# Fishing report: Vero Beach



## csurp

Went out this morning on the south side of South Beach at Vero Beach.

Fished 7:30 to 11:30...last few hours of the outgoing tide.

zip...zilch

There were four other guys there with probably ten rods out total...nothing.

There about a dozen or more rods out at the north side of the beach that i could see. i talked to one guy from there who said the whiting bit at sunrise for a brief time...but then similar results to me.

there were a few brief bait jumps and the gulls took off but by the time I got a spoon on the fish were gone.

Hope it is better tomorrow.


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## csurp

*Day 2 South Beach*

Fished from 7-11AM with shrimp..last few hours of outgoing tide

Lots of small whiting in the first trough close to the beach...a few short pompano caught. Hardly got any bites at all on a long cast...crabs took the bait in short order.

no action on a Clark's spoon although a few bait fish were jumping in the first wave off the beach.

Hope things pick up.


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## TideJones

I was in the area a week ago (very south end of North Hutchinson Island. I was there for a week. Fished a lot. Used shrimp, clams and sardines. In the mornings all I could catch were catfish. Regardless of the tide I absolutely slayed the fish from about 4:00 PM to sunset. Mostly large pompano and whiting. Did catch one large black drum a few bluefish, a couple small flounder, and a variety of other fish that I could not ID.

I had two rods, one I fished over the first sand bar, the other was placed in the wash just in front of the sandbar. The short cast out fished the long cast by 20 - 1. I was sometimes getting bites on the rod in the wash before I could place it in the rod holder.

I had a plateful of pompano and whiting for dinner every night.


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## csurp

TideJones said:


> I was in the area a week ago (very south end of North Hutchinson Island. I was there for a week. Fished a lot. Used shrimp, clams and sardines. In the mornings all I could catch were catfish. Regardless of the tide I absolutely slayed the fish from about 4:00 PM to sunset. Mostly large pompano and whiting. Did catch one large black drum a few bluefish, a couple small flounder, and a variety of other fish that I could not ID.
> 
> I had two rods, one I fished over the first sand bar, the other was placed in the wash just in front of the sandbar. The short cast out fished the long cast by 20 - 1. I was sometimes getting bites on the rod in the wash before I could place it in the rod holder.
> 
> I had a plateful of pompano and whiting for dinner every night.


Thanks for the tip...by necessity, I have had to fish mornings only...but next week I can be a little more versatile. I am thinking you may have been fishing near the Sea Bee Museum?


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## csurp

*Friday Am fishing report*

Went out to South Beach for a few hours this morning...wish I could fish the PM but can't at the moment.

Lot's of rods were out...20+

many many small pompano were caught but all were small...lots of squeekers but still small. I think only one keeper was caught before I left at ten.

I first drove down to Round Island access but the beach gate was still locked at 6:15. funny the riverside gate was open but not the beach side.


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## TideJones

csurp said:


> Thanks for the tip...by necessity, I have had to fish mornings only...but next week I can be a little more versatile. I am thinking you may have been fishing near the Sea Bee Museum?


I was on the beach right where you have to take a left turn (coming from Ft Pierce) to stay on A1A. 

Although I caught fish on all the different baits I used, shrimp was most productive.

Hope you can make it out in the late afternoon hours. I am anxious to hear if that same pattern is holding.


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## csurp

TideJones said:


> I was on the beach right where you have to take a left turn (coming from Ft Pierce) to stay on A1A.
> 
> Although I caught fish on all the different baits I used, shrimp was most productive.
> 
> Hope you can make it out in the late afternoon hours. I am anxious to hear if that same pattern is holding.


I know exactly where you are talking about. I will definitely run down there in the afternoon first chance I get and will report back.

The sharks are in at South Beach in Vero. Fishing was very slow for all that were there. I had two shark cutoffs and a guy just down from me had three cut him off. Lots of spinner sharks were jumping a couple of hundred yards out.

I saw what looked like the first commercial pompano fishermen come out this morning. He had the fishin-mate-senior cart, 5-6 matched surf rods, a couple of other rods with spoons tied on and a big cooler, chair etc. He walked way down the line away from the crowd of regulars.

That could mean that things are about to pick up.


