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John's Journal... Entry 157, Day 2

ENDLESS INSHORE FISHING

Fishing St. Lucie Estuary in March and April

EDITOR'S NOTE: Captain Ed Zyak of Jensen Beach, Florida, chose the St. Lucie Estuary on central Florida's Atlantic Coast to set up his Local Color Guide Service for two reasons. One, he's lived and fished in this region all his life. Two, he can produce speckled trout, redfish, flounder, tarpon and snook year-round. This area homes a phenomenal fishery, and if you like variety, you must consider fishing there. But rather than tell you about my experience fishing the St. Lucie Estuary, let's let Captain Zyak tell you his story.

QUESTION: What types of fish can anglers catch in the St. Lucie Estuary during March and April?
ANSWER: March and April are transition times when we're moving out of winter and into spring. These two months are yo-yo months for fishing down here. By that I mean that cold fronts and warm fronts are much more frequent in March and April than in January and February. So the fishing conditions are constantly changing, and the fish are constantly moving. However, this is one of the best times of the year to catch a really big spotted seatrout. As I look back over my journal of fishing where I record the big trout caught in this area, I know for certain that April is the best month to catch a trout that's 8 pounds or better. Two world-record spotted seatrout have come from this region, and both were caught in April.

Because there are so many pompano and Spanish mackerel inshore in January and February, during March and April I prefer to target the big trout. Since we have a spring mullet run in March and April, plenty of bait pour into the rivers. The trout gorge themselves on all the baitfish. The baitfish are the key to finding big trout. I look for big schools of bait and keep my boat far enough away from those schools so I can cast into them with either a DOA Shrimp or a Terror Eyz jig and not spook the fish.

QUESTION: Tell me about the best trout you've ever caught.
ANSWER: The biggest trout I've ever taken weighed 12-1/2 pounds. I took an afternoon trip with a good friend of mine. We were headed back to the boat ramp, and the sun was just beginning to set behind a sand ridge on the west shoreline. We passed a little section of mangroves in the Hobe Sound that really looked inviting. My fishing buddy and I looked at each other and said, "Let's fish those mangroves before we leave." We shut down the big motor, and I used my Minn Kota trolling motor to ease-in close to the bank. We both began to throw top-water lures. I was casting beside a dead mangrove, and I saw the trout come out from under the mangrove roots. I saw the fish's gills flare out as he sucked the bait in and turned to swim back under the roots. I fought that big fish to the boat and weighed it. The trout weighed 12-1/2 pounds and was 34 inches long.

For more information, call Captain Ed Zyak with Local Color Guide Service at (772) 485-FISH or e-mail him at localcolorgs@aol.com. Mrs. Peters' SmokeHouse is located at 1500 North East Dixie Hwy, Jensen Beach, Florida. For more information, call (772) 334-2184. You can reach DOA Lures by calling 877-DOA-LURE or going to the Web site www.doalures.com Learn more about Minn Kota trolling motors by going to www.johnsonoutdoors.com or calling 800-227-6433.

TOMORROW: FISHING ST. LUCIE ESTUARY IN MAY AND JUNE

 

 

Check back each day this week for more ENDLESS INSHORE FISHING ...

Day 1 - Fishing St. Lucie in January and February
Day 2 - Fishing St. Lucie Estuary in March and April
Day 3 - Fishing St. Lucie Estuary in May and June
Day 4 - July and August Fishing in the Estuary
Day 5 - St. Lucie Estuary - Fishing For The Rest Of The Year


John's Journal