Catfishing on the St Lucie Canal

Prized among catfish, the St Lucie Canal offers some really good channel cat action.  My average fish is 18-24 inches, and provide some quite tasty meals.  They are also pretty good fighters and hit like a freight train on various baits from chicken liver, to minnows and even on leftover squid from salt water fishing.

l Cats from the St Lucie Canal

The besty times for catfishing are right as the sun is coming up, or around sunset.  They also hit at night, but you have to compete with the alligators in the canal, so I don't really bother with night fishing, since my lights attract the gators.  I'm safe enough, where I fish in my secret catfish hole, because of a vertical 4 foot concrete wall the gators can't climb, but they keep eati g the fish before I can get them landed. 

Also, in the canal, is a veritable panoply of panfish, from big sunfish to bluegills that make a midwestern boy like myself, as happy as a clam with their sizes.

Bluegill and Redear Sunfish from the St Lucie Canal and Port Mayaca Retention basin

From my experiences up north and down here in Florida as well, nothing fights like a Bluegill.  I'd love to see what a 10 or 15 pound bbluegill would be like, I'm not sure you could land it on light tackle, actually. 

Fishing Plans for Tomorrow

Jensen Beach Causeway and hopefully, Sailfish Point.  If I get out to Sailfish, I'll definitely post an accessibility report for wheelchair, etc.  Upcoming plans also include Hobe Sound and down around Jupiter.

Meanwhile, my wife just got her salt water license as well and will get some fishing in herself!  Booyah!  Also, given the werakness ofg my left arm after my strokes, if I hook a huge fish, she can help me land it if necessary.

Current Tide Table for Jensen Beach Causeway

2014-02-18 06:55 AM EST   Sunrise
2014-02-18 07:03 AM EST  -0.14 feet  Low Tide
2014-02-18 08:49 AM EST   Moonset
2014-02-18 12:53 PM EST   1.05 feet  High Tide
2014-02-18 06:14 PM EST   Sunset
2014-02-18 07:22 PM EST  -0.23 feet  Low Tide
2014-02-18 09:41 PM EST   Moonrise
2014-02-19 01:19 AM EST   1.05 feet  High Tide
2014-02-19 06:54 AM EST   Sunrise
2014-02-19 07:41 AM EST  -0.07 feet  Low Tide
2014-02-19 09:26 AM EST   Moonset
2014-02-19 01:30 PM EST   1.02 feet  High Tide
2014-02-19 06:15 PM EST   Sunset
2014-02-19 08:02 PM EST  -0.23 feet  Low Tide
2014-02-19 10:37 PM EST   Moonrise
2014-02-20 02:02 AM EST   1.02 feet  High Tide
2014-02-20 06:53 AM EST   Sunrise
2014-02-20 08:24 AM EST   0.01 feet  Low Tide
2014-02-20 10:07 AM EST   Moonset
2014-02-20 02:11 PM EST   0.99 feet  High Tide
2014-02-20 06:16 PM EST   Sunset
2014-02-20 08:48 PM EST  -0.21 feet  Low Tide
2014-02-20 11:34 PM EST   Moonrise
2014-02-21 02:51 AM EST   1.00 feet  High Tide
2014-02-21 06:52 AM EST   Sunrise
2014-02-21 09:15 AM EST   0.09 feet  Low Tide
2014-02-21 10:51 AM EST   Moonset
2014-02-21 02:57 PM EST   0.96 feet  High Tide
2014-02-21 06:16 PM EST   Sunset
2014-02-21 09:43 PM EST  -0.19 feet  Low Tide
2014-02-22 12:32 AM EST   Moonrise

Thought for the Day

And it's so true!

 And another truism with some fishing humor......

Ad so it goes.....time to grab a pole and go fishing!

Fishing From A Wheelchair; Part 1

As promised, I'm starting my series on wheelchair and handicap access fishing spots.  I'll be starting with the Jensen Beach Causeway.  There are two areas where access is reasonable.  One is the wood pier.  It does have one drawback....the slope pf the sidewalk when you approach the parking area os a bit steep and difficult to navigate unassisted in a chair.  Once on the pier, though it's all golden.

This brings us to the main causeway concrete pier under the bridge.  Access is excellent and it's easy to navigate with a chair.

Photography by E, Leonard

Overall, I have to give the causeway only a 4 star rating though.  There are only a couple handicap spaces for parking, and as I mentioned above the steep sidewalk slope at the wooden pier can make it interesting either up or downhill in a wheelchair.

As to the fishing?  Well, even a bad day fishing beats a day stuck at home, or in the office, or in the hospital!  I caught one small redfish, about six inches long.  It was too small to keep.  Happily, I caught it on an ultralight rig I was using to jig for baitfish for my bigger poles, so it felty like a whale on the wee little panfish rig Ugly Stick.

