By Willie Howard
Here's my tip of the month: Walk the beach with a fishing rod.
Casting from the beach is an enjoyable way to catch snook and other fish as bait schools move close to shore in September. By later in the month, the annual fall mullet run might have started.
Watch for the dark brown “clouds” of mullet in the surf. Schooling mullet often leap out of the water as they are chased by tarpon, bluefish, snook and other predators.
Throw a heavy casting spoon or a plug rigged with 40- to 50-pound leader around the edges of the schools. If the mullet have not arrived yet, try fishing for snook along the beach in the morning. Consider bending down the hook barbs to facilitate the release of snook.
Even though snook season opens Sept. 1, snook must be 28 to 32 inches in total length to be legal, meaning many will be released.
Try fishing for snook with a soft-plastic bait such as a D.O.A. CAL Shad Tail or hard lures such as MirrOlure’s MirrOdine or the Yo-Zuri Crystal Minnow. If the water is clear, try tying your snook lure to 30-pound-test fluorocarbon leader.
Daily bag limit: One snook.
Reminder: Stay away from swimmers, and don’t fish in guarded swimming areas when fishing from the beach.
A Delray Beach fishing team won the 20th Annual Mark Gerretson Memorial Fishing Tournament
with this 34.2-pound kingfish, caught by Tim Knapp (second from right). Joe Lucas (second from left)
and Knapp fished with sons Ryan Lucas (far left) and Miles Knapp (right).
Photo by Emiliano Brooks Productions
Flotsam
• Joe Lucas of Delray Beach and his son, Ryan, won the 20th Annual Mark Gerretson Memorial Fishing Tournament with a 34.2-pound kingfish caught using live bait off Highland Beach. Lucas and his son were fishing with another father-and-son team — Tim Knapp and his son, Miles — in the Aug. 9 tournament. Craig Elmore won the dolphin award with a 27.6-pound mahi mahi. Steve Sasso’s 14.8-pound bonito won the mystery fish award. Nicholas Samousakis won top junior angler with a 13.8-pound kingfish. Joan Vertefeuille’s 16-pound kingfish won top lady angler. No wahoo were weighed in this year’s Gerretson tournament. Mark’s brother, Jim Gerretson, won the Family Fun Award for fishing with his daughters and their husbands.
• The X Generation 440 Challenge fishing tournament is set for Sept. 13 based at Palm Beach Yacht Center in Hypoluxo. Cash prizes will be awarded for the heaviest kingfish, dolphin and wahoo.
A $500 award is being offered for the largest cobia, mutton/yellowtail snapper, bonito and blackfin tuna.
Organizers guarantee $5,000 for the heaviest kingfish. The entry fee is $225 per boat through Sept. 9 and $250 by Sept. 12. The captain’s meeting and final registration are set for 6-8 p.m. Sept. 12 at the Palm Beach Yacht Center in Hypoluxo. Call Pete Cammarano at 502-7022 or go to www. xgenerationtournaments.com.
• The International Coastal Cleanup is set for the morning of Sept. 20 and will include waterfront cleanup locations in Boca Raton, Delray Beach and Boynton Beach. Participants are asked to preregister at most locations by contacting the site coordinator. Most cleanups begin at 8 a.m. A list of locations and site coordinators can be found on the Keep Palm Beach County Beautiful website, www.keeppbcbeautiful.org.
• Peter Hinck of Dragonfly Boatworks will share tips for fishing from kayaks and stand-up paddleboards Sept. 3 at the West Palm Beach Fishing Club. Capt. Ray Rosher of Miss Britt Charters will discuss late-season dolphin fishing at the club’s Sept. 24 meeting.
Both meetings begin at 7 p.m. at the fishing club’s headquarters, 201 Fifth St., West Palm Beach. The meetings are free and open to the public. Call 832-6780 or www.westpalmbeach fishingclub.org.
Willie Howard is a freelance writer and licensed boat captain. Reach him at tiowillie@bellsouth.net.
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