. Near-coastal anglers will break out their heavy tackle and target the many species of grouper that inhabit the wrecks and reefs, east of Stuart. Gag, red, black, and scamp groupers are some of the most prevalent species of the family that will be found just offshore of the St. Lucie Inlet.

The naturally occurring coral reef snook or larger.

Big jacks are still plentiful in the river and can be upwards of 40 pounds this month. Expect an occasional redfish in the mix. I suggest adding a pinch weight to a live baitfish rig to increase your odds of catching a redfish. Again, fishing near structure and moving water will be key to success.

Nearshore fishing has been great for kingfish, snapper, cobia, jacks, permit, tarpon, sailfish, and even the occasional mahi. Tarpon fishing can be a blast for sight fisherman who are willing to run close to the beach north and south looking for rolling schools of tarpon. Sight fishing is best very early in the morning and closer to sunset. Live mullet or live crabs work great. If the tarpon are feeding on glass minnows, fly fisherman will have the upper hand with similar size and shape fly patterns. decision making when positioning one’s boat over top of a grouper honey hole. Heavy tackle will be a necessity for steering a big grouper to one`s floating platform—4/0 to 6/0 reels spooled with heavy braid of 100- to 200-pound test and terminal tackle to match the main line will yield the most successful end results. line in depths of 110 to 160 feet of water, generally known to locals as the “8 Mile Reef”, will be the go-tozone for dialing in successful grouper fishing. Deploying live baits from an anchored or drifting boat will produce the best results for “Grouper Digging”. The velocity of the horizontal flow or current and bottom temperatures are the main variables for strategy

Fishing around bait schools in 20-to-60 feet of water will be your best method of approach with a live baitfish near edges of large baitfish schools for pelagics off the beaches.

Bottom fishing around nearshore reefs and wrecks with chicken rigs and or long leader rigs with a live sardine will yield plenty of mutton, lane, grey, and cubera snapper. Tight lines!

Grouper species can also be found and targeted in shallower depths, especially on reef structures in 70 to 80 feet of water that comprise the natural reef line known as the “6 Mile Reef”. Natural coral ledges east and north of Jensen Beach in these depths, historically are home to large gag and red grouper, and will be hot spots for grouper grocery getters. While bottom fishing at these depths, anglers will also be pleasantly surprised to get attached to jumbo mutton and mangrove snapper, reef mates that live right alongside the grouper family.

May will provide a toasty background of exciting bottom fishing for the offshore anglers of the Treasure Coast.

For Reservations Call (772) 334-4411

Capt. Bo Samuel

Pullin Drag Charters

(772) 971-6661 facebook.com/Pullin-Drag-Charters catainbofishing@gmail.com

What can I say about May???

It’s time to go for grouper! With the winds and cold behind us, anglers along the Treasure Coast can expect some great days on the water this month. Typically, calmer sunny days are more prevalent which means plenty of opportunities to fish inshore and offshore. May also brings milder temperatures which translates to more bait in the area and the bigger fish that follow. To sum it up...fair weather has arrived, snapper fishing is on fire, kings and mahi are moving in, and Florida grouper season begins!

While plenty of grouper were hooked in April, they had to be returned to the blue. Now with grouper season being the main attraction, eager anglers are targeting keeper grouper in the hopes of landing a prize fish on deck for delicious grouper fillets on the table later. It’s important to have the right bait for successful grouper fishing and I prefer live croakers, pilchards, threadfins, or grunts. Use enough weight to hold bottom depending on the current. I find we get a lot of grouper bites while snapper fishing the shallower reefs so you don’t have to go past 120 foot or so. Gag, black, red, and scamp are some grouper species we target on reefs and wrecks straight out the Fort Pierce Inlet.

The mangrove, mutton, and red snapper bite has been stellar and should only get better throughout May. Fish the bottom in 60 - 90 feet using the smallest weight possible with a 40 pound fluorocarbon leader and a size 4 UltraPoint circle hook. Sardines, cigar minnows, and grunts, cut or live, are my baits of choice.

May is also a terrific time to troll for large kingfish and mahi as they make their way back up the beach, particularly around 90 - 120 feet of water. The best action comes from live baiting with pilchards or threadfins around weed lines and edges of color changes, where mahi like to congregate. Be looking for multiple mahi together as you troll since mahi are schooling fish and when you see one, there’s usually more. Once you’re in a hungry school, be prepared for some amazing nonstop action. I always keep a pitch rod ready to throw at any mahi I see hiding under a weed line or floating debris. They just might hit that if not taking the trolling bait. Throw to any cobia you spot near the surface, too. “Brown bomber” battles can be epic, not to mention they’re a top favorite for taste.