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## csurp

*Monday AM 2/7/10*

Fished Round Island Park this AM from sunrise to about 9:30.

Got 1 pomp and a nice whiting.

Probably would have had more but the sharks were thick. I had 5-6 cutoff in 3 hours...some of those were probably pomps.

The guy next to me had a similar number and had to leave because he was fresh out of sinkers.

Stopped at South Beach on the way home and apparently the pompano bit there Sat and Sun with not near as many sharks.


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## durkinma

Hi all. Down here in Vero for the week (from Madison, WI) and am trying the shore fishing. Did very well 2 years ago about this time of year with whiting, small pomps, and a variety of other fish I wasn't always sure what they were. Went out this morning and I'm not sure how to contend with the loose seaweed. There is A LOT of it. Is this temporary? Any advise would help. Thank you! This is a bit different then my normal walleye/pike/musky fishing, but I love it!


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## solid7

Yes, it is temporary.

If you noticed when you pulled up, there is still a red and purple flag out. Anytime you see that combo, there are going to be lots of seaweedses.

We had an Easterly wind all weekend which only ever so gently shifted southward by Sunday night. Surf was big and mean most of the weekend, and a washing machine the rest of it. Wasn't a fishing weekend by any stretch. (if you are a surf fisherman, anyway)

Gonna be a couple days before that is resolved.


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## durkinma

Thanks solid7! Flag is yellow now, so hopefully the weeds get pulled out soon. Only down here until Saturday, and would like to get on some fish. I'm hoping for a evening bite tonight. Will post with results.


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## solid7

Give Round Island Park a try... South of Vero. Anywhere between there and Ft. Pierce Inlet. I have been wanting to fish those waters for months.

Too bad you are only here til Sat. I would have invited you to fish up in my neighborhood. (about 30 miles north of Vero)


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## csurp

durkinma said:


> Hi all. Down here in Vero for the week (from Madison, WI) and am trying the shore fishing. Did very well 2 years ago about this time of year with whiting, small pomps, and a variety of other fish I wasn't always sure what they were. Went out this morning and I'm not sure how to contend with the loose seaweed. There is A LOT of it. Is this temporary? Any advise would help. Thank you! This is a bit different then my normal walleye/pike/musky fishing, but I love it!


I was down in the Vero area during Feb but back in Illinois now. I found that when the weeds were bad from South Beach in Vero down to fort Pierce, the beaches just south of Sebastian Inlet were generally clear.

To deal with the seaweed use a long rod and at least a 4 ounce sinker. Keep the rod at a high angle and keep the line tight. It is very important to land the rig on a tight line and keep it tight as you walk back to your rod holder. If you let the line drag in the shore break you are screwed.

Watch the line where it enters the water...as soon as the first weed begins to accumulate, shake the line until the weed falls off, but do not dislodge the sinker. I found that the "sputnik" sinkers were good at this time because you could give the line a good shake with out dislodging the sinker. A side benefit of this shaking move is that it sometimes triggers a bite!

Remember to loosen your drag after setting the rod...if a shark takes it...you will not lose rod and all.

good luck


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## durkinma

Thanks all! I'll look for the sputnik sinker. Right now I'm using the pyrimd 4 oz sinker, but the drift to the south is strong, and I've had problems setting the weight. Also, I've been using Gulp Alive Shrimp because with the weeds live/frozen bait is near impossible to keep on (at least with my ocean skills).


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## solid7

Try salting some clams. That's great bait, and easy to keep on hooks.

Also, if you can't hold bottom with a 4 oz. pyramid, you aren't in for very good fishing. Not saying that you can't or won't catch anything, but those are definitely not prime conditions.

My advice is that you don't throw sputniks until you know what's on the bottom. There are many "tackle graveyards" on public access beaches, and at $4 a pop, you don't want to do too much experimenting with Sputniks. When you know what you are dealing with, use 'em religiously.

My $.02.


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## csurp

solid7 said:


> Try salting some clams. That's great bait, and easy to keep on hooks.
> 
> Also, if you can't hold bottom with a 4 oz. pyramid, you aren't in for very good fishing. Not saying that you can't or won't catch anything, but those are definitely not prime conditions.
> 
> My advice is that you don't throw sputniks until you know what's on the bottom. There are many "tackle graveyards" on public access beaches, and at $4 a pop, you don't want to do too much experimenting with Sputniks. When you know what you are dealing with, use 'em religiously.
> 
> My $.02.


