Kayak Fishing Fort Pierce, Florida Tips and Techniques (The Complete Guide)
The key to find the best kayak fishing spots in Fort Pierce is to find schools of bait and feeding predatory fish like snook, tarpon, redfish and speckled trout. You can find them around docks, mangrove islands, bridges, grass flats, sea walls and any other underwater structures.
There are many great places to launch your kayak and go fishing around Fort Pierce. That is the great thing about being a kayak fisherman, in my opinion.
You can go fish just about anywhere and get at fish that don't get pressured as much as the easily accessible ones.
Fort Pierce has huge snook, redfish, tarpon, flounder, sharks, black drum, spotted sea trout, triple tail...….. and many more species of fish that you can get on right from your kayak.
I am a kayak fishing guide on the Treasure Coast of Florida. I have been fishing the grass flats and mangroves all over Florida for more than 40 years. In the article below, I will teach you everything that I know about kayak fishing in and around Fort Pierce.
Let's get started.
The key to find the best kayak fishing spots in Fort Pierce is to find schools of bait and feeding predatory fish like snook, tarpon, redfish and speckled trout. You can find them around docks, mangrove islands, bridges, grass flats, sea walls and any other underwater structures.
There are many great places to launch your kayak and go fishing around Fort Pierce. That is the great thing about being a kayak fisherman, in my opinion.
You can go fish just about anywhere and get at fish that don't get pressured as much as the easily accessible ones.
Fort Pierce has huge snook, redfish, tarpon, flounder, sharks, black drum, spotted sea trout, triple tail...….. and many more species of fish that you can get on right from your kayak.
I am a kayak fishing guide on the Treasure Coast of Florida. I have been fishing the grass flats and mangroves all over Florida for more than 40 years. In the article below, I will teach you everything that I know about kayak fishing in and around Fort Pierce.
Let's get started.
Watch the video below and catch more Ft. Pierce Tarpon.
Fort Pierce Kayak Fishing for Tarpon
Kayak fishing for tarpon is so much fun. If it is not on your fishing bucket list, then it should be. There is no better fighting inshore fish than a tarpon. They give it their all every time and you often get a few huge jumps out of the deal too.
I consider myself a tarpon specialist. When I have time to fish for fun it is usually a day of fishing for tarpon. They are around Fort Pierce in decent numbers from May through November and then they head south for warmer water temperatures. When they are in town you can bet that I am fishing for them.
The best time to catch tarpon is early in the morning; at the end of the day; and at night around lights. I like to fish for tarpon at first light and the bite often goes away by 10 a.m. or so. This is great for me because I can fish for 3 hours and then get my chores done before I head out to fish again at sunset.
I wrote another article on this website that covers in great detail how to catch a tarpon. You can read that article by clicking right here.
Tarpon like to find channels that are adjacent to grass flats, mangroves, tidal creeks, docks, spoil islands...… In other words, they like the deeper water but they will hit shallow water if there is bait there. They will be in 3 feet of water feeding but then head back to the deeper channels until they get hungry again or just stay in the channels if there is food there.
The best live baits for tarpon are finger mullet, white baits (sardines, herring, menhaden...), pin fish, ladyfish and live shrimp. The big tarpon like the bigger mullet and ladyfish and the smaller ones like the white baits and finger mullet.
I usually target tarpon that are 4 feet or less in length because they are more apt to give you a half a dozen jumps before they give up in about 5 or 10 minutes. The big ones often jump as soon as they figure out that they are hooked and them just pull and pull for a half hour to an hour.
I'd rather catch a whole bunch of smaller tarpon than one or two big ones. BUT that is just me. You might want to target the big ones. Whatever works for you.
The best soft plastic lures for tarpon are DOA Bait Busters and DOA Big Eyz for big tarpon and DOA CALs for smaller tarpon. I like the MirroLure Suspending Mullet and Zara Super Spooks for hard plastic tarpon lures. Many tarpon fishermen have other favorites but those are mine and they produce lots of tarpon catches.
The best color for DOA Bait Busters is the natural white or silver belly with a dark back. The best DOA Big Eyz are the glow and white for clear water conditions and the root beer and chartreuse for dirty water. My favorite DOA CAL color is white with a red 1/8 ounce jig head.
My favorite MirroLure Suspending Mullet color is the natural ones with a white or silver belly and a dark back. My favorite Zara Super Spook color is white and natural colors. The Zara Spooks are a walk-the-dog type of lure for top water and the suspending mullet lures run a foot or so under the water.
There is nothing like catching a tarpon in your fishing kayak. They will often jump right over you when they get close to your kayak. It is a blast. Just make sure to revive your tarpon well after your fight because they give it their all.