If you’re looking for some actionpacked time on the water, this is the perfect month of the year for making salty memories. Pullin Drag can help plan your next custom, fishing trip to enjoy adventure on our beautiful local waters and fish on your dining room table. Black, red, or gag, let’s go Pullin Drag!

Capt. Adam White

St. Lucie Flats Fishing Charters (609) 820-6257 www.stlucieflatsfishing.com

Summer is almost upon us. It’s good to see so many friends and new friends out in the boat. The heat of summer will be here soon. Water temperatures are on the rise. We actually enjoyed some spring weather in April. Look for May to provide lots of fishing action around the Treasure Coast!

Snook fishing will be good this month with night or early morning the best times to fish. The season will close May 31st. Inlets, bridges, seawalls and docks are all great places to target snook. In the early hours the fish will be laid up shallow transitioning to deeper water as the sun gets higher. This is a great time to target snook with surface lures.

Skitterwalks, jumping minnows, and Zara Spooks are all great options for topwater action when targeting snook.

The bridges, docks, and channel markers will all hold good numbers of snapper as the water temps start to warm into the 80s. Live shrimp on a knocker rig will keep the rods bent all day. Live mojarra’s or frozen sardines will cut the number of bites in half but the size of your fish will be much bigger. Along with the river there will be good snapper action on the shallow reefs just outside our inlet in 15-to-30 feet of water.

Mackerel have been coming in with the tides. Fish bridges and docks for sheepshead, snapper and drum. Jacks and ladyfish will be just about everywhere creating havoc all over the river. Beaches will produce whiting and croakers with catches of Spanish mackerel and bluefish along with some pompano. Tarpon will begin their trek into the river. May is a great month to fish the Treasure Coast!

SEBASTIAN RIVER – May is the best month for tarpon and snook in the Sebastian River. Snook of all sizes can be found around docks and shoreline cover throughout the system. The docks between the railroad and US 1 bridges can hold some giant snook both day and night in May. Large live mullet at dawn and dusk can be exciting and skipping D.O.A. shrimp under the docks is certainly worthwhile when the sun is high. Tarpon from 5 to 50 pounds will generally be found in both forks of the river above the railroad bridge with the larger fish often favoring the north fork. Casting D.O.A. TerrorEyz, MirrOdine plugs and flies to rolling fish is great sport. Live mullet can also produce exciting surface strikes throughout the river.

INDIAN RIVER LAGOON – Snook will be utilizing the shoreline cover of the lagoon to set up ambushes for passing mullet and other baitfish. Any docks, mangrove overhangs and fallen trees warrant a cast with a jerkbait or D.O.A. shrimp. You may also encounter redfish and gator trout in these traditionally snooky areas. If you can find a school of bait on a shallow flat, preferably with grass coverage, larger trout and some redfish may be close by. Topwater and suspending plugs and weighted and unweighted jerkbaits will do the trick. The spoil island drop-offs will be good areas to look for action. Schoolie trout, jacks, ladyfish, a stray pompano and even some big snook can be found around many of the islands.

SEBASTIAN INLET – Daytime anglers using live croakers, pinfish, greenies and mojarra around the tips of the jetties and rip rap areas of the inlet should find snook willing to bite. Fishing plugs and bucktails from the shoreline, jetties and catwalks at night is also a productive and popular way to catch a Sebastian inlet snook. May 31st marks the end of the snook season. Keep an eye out for small crabs drifting out with the tide as the bull reds and the occasional permit won’t be far away.

NEAR SHORE ATLANTIC – Glass minnows and the predators that feed on them generally make an appearance in the late spring and early summer. It can be a true blitz with Spanish mackerel and bonito clearing the water chasing glass minnows while tarpon, kingfish, jacks and sharks lurk underneath. Fishing the nearshore waters of the Atlantic in May offers a great opportunity to find and catch a variety of species including tarpon and sharks weighing into the triple digits.

Get out and enjoy this exciting time of the year!

SEBASTIAN AREA OFFSHORE

Capt. Terry Wildey

Big Easy Fishing Charters

(772) 538 - 1072 captwildey@bellsouth.net www.bigeasyfishingcharters.com

It’sgrouper time! It’s been four months since the season closed but May first is the opening of grouper season. So up your gear.

