The first week of September is the week Stuart anglers circle on the calendar. Snook harvest season reopened on the Atlantic coast September 1, the finger mullet are pouring down the beach and through the St. Lucie Inlet, and everything with a mouth is following them. I fished the Crossroads two mornings this week and the surface was alive both days.
What’s Hitting
This week on the water it is snook first, then tarpon, then everything else. Linesiders are stacked on the inlet jetties, the bridge shadow lines, and the beach troughs from the House of Refuge north to Jensen. Tarpon from 40 to 100 pounds are rolling on mullet schools outside the inlet at dawn, and big jack crevalle are blowing up bait so hard along Sailfish Point that you can hear it from the boat. Mangrove snapper are still thick on the bridges, and a few early flounder are showing on the sand edges.
Where to Find Them
Start at first light on the outside of the north jetty and watch for mullet being pushed. Snook hold on the down-current side of the rocks and along the Sailfish Point seawall on the outgoing tide. Inside, the Roosevelt Bridge and the Ernest Lyons Bridge shadow lines hold fish at night. Tarpon are cruising the beach in 8 to 15 feet from the inlet north to Jensen Beach, and the St. Lucie Power Plant outflow has been holding jacks and snook on the afternoon flood.
Tides & Conditions
Water temperatures are in the mid-80s and the ocean is warm enough that the bite is concentrated in the first two hours after sunrise and the last hour of light. Outgoing tides are the money tide at the inlet this time of year because they flush bait to the waiting fish. Afternoon storms continue on the standard summer schedule, so watch the radar. Keep an eye on the tropics — early September is peak season and a distant system can put swell on the beach in a hurry.
Tackle & Tactics
For the mullet run, match the bait. A live finger mullet on a 5/0 circle hook with 40-pound fluorocarbon leader is all you need for snook and jacks; go to 60-pound and a 7/0 for tarpon. Swimming plugs and paddle-tail soft plastics in white or silver draw strikes when the mullet are thick and a natural bait gets lost in the crowd. Flair hawks and big bucktails work the bridges at night. Keep a heavier outfit rigged for tarpon so you are not fighting a 90-pounder on a snook rod.
Local Intel This Week
Public access is easy: the Sandsprit Park ramp on Manatee Pocket, the Stuart Causeway ramp, and Jensen Beach Causeway ramps all put you close to the action. Wade anglers can hit the beach at Bathtub Reef and the House of Refuge. Fish are concentrating on the mullet at the inlet mouth and the first mile of beach north of it. Snook season is open but slot limits and a one-fish bag apply — check current FWC regulations before keeping fish, and note that a snook permit is required in addition to your license.
This Week’s Tip
When the mullet run is on, do not cast into the middle of the school. Work the edges and the back of the bait pod, where the predators sit waiting for a straggler. A bait that looks separated from the crowd gets eaten three times as often as one buried in it.
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