Harvesting of golden tilefish is closed until Jan. 1, 2025
Tripletail town: March means spring fishing patterns are in play
Tripletail, snapper, bluefish and snook are on the catch list
- Try the tripletail with shrimp
If you’ve never tried tripletail, and you probably have, you’ll find it one of the most fun game fish and food fish we have on the Treasure Coast.
Typically, this is a species of fish that we catch in Florida that lends itself to sight casting as the tripletail is often found around crab trap floats, channel markers or out of sight in the deep depths around bridge fenders and dredge hole.
The state record is a fish caught in Fort Pierce in 1995 by Tom Lewis who cast one of his tied 1-ounce chartreuse jigs for the top end of a slot snook. Instead, he landed a 40-pound tripletail, which was just one pound from the world record for 25 years until a slightly bigger one was landed a few years ago.
Florida fishing regulations and fishing season opening and closing dates:
- golden tilefish: Harvest closes March 1 in federal waters of the South Atlantic. The season will reopen in Jan. 1, 2025. Harvest is closed based on annual catch limits set by NOAA.
- Snook: Harvest opens February 1 on Florida’s Atlantic Coast. Bag limit: 1 per angler per day. Size limit: No more than 28 inches and no more than 32 inches. License: Saltwater fishing license and $10 snook stamp required unless exempt. See MyFWC.com for exemptions and regulations.
- Spotted seatrout: Harvest reopened Jan. 1. Central East region regulations — Bag limit: 2 per harvester, zero captain and crew bag limit when on for-hire trips. Slot limit: Greater than 15 inches and less than 19 inches overall length. There may be one over 19 inches per vessel or, if fishing from shore, one over 19 inches per person, included in the bag limit. Harvest closed Nov. 1-Dec. 31.
- Grouper: Harvest closed Jan. 1. Includes gag grouper, red grouper, black grouper, scamp, yellowfin grouper, yellowmouth, coney, graysby, red hind and rock hind. Harvest will reopen on May 1 in Atlantic waters.
- Hogfish: Harvest will reopen on May 1.
- Blueline tilefish: Harvest will reopen on May 1.
- Cobia: Bag limit: Two fish per vessel. Size limit: 36 inch fork length. There is no closed season.
- Red fish: Redfish harvesting has been banned in the Indian River Lagoon and Mosquito Lagoon since Sept. 1, 2022. FWC will reevaluate in the future.
- dolphins: The bag limit is 5 fish per day per angler. The boat limit is 30 fish per day. Captain and crew may not be included in the limit. State waters regulations begin May 1, 2022.
- Lobster: Harvest closes March 31. No egg carriers, 3-inch minimum carapace length. A lobster stamp is required. The sports season (mini-season) will be July 24-25, 2024.
- Alligators: Hunt season opens Aug. 15-Nov. 1. Permits are required.
- Flounder: Size limit: 14 inches. Bag limit: 5 fish per person. Harvest is closed Oct. 15-Nov. 30.
- Bass: Bass on Headwaters Lake will soon be catch-and-release.
For complete Florida fishing regulations go to MyFWC.com.
Sand Spike Shootout
Pompano and whiting surf fishing tournament to benefit Indian RiverKeeper is March 23-24 on the beaches of Hutchinson Island. Entry fee: $50 includes free bag of Fish Gum, Pompano Rich rig, Bag of Fishbites and raffle ticket. Winners receive prizes. To register go to theindianriverkeeper.org/sand-spike-shootout
DOA Paddlers Tournament
The return of the popular DOA Paddlers Only Fishing Tournament is April 12-13 at the River Palm Cottages in Jensen Beach. The tournament is limited to 130 entrants who will fish exclusively with the DOA Lure Package provided at the captains meeting the night before the event and in kayaks, canoes or stand-up paddleboards only. Anglers will fish for prizes in the inshore slam (snook, trout, redfish), snook, tarpon and mystery fish divisions in a catch, photo, release longest inches format. Entry fees (due April 5): $100 per angler; $75 for children 12 and under. For complete rules and prizes, go to DOALures.com for more information.
Indian River County
Offshore: Fishing the reefs out of Sebastian Inlet is a good proposition today. Lane snapper and mangrove snapper are worth targeting with dead sardines, squid or cut grunts. Triggerfish, cobia and kingfish are also possible there.
Inshore: The Sebastian Inlet north jetty is open to anglers. Large schools of spring time threadfin herrings (greenies) hang around the jetties trying to avoid predators. Action is slow, but black drum, redfish, snook, jacks, bluefish and Spanish mackerel are being caught around the greenie schools.
freshwater: March is a great time of year to catch personal best bass on Headwaters Lake. Some of the guides who work there will fish with wild shiners to increase the number of bites and the size of fish caught and released there.
St. Lucie County
Offshore: Snapper fishing has been steady on the reefs in 60-90 feet, but turnover is fast as there are also plenty of opportunistic sharks, mostly sandbars, on the reefs. Where is the cobia? While that’s the $64 question on the Treasure Coast today, many think they’re late, some think they’re overfished, some say they won’t come this year.
Inshore: Tripletail is a cool enough catch for anglers to check channel markers and crap pots between Nettles Island and Harbor Branch. Use live shrimp. Cast it freeline to fish that will probably float on their sides looking like a big maple leaf. Other marker catches may include sheepshead, lane snapper and black drum.
surfing: It’s been slow on the beaches. Incoming and green waters have been better producing bites from whiting, croaker and pompano, bluefish and Spanish mackerel, too.
Martin County
Offshore: Late season sailfish action was all the talk along the pier and on social media pages last week. Live baiters have caught double digit sails in 120 to 150 feet of water out where the Loran Tower used to be in Hobe Sound. Snapper fishing on the shallower reefs is also worth the trip according to the party boats.
Inshore: Everyone knows how red the water is anywhere near the South Fork and Middle Estuaries of the St. Lucie River. However, the north fork is still producing snook and around the points — Sewall’s Point, Rocky Point and Sailfish Point. The North of Stuart Causeway is still a body of water that has not yet completely decayed. The end of the incoming tide is a good time to fish.
Lake Okeechobee
If you live near the coast in Stuart, Palm City or Port St. Lucie, a fishing trip to the lake today will be quite productive. Bass are bedding during the full and new moon phases and can be caught on the edges on the beds. Use lipless crank baits and frogs to draw reaction bites. Crappie fishing is still good, especially in the river and near Taylor Creek and the Harney Pond Canal. The water is not dirty; only the stuff flowing from the canal darkens St. Lucie River.
Ed Killer writes fish stories for TCPalm. Email him at [email protected].