Good advice on the salted clams...to do this..one way is to thaw frozen clams...drain water...take cookie sheet with few paper towels and salt (canning salt) liberally...flatten out the clams on the salted paper towels and then cover them with more salt. buy some medium uncooked shrimp and toss some on the cookie sheet with the clams. Have the rest for dinner. cover all with a foil and place in fridge. If the frozen clams are fresh there will be no odor. next day or two cut all into bait size pieces and use.

On rigs: Note that the commercial pompano rigs are all tied close too the bottom...often it is usefull to have another hook three feet or even a little higher. check out http://www.floridasurfcasting.com/2009/04/making-perfect-pompano-rig.html for some good advice on tying your own rigs.

regarding the bottom conditions around Vero...I have found South Beach to Fort Pierce to be clean sand...be carefull south beach north to the boardwalk...steer clear from Riomar access entirely...a graveyard for sinkers


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## durkinma

Weeds were finally manageable this morning (kind of). Caught 4 catfish (at least I think they are catfish) before the rain and larger surf came in quickly. Now it’s pouring down rain. I was using frozen squid, not sure if that's why I was catching catfish or if that's just what was biting this morning. I attached a picture if someone wants to tell me exactly what I was catching. This ones dorsal fin was very long. The other 3 did not have this (male vs. female)?

Durkin


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## solid7

Since your photo didn't come through, I have to assume that you caught sailfin catfish. Squid aren't really the most productive bait in the surf. You would have been better off with clams, but given that the wind has been in, and with all the weeds that came with it, I very much suspect that the end result would have been much the same.

Are you going to be out there this evening? I come through that area every day...


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## durkinma

The insert picture option just asks me to insert URL destination. There is no browse button that I see which will allow me to insert picture from my computer. I'm still trying to read FAQ's to figure this out. 

Durkin


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## solid7

durkinma said:


> The insert picture option just asks me to insert URL destination. There is no browse button that I see which will allow me to insert picture from my computer. I'm still trying to read FAQ's to figure this out.
> 
> Durkin


I can't be sure, because I don't post photos to this forum - BUT - you may have to hotlink it to a location stored on a web server. Most forums don't give you the storage space to host your pics.

Don't know if stopping by is going to be an issue today... Looks like hellacious rain right now... But if you are going back to Round Island, let me know. I'll stop and say hello.


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## durkinma

Hey Solid7 I private messaged you. I think what I caught was a "Sea Catfish". Common Name's: Bandera, Sailboat Cat, Gafftopsail Sea Catfish, 
Gafftop Cat, Tourist Trout.

http://www.sarasota-fla-fishing.com/catfish.htm


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## csurp

Under windy high surf conditions it is not unusual to catch a lot of catfish in the Vero area. if conditons are too rough on the beach, you might drive up to Wabasso causeway and fish off the long low bridge on the west side of the Indian river. You can park on either side of the bridge. Toss doc's goofy jig with the teaser tipped with a little shrimp or a pompano jig with a sandflea or shrimp attached. Use a light spinning rod with 10 lb braid with a short 15-20 lb flouro leader attached to the braid with a very tiny swivel...but dont reel it through the guides...just use it to attach the leader

Also would be a good time to drive up to Sebastian and check out the pier or...drive down to ft pierce and take a1a out to south hutchinson island. There are tons of places to fish the inlet off the bank there. good luck


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## durkinma

May give the causeway a try today. Fished the surf this morning from 7-9. No fish. Big, quick incoming surf (out going tide). Little chilly out there in shorts and a t-shirt.


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## solid7

I would suggest you head up to Sebastian Inlet, and fish the North pier. Again, clams are your bait of choice, and some flashy, tinny thing if you are throwing lures.

I hear they are catching busloads of bluefish out of the newly dredged tide pool on the NW side of the inlet. Bluefish aren't good for much (Besides bait) but they are fun to catch, and better than saying you came all the way to Florida, and all you caught was a damned catfish.


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