If you just unhook them and let them go they will often sink to the bottom and die. Make sure that they have the energy to swim away before you let them go. Check out our catch and release techniques page.
Fort Pierce Kayak Fishing for Spotted Sea Trout
The sea trout numbers around Fort Pierce have dropped off significantly in recent years because of sea grass die offs. Sea trout need the sea grass to live so if the grass is gone the trout are gone too.
When the grass is around the sea trout are around too. When you find the grass a great way to figure out where the sea trout are is with a search bait like a white DOA CAL 3 inch shad with a 1/8 ounce red jig head. Another great search bait is a white Berkeley GULP 3 inch shrimp or a GULP swimming mullet with a red jig head.
Just drift the grass flat that you found and cast your arm off until you find the fish. The best technique is a cast, twitch, twitch, reel, twitch, twitch, reel, repeat...…. This seems to work great for trout and they often hit the lure as it falls in the water column for some reason.
Once you figure out where the sea trout are make sure to notice the water depth. They will probably all be in a similar water depth. This depth is usually 3 to 5 feet depending upon the water temperatures. If it is too hot or too cold they will be in deeper water.
I wrote another article on this website that covers in great detail how to catch a spotted sea trout. You can read that article by clicking right here.
The best live baits for sea trout are live shrimp and white baits under a cork. The cork does not scare a trout away from your bait. They are actually attracted to the noise of the cork. Use a popping cork or a rattle cork for best results.
Watch the video below and catch more sea trout with lures.
The sea trout numbers around Fort Pierce have dropped off significantly in recent years because of sea grass die offs. Sea trout need the sea grass to live so if the grass is gone the trout are gone too.
When the grass is around the sea trout are around too. When you find the grass a great way to figure out where the sea trout are is with a search bait like a white DOA CAL 3 inch shad with a 1/8 ounce red jig head. Another great search bait is a white Berkeley GULP 3 inch shrimp or a GULP swimming mullet with a red jig head.
Just drift the grass flat that you found and cast your arm off until you find the fish. The best technique is a cast, twitch, twitch, reel, twitch, twitch, reel, repeat...…. This seems to work great for trout and they often hit the lure as it falls in the water column for some reason.
Once you figure out where the sea trout are make sure to notice the water depth. They will probably all be in a similar water depth. This depth is usually 3 to 5 feet depending upon the water temperatures. If it is too hot or too cold they will be in deeper water.
I wrote another article on this website that covers in great detail how to catch a spotted sea trout. You can read that article by clicking right here.
The best live baits for sea trout are live shrimp and white baits under a cork. The cork does not scare a trout away from your bait. They are actually attracted to the noise of the cork. Use a popping cork or a rattle cork for best results.
Watch the video below and catch more sea trout with lures.
Fort Pierce Kayak Fishing for Redfish
Redfish around Fort Pierce are a success story. There are more today than there were 10 years ago. The Harbor Branch research facility in Fort Pierce has been growing redfish and releasing then in strategic areas up and down the East Coast of Florida. This has helped out the redfish populations tremendously. This makes us redfish fishermen happy too.
I catch most of my redfish around docks or around mangrove roots at higher parts of the tide. There are plenty on the grass flats and in deep channels but I like to sight fish for them and that is why I catch mine around docks and mangroves.
The best live baits for redfish are shrimp, white baits and finger mullet. The key to catching these fish is to get the bait on the bottom. Redfish are a species that spends their life looking down for food. They root around all day in the sand, mud, oysters, grass..... for crabs, shrimp and small fish to eat.
This does not mean that you can't get them to hit a top water lure but they are not very good at it. When you send your live bait out use just enough weight to keep your bait within a foot or two of the bottom. If there are reds around then you will probably get yourself one.
I wrote another article on this website that covers in great detail how to catch a redfish. You can read that article by clicking right here.
My favorite lures for redfish are GULP shrimp and swimming mullets. Redfish are a scent first kind of feeder. They have 4 nostrils and an amazing sense of smell so stinky baits work very well for catching reds. You can catch them by just pitching a GULP up to a mangrove, dock or oyster bar and letting it just sit there and stink. You don't even have to reel it. The reds will smell it and pick it up.
Another great bait for redfish is a white DOA CAL 3 inch shad. You will want to keep the lure within a foot or so of the bottom or bounce it on the bottom to catch redfish. I find that slower retrieves work the best for redfish.
I like to get up real early and fish for redfish with top water lures. That can be an exhilarating experience if you hook the right redfish. The problem with redfish is that they spend their lives looking down and rooting around oysters, sea grass, mud, sand..... looking for food.