©2014, T Leonard, all rights reserved

January 2014 Tides: Jensen Beach

Tides for Jensen Beach starting with January 22, 2014.

Day        High      Tide  Height   Sunrise    Moon  Time      % Moon
           /Low      Time    Feet    Sunset                    Visible

W   22     High   2:27 AM     1.0   7:11 AM     Set 10:47 AM      73
    22      Low   8:50 AM     0.2   5:54 PM    Rise 11:46 PM
    22     High   2:39 PM     1.1
    22      Low   9:19 PM     0.1

Th  23     High   3:17 AM     1.0   7:10 AM     Set 11:26 AM      64
    23      Low   9:41 AM     0.3   5:55 PM
    23     High   3:25 PM     1.0
    23      Low  10:13 PM     0.0

F   24     High   4:14 AM     1.0   7:10 AM    Rise 12:43 AM      54
    24      Low  10:41 AM     0.4   5:56 PM     Set 12:08 PM
    24     High   4:20 PM     1.0
    24      Low  11:15 PM     0.0

Sa  25     High   5:18 AM     1.0   7:10 AM    Rise  1:43 AM      43
    25      Low  11:48 AM     0.4   5:57 PM     Set 12:55 PM
    25     High   5:24 PM     1.0

Su  26      Low  12:20 AM    -0.1   7:09 AM    Rise  2:44 AM      32
    26     High   6:26 AM     1.1   5:58 PM     Set  1:48 PM
    26      Low  12:54 PM     0.3
    26     High   6:32 PM     1.1

M   27      Low   1:23 AM    -0.3   7:09 AM    Rise  3:45 AM      22
    27     High   7:30 AM     1.2   5:58 PM     Set  2:47 PM
    27      Low   1:57 PM     0.1
    27     High   7:39 PM     1.1

Tu  28      Low   2:23 AM    -0.4   7:08 AM    Rise  4:45 AM      13
    28     High   8:29 AM     1.2   5:59 PM     Set  3:50 PM
    28      Low   2:56 PM    -0.1
    28     High   8:41 PM     1.2

W   29      Low   3:20 AM    -0.6   7:08 AM    Rise  5:43 AM      6
    29     High   9:24 AM     1.3   6:00 PM     Set  4:57 PM
    29      Low   3:51 PM    -0.2
    29     High   9:38 PM     1.3

Th  30      Low   4:14 AM    -0.6   7:08 AM    Rise  6:36 AM      1
    30     High  10:15 AM     1.3   6:01 PM     Set  6:05 PM
    30      Low   4:43 PM    -0.4
    30     High  10:32 PM     1.3

F   31      Low   5:06 AM    -0.6   7:07 AM    Rise  7:25 AM      0
    31     High  11:05 AM     1.4   6:02 PM     Set  7:12 PM
    31      Low   5:35 PM    -0.5
    31     High  11:24 PM     1.4

Sa   1      Low   5:58 AM    -0.6   7:07 AM    Rise  8:10 AM      1
     1     High  11:53 AM     1.4   6:02 PM     Set  8:18 PM
     1      Low   6:26 PM    -0.6

Su   2     High  12:15 AM     1.3   7:06 AM    Rise  8:53 AM      5
     2      Low   6:49 AM    -0.6   6:03 PM     Set  9:21 PM
     2     High  12:40 PM     1.4
     2      Low   7:16 PM    -0.6

M    3     High   1:06 AM     1.3   7:06 AM    Rise  9:35 AM      12
     3      Low   7:40 AM    -0.4   6:04 PM     Set 10:22 PM
     3     High   1:27 PM     1.3
     3      Low   8:08 PM    -0.5

Tu   4     High   1:57 AM     1.2   7:05 AM    Rise 10:15 AM      20
     4      Low   8:32 AM    -0.2   6:05 PM     Set 11:21 PM
     4     High   2:15 PM     1.2
     4      Low   9:01 PM    -0.3

I'm Baaaaack!

OK, to catch everyone up on the last 4 months, I've been in hospital for all but 10 days due to heart issues and a cople of strokes.  I will be changing the focus somewhat in my next series of articles for the report.  I'll be discussing fishing when you are in a wheelchair or on a walker and what the various spots here in Martin, St Lucie and Okeechobee Counties have to offer.  The reason for this change of focus is because I am now in a wheelchair mostly with very limited walking ability on a walker.

Areas I know are accessible include Jensen Beach Causeway on both the mainland and Hutchinson Island sides.  There are some spots down by Hobe Sound that look promising, and then there's Sailfish Point on the Atlantic side of Hutchinson Island.  As I fish these areas, I will be rating them for access and what facilities are offered and exactly what kind of fish are best targeted there.  So, let's look forward to a great 2014 and get out there fishing, and show that the fishing is accessible to all.