Spotted seatrout fishing in The Treasure Coast

In The Treasure Coast, spotted seatrout peak March–June and September–November and are around year-round, spawning in May–June, according to Fish Scouter's month-by-month season calendar. April: Lagoon flats at dawn.

1. JanuaryAroundSheepshead and drum on the bridges; snook in the rivers; sailfish outside. Bridge and dock pilings for sheepshead, deep river bends for snook and reds, pompano in the surf on the calm days.
2. FebruaryAroundSnook opens; pompano in the surf; kings and cobia nearshore. Snook harvest opens the 1st at the inlets and bridges; pompano run the beach; kings and cobia on the reef and wrecks.
3. MarchPeakThe spring runs: pompano, Spanish, the first tarpon in the inlets. Spanish flood the inlets on the bait; pompano still on the beach; tarpon show at Jupiter and Sebastian on the night tides.
4. AprilPeakLagoon flats at dawn.
5. MaySpawningSpawning on the lagoon grass edges.
6. JuneSpawningBeach snook at first light; snapper on the reef; lagoon trout early. Snook in the surf trough at dawn; snapper on the nearshore reef and the bridges; lagoon flats at first light only.
7. JulyAroundSummer: snook on the beach and inlets, snapper on structure. Dawn on the beach for snook, then the reef and bridges for snapper; the lagoon is a night fishery under the dock lights.
8. AugustAroundThe mullet begin to gather; snook stack at the inlets. Snook on the inlet outgoing at night; the first mullet schools on the beach late in the month bring tarpon and jacks.
9. SeptemberPeakThe mullet run — snook reopens, the beaches explode. Snook harvest reopens the 1st into the best beach fishing of the year: snook, tarpon, jacks and bluefish on the mullet along the surf and in the inlets.
10. OctoberPeakPeak mullet run; reds and trout in the lagoon; flounder at the inlets. Follow the mullet down the beach; reds and trout feed on the lagoon flats as the water cools; flounder stage on the inlet sand.
11. NovemberPeakFlounder run through the inlets; trout on the flats; pompano return. The Sebastian and Fort Pierce flounder run on the outgoing; trout thick on the lagoon grass; pompano back in the surf.
12. DecemberAroundSnook closes mid-month; sheepshead, drum and pompano take over. Last snook harvest to the 14th; sheepshead and drum on the bridges, pompano on the beach, trout in the deeper lagoon holes.

The inlets and the Intracoastal behind them, the southern Indian River Lagoon's grass flats and spoil islands, the St. Lucie and Loxahatchee rivers, the beaches, and a reef line that comes within a mile of the sand from Jupiter south.

Fish Scouter charts 349 dock / pilings, 260 grass flat, 7 pass / inlet spots in the Palm Beach & the Treasure Coast map area — the kinds spotted seatrout hold on.

• Live shrimpUnder a popping cork or free-lined, hooked under the horn on a #1 to 2/0 circle hook; on a jig head for the bottom. The universal inshore bait.
• Pilchards (whitebait)Free-lined or under a cork, hooked through the nose on a #1 to 2/0 circle hook. The one bait that catches everything inshore.
• PigfishFree-lined or under a cork on a 2/0 circle hook for gator trout; on the bottom for grouper.
• PinfishHooked through the back ahead of the dorsal on a 2/0 to 4/0 circle hook; the small ones free-lined, the big ones on a fish-finder rig.
• CroakersHooked through the back on a 2/0 to 3/0 circle hook, free-lined or on a Carolina rig — big trout and redfish can't leave them alone.

• Leader15–25 lb fluorocarbon
• Hook#1–1/0
• Jig head1/8–1/4 oz
• Braid10–15 lb

Feeds in 54–86°F water, best at 62–78°F.

All about spotted seatrout · Palm Beach & the Treasure Coast, the whole year