It is hard for them to hit a top water lure. So you can expect them to miss it a few times but they are persistent. So even if they miss it, keep working your lure and they will usually get it in their mouths after a couple of tries.
WANT TO CATCH A TROPHY SNOOK, TARPON, REDFISH OR TROUT? Give us a call and BOOK YOUR KAYAK FISHING CHARTER TODAY!
Fort Pierce Kayak Fishing for Snook
Snook are everywhere in Fort Pierce. You can catch them in the inlets; on the beach; in canals; around bridges; around docks; on the grass flats; in the mangroves; I think that you get the idea. Snook are everywhere which means that us kayak fishermen can catch one where ever we decide to launch from.
I catch most of mine around docks and mangroves but like I said, they are everywhere.
The best live bait for snook is whatever is running. If they are feeding on finger mullet, then you should use finger mullet. If they are feeding on white baits, then you should use white baits. In the Winter, they are often focused on eating shrimp so use shrimp in the Winter.
Big snook are smart and are harder to catch during the day. Early morning, around sunset and at night are the best times to catch a big snook. Smaller snook will eat all day long. Those barely slot or under slot snook are fun to catch too and they will keep you busy.
I wrote another article on this website that covers in much more detail how to catch a snook. You can read that article by clicking right here.
FUN FACT: Snook have a weird life. The ones that are under 22 inches or so are all male. Once they get bigger than 22 inches they go through a sex change and turn into females. So the small snook that you are catching are males and the close to slot or bigger are all females.
The best lures for snook are white DOA CAL 3 inch shad. You have probably figured out by reading this article so far that white small soft plastic paddle tail lures catch just about everything around here. If you could only bring one type of lure to go kayak fishing around Fort Pierce, then you want to grab white DOA CALs (or something similar) and some 1/8 ounce jig heads and you are good to go.
Watch the video below and catch more snook with paddle tails.
Fort Pierce Kayak Fishing for Flounder
Fort Pierce Flounder Pounders know that the Fort Pierce Inlet is a flounder Mecca. In the fall, the flounder pour into the inlet from offshore reefs, wrecks and rockpiles. You can catch dozens of BIG flounder in and around the inlets as they move into the shallows.
The problems with fishing inlets in a kayak are many. The big sport fishing boats are usually discourteous douche bags and don't care about capsizing a fishing kayak as they throw out a 4 foot wake when they are running in and out of the inlet. You have to watch out for them.
All of that water volume that is compressed into an inlet means there is always a strong tide to deal with. You will definitely need your heavy anchor to fish an inlet or you will be drifting too fast to catch any flounder.
If you can find an eddy behind a bend in the inlet or a break current of some kind, then you can catch a lot of flounder in the inlets.
I wrote another article on this website that covers in much greater detail how to catch a flounder. You can read that article by clicking right here.
You have to get your bait to the bottom to catch flounder. The best live baits are finger mullet, white baits and shrimp. Get those to the bottom and wait for the hit.
A great lure is a heavy jig tipped with a shrimp or small white bait. A heavy jig with a gulp swimming mullet is another good one for an inlet.
Docks are a much easier place to catch flounder in a kayak. Flounder like to hide near structure to escape predators and to eat their prey. The best lure for flounder is hands down the GULP shrimp or swimming mullet. This lure will out fish live bait most of the time. Get yourself a couple of packs of white or new penny and some 1/8 ounce jig heads and you are all set. Another great lure is a white DOA CAL.
The key to catching flounder is an incredibly slow retrieve. Cast the lure and let it sink to the bottom. Bounce it on the bottom 2 or 3 times and let it sit for 10 or 15 seconds and then repeat the process. It should take you a couple of minutes to retrieve your lure every cast. If you think that your retrieve is too slow, then you are wrong. There is no such thing when you are flounder fishing.
The video below will show you how to fish with a paddle tail and jig head to catch more flounder.
Conclusion:
I love kayak fishing in and around Fort Pierce. The water quality has been up and down for the last few years but there are still plenty of fish around to catch. There are still some patches of healthy sea grass around too. You can still catch tons of snook, tarpon, flounder, redfish and sea trout in the Indian River Lagoon.
If you want to get on some fish of a lifetime, then get yourself a fishing kayak and explore the inshore waters of Fort Pierce. This is one of the best places on the Treasure Coast to fish from a kayak.
You really only need to find a few different environmental scenarios to kayak fish Fort Pierce or any other place effectively. You need to find the right water temperatures; You need to find the bait that the fish will be feeding upon; You need to find clean moving water; and you need to find a spot without large predators like dolphin or sharks. That is all that you need to have a great day kayak fishing in Fort Pierce, Florida.
I hope that this article helps you catch more fish.
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