Juno Bait's "Weekend Fishing Outlook"
For Weekend of 3/18-3/20/2022
OFFSHORE- Nice springtime mixed bag of action to write about offshore this week. The sailfish bite has been really good over the past week. Last weekend (Sunday and Monday specifically) produced one of the best sail bites of the season, with a lot of boats getting double digit chances and a few seeing twenty plus fish. The bite was good up and down the line from Jupiter to Boynton Inlet. As usual goggle eyes will bet the top bait choice; followed closely by threads and sardines. Mixed in with the sailfish have been a good number of dolphin (including some solid gaffers), as well as a few cobia. Springtime Blackfin Tuna have shown up in pretty good numbers. Live baits will account for better size Blackfin, while trolling small feathers will be a good choice for numbers. Slow pitch jigs are also producing solid numbers of Blackfins. The kingfish remain scattered along the 120' ledge in fair numbers. The best bite for the kings has been in the morning; but a full moon this weekend will also get them snapping pretty good at night most likely. Speaking of the full moon...would, could, should be some wahoo around. Trolling the DTX Minnows or Rapala X-Rap mag is a simple easy way to target the wahoo. Snapper fishing was fair on the bottom this week, and conditions look good for them to chew over the weekend. Sardines will be the top bait choice on the bottom. Could be a few cobia mixed in with the snapper as well.
INSHORE- Snook fishing remains good inshore: And as we move into spring (namely more consistent warm weather) it will only improve more. The Loxahatchee River has been holding a fair number of snook. Early in the morning and on the tide changes, the topwater bite has started to heat up. The Yo-Zuri Topknock or Hydro Pencil is a good choice, as is the Rapala Skitter V or Skitterwalk. A slow walk the dog action (don't go too fast on the retrieves yet) is the way to go with the topwater. Live mullet fished along a seawall and under boat docks with fair current flow is also a safe bet for the snook. A fair number of tarpon in the river right now as well, along with a few big jacks. The Sheepshead have really started thinning out in Palm Beach Inlet, but still maybe a few around to find. Speaking of Palm Beach Inlet, the jacks and tarpon have been around pretty heavy. For the jacks a GT Ice Cream or Diamond Jig is a great choice. The Tarpon are a little tougher to pattern, but live shrimp around the Sailfish Club remains a great starting point, especially at night.
SURF/PIER- Pompano fishing remained very good this week, and the weather for the weekend doesn't look like it will change that. If anything the pomps may even bite a little better this weekend. No hot spot to speak of on the beach; reports continue to come in from south of the Juno Beach Pier to Jupiter Island. Fresh shrimp, clams, sandfleas, FishBites, and FishGum are all really good choices for the pompano. Best bite seems to be in the morning and then again late in the afternoon. While tides no doubt play into pompano fishing, those low light periods of the day are the real key to success. The Juno Beach Pier has also had a few pompano around, with the same baits listed above working well and also Doc's Goofy Jigs. The sharks are around this week, and they will also determine where the pompano end up. Still a scattering of bluefish around, but numbers have started thinning out a bit. Cut sardines have been the bait of choice for the blues. Snook fishing continues to slowly improve at the Juno Beach Pier, another few weeks and it will really start to open up. A small number of springtime cobia cruising the beach as well...keep the jig ready in case one pops up!
NOAA MARINE WEATHER:
FRIDAY...Southeast winds 5 to 10 knots. Seas around 2 feet. Period 4 seconds. Intracoastal waters a light chop.
SATURDAY...South southeast winds 10 to 15 knots. Seas around 2 feet. Intracoastal waters a light chop. Slight chance of showers and thunderstorms in the afternoon.
SUNDAY...West winds 5 to 10 knots becoming north northeast 5 to 15 knots with gusts to around 20 knots in the afternoon. Along the coast, seas around 2 feet. In the Gulf Stream, seas around 2 feet building to 2 to 4 feet with occasional seas to 5 feet in the afternoon. Intracoastal waters a light chop. Chance of showers. Slight chance of thunderstorms in the afternoon.
Thanks For Reading,
Todd