I would recommend an 80-pound main line and leader. A #8 circle hook and enough lead to hold bottom for the depth and current your in. I like either a live grunt, pin fish, big pilchards or croaker for live bait. And pogies for dead bait.

Best areas will be rock piles and ledges in 60 feet, 90 feet, 160 feet, and 240 feet. Remember some time the best fishing is on some of the smallest marks of fish, on some of the smallest pieces of bottom. There should be some good trolling too. Look for that rip where there’s a temperature and color change, if there’s a weed line with flying fish or bait, then work it cause that’s where they should be. I usually start looking in the 120 feet area but you may have to run out to 160, 240 or even 600 feet. Ballyhoo trolled with or without a lure will produce bites. It’s always good to have a few live baits pilchards or herring in case you see a picky one.

Always have a bait rigged on wire run either on a down rigger or cigar lead. This will target that wahoo and is pretty good at enticing a dolphin bite in that middle day time when the bite seems to slow down or stop. For all of you fishing the reefs in the 60 feet and 90 feet, expect some good action if you can sneak them by the sharks. There should be good numbers of mangrove snapper, triggerfish, lane snapper and remember with the sharks there will be cobia.

As always be courteous to your fellow angler, you never know when you’ll need a tow. Support your local tackle shops. We’re lucky to have them. If you don’t have access to a network of fisherman, then join a fishing club. I recommend Sebastian Fishing Club--90 plus members, now that’s a network!

“Fish On Gotta Go!”

Kayak Fishing Forecast

Brian Nelli

Pushin’ Water Kayak Charters

(772) 201-5899

Brian@tckayakfishing.com www.tckayakfishing.com

INSHORE: May is one of the best times of year in South Florida. More and more bait will start to move into the river to supply fish with plenty to eat. Snook, tarpon, trout, jacks and reds will be looking for mullet pattern baits like Super Spooks, large swimbaits and jerk baits. If you find mullet in the area you are fishing, whip out a Super Spook or large swim bait. If you are finding glass minnows use a D.O.A. jerk bait or shad tail. Mangroves, docks and seawalls with current nearby will be the places to target. Launching the kayak at places like Johnathan D. MacArthur State Park and Snook Islands will give you access to some great areas to target snook, tarpon and jacks.

OFFSHORE: May starts the run of bigger blackfin tuna off our coast. Common are 20-30 pounders and they can be taken on live bait as well as trolling plugs and vertical jigs. During this time mahi will also be in larger numbers and closer to shore. Kingfish will be making their way to their spring/summer areas off our coast. Trolling live goggle eyes, pilchards and blue runners will put fish in the fish bag. Don’t be afraid to fish shallow during this time of year, especially off Palm Beach and Jupiter. Your range should be in 60180 feet of water.

FRESHWATER: Warmer weather means the clown knifefish will be more cooperative. Peacock bass and largemouth will be heading towards their beds to spawn if they have not already. Look to sight fish the bass along the banks and docks. Throwing a small jig or D.O.A. shrimp in their bed to annoy them will get them to bite.

Check us out Pushin’ Water Kayak Charters on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube for all the latest adventures my clients and I get into.

See you on the water!

From The Shore

Chris Beachwalker Sharp

(772) 320 8611 beachwalkerfish@gmail.com kicks off the best time to catch fish from land. This will run all the way until December. Tarpon lovers will have a chance to catch these silver kings from the shore and you will have a lot of opportunities to do so. The best places will be the inlets with the moving water right before sunrise and at night. I like throwing plugs with the treble hooks taken out and putting on #5 circle hooks. Throw the plug into the water and slowly reel it back in with a jerk motion. My favorite colors are purple, black and silver.

Bridges are excellent. The Roosevelt Bridge holds a lot of tarpon at night. Landing them can be very difficult but they are there in numbers. Using soft swim baits in a mullet color or purple with a one-ounce jig head will get the bite. Along the beaches, look for bait. Walton Rocks beach is my number one place to find them.

Snook season ends after May so if you want to get a keeper, look for the spillways after it rains. This will produce a lot of fish in the slot limit. You can use plugs, soft swim baits or live bait to get the bite.

If wade fishing is your thing, go up to the power lines and docks on the west side in Fort Pierce. Fishing there will be good for trout, snook, jacks and some redfish. You can’t beat shrimp under a popping cork thrown right under the docks.

I hope you have a great time fishing. If you like to book a trip, you can contact me at beachwalkerfish@ gmail.com.