Stuart area fishing

Hey guys and gals. Minnesota boy thats coming down to Stuart to help a friend get moved out. I'm going to have a few days to get some fishing in. I'm bringing minimal gear...a couple rods and baits..will pick up whatever I need when I get there. Where are some spots I can go from shore? It doesn't necesarilly need to be in Stuart either..I'll have transportation. I really dont care what I catch..just want to get some fishing in. Thanks for any info.

Hello,

In Stuart the easiest exploring you can do is along A1A.. you can hit around the many bridges there. You can drive to Jupiter Inlet to the South or also Ft. Pierce Inlet to the North. I would use light tackle (8-12lb line) and either live bait (fish) or lures. I know Jupiter inlet is great to fish during an incoming tide.. but it has been a while since I have done any fishing North of Miami.

List of Stuart Fishing Piers

Thanks for the tips. How about the fly rod? Are there any kind of flats down there? I google earth-ed it...couldn't really tell. How far of a drive is it to the keys? Also...this doesn't really matter, just curious....what kinds fof fish can I expect/hope to catch in the Stuart area?

Well.. on lures... you can expect quite a bit.. not saying you will see them all. But, Jack Crevalle, Snook, Tarpon, Barracuda, Permit, Spanish Mackerel, (Sea) Cat Fish, the occasional sea gull or pelican.. and a few other surprises. You can find good flats and back country just about anywhere along the coast, if by boat (motorized and non).. from the land side of things.. any good flats area will be bombarded by the "shrimp brigade." Unless of course you are able to get to the Keys.. then there are always an ignored area or two you can hit on your own, but you will have to hunt for them. To get down into the Keys from Stuart will be 3-4 hours, depending on how far down you go..

I have never used a fly rod, but I have sure seen enough success with them to know its worth it. I just can't offer advice with it.. for what i would use to catch a general slew of fish, and what i do use.. is a 6'6" M action Ugly Stik and a reel that will hold about 300 yards of 12lb test and one of these, in Gold and Silver:


For an active day..
Again, on the fly, I am not sure.


Also, since you are from another state, please do yourself a favor and secure a nonresident license. FWC do check .. randomly and often. I just witnessed a group (who deserved it) get caught this weekend.

Nonresident Annual Saltwater Fishing
$47.00

Nonresident 3-Day Saltwater Fishing
$17.00

Nonresident 7-Day Saltwater Fishing
$30.00

Order HERE .. it would be worth the 17 or 30 bucks.

thank you for the link...definitely the way to go. I always make sure I have the proper licenses for wherever I am. When it comes to the money we sportsman pay for things..your license is the best value by far! I'm planning on bringing a medium spinning combo, my 10' steelhead/salmon north shore rod....for surf fishing? And just in case I'll bring my 8wt fly rod, that should prepare me for whatever I encounter. I also have some lures just like the one you showed. I think I'll pack some other jerkbaits..surface and sub-surface alike. I'll pick up some jigs when I get there. I'm pretty pumped up about it....its been along time since I've got to fish saltwater. I think I might have to drive down to the keys for one day...just becasue I can. Anyone want to meet up...share some fishing stories, tips and a laugh or two? How about leaders? florocarbon? I'm thinking for the cuda's.

I stopped using leaders myself.. I will use a 20lb mono leader on my bait rigs for reds.. but that's about it.. less bites on leaders. I might be able to meet up for a fishing expedition down this way.. I am 1.5hrs north of the Lower Keys, but 2 hours South of Stuart... I couldn't say for sure until I knew a day.

The 10 foot rod you describe will do for pier or surf fishing.. I use an even smaller rod.. but lots use 14 foot surf rods (more or less) .. they can cast forever with those.. lol. As long as you can lob it behind the surf break you are good.

I fly in the 18th and leave the following Sunday, anytime during the week if that works for you would work for me. That would be fun. I plan on fishing everyday..lol. Why not right? Thanks again for the tips.

Florida here I come!! Hopefully this warmer weather has turned on the fishing. Any new reports out there?

I went out to my spot yesterday.. took the canoe out to the flats. It was littered with the bodies of thousands of dead fish. Lots of barracuda and other regular fish, a small manatee and one large ray. Then I went around to the marina where the bodies of many snook were located. I also talked to a crab fisherman who was on the way out to empty all the dead crabs from his traps. The water temp got down into the 30's for too long and killed all the medium to small sized tropical species. I didn't see one live fish, except for a school of 3 mullet. There were thousands of sea gulls, turkey vultures, and pelicans lined up in the mangroves scooping up the dead fish as fast as they would start floating up. I am hoping that within a few days it will get back to life out there.. the Keys were hit even harder.. they have many reported fish kills and sightings of dead sea turtles and such. I am not sure how that is going to play out, as far as how long it will take to recover. I am not sure how Stuart will be, it may be just fine.. I have no idea.

Well so far its been pretty slow. I had heard reports of alot of bluefish being caught in the inlet...but two days of fishing and I havn't seen one caught yet. The first day here I did manage to catch three jacks..that was pretty fun. Last night...my only fish was a Sheephead..that was on my list of things I wanted to catch so I was pretty thrilled. I havn't hit any flats yet becasue of the die off...but I might go see what I can find tonight. I would lvoe to hook into some barracudas. I tried catching some sharks today..they are a bunch of them by the inlet swimming around you as you fish...pretty cool. I used the scraps from that sheephead...a couple hits by smaller sharks, never got the whole bait in their mouth..so I couldn't set the hook. Still pretty fun.

WE used to catch sharks on Jacks a lot.. just cut them and cast them (whole).. they bleed like crazy, always got hits.. I love sheeps head, congrats. I think the fishing is recovering as we speak, so you may still be getting into the swing of the action throughout the week.