Red snapper were the catch of the day, but swordfish and tarpon showed as well

Treasure Coast Newspapers

The red snapper season, part one, is now in the books and judging from the Facebook posts, it was a rousing success for anglers. Part two will take place July 19 and 20, then the fish will be back off limits until sometime during the summer of 2020.

Indian River County

Offshore: Several of the charter boats in this region reported great fishing for red snapper — a species they catch regularly, but must release after venting. Capt. Terry Wildey of Big Easy charters, Capt. Bo Samuel of Pullin' Drag charters, Capt. Justin Ambrosio of Fillet Show charters and Capt. Rick Marchetti of Surf Rider charters all scored good red snapper up to 18 pounds by fishing in 80-120 feet of water.

Red snapper was the catch of the weekend for many Florida residents fishing the Atlantic red snapper season. Capt. Bo Samuel of Pullin' Drag charters caught nice ones out of Sebastian Inlet.

Inshore: The tarpon fishing has been very good just outside the inlets and up and down the beaches. Outside, the fish are in the 100-150 pound range and can be found around the bait schools. They will take live pilchards, sardines, pogies or lures like Hogy Lures, DOA Terror Eyz and Live Target swim baits.

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St .Lucie County

Offshore: Red snapper generated the most angling effort during the weekend and anglers were not disappointed. Fish 10-15 pounds could be caught on a variety of baits including dead sardines and live pinfish. The same wshould be possible this coming Friday and Saturday, the final two days of the 2019 red snapper fishing season. Kingfish were also in the mix, and big ones at that. A couple of 50-pounders were reported including one caught by the Wards on the S & K Fisheries boat. Another was speared by Mike Graff.

Big kingfish were caught and spearfished like this one was by diver Mike Graff of Fort Pierce. Krysten Ward is hoisting what was probably a nearly 50-pound king.

Inshore: Snook are strictly catch and release, but anglers are finding plenty of them on the flats, around the bridges and docks and at the inlet, too. Trout fishinghas dropped off, but a few can be caught in low light conditions in the shallows along the red mangroves.

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Martin County

Offshore: Anglers caught their fair share of red snapper this weekend, although the sizes may have been slightly smaller than the ones caught off Fort Pierce or the giants caught off Port Canaveral. Mangrove snapper, lane snapper and vermilion snapper also were caught in good numbers. Tom Flynn, Mike Espinoza, Jimmy McDaniel and B.J. Meyer chose to delay their red snapper fishing and were rewarded when they caught a large swordfish in 1,000 feet of water.

A large swordfish was caught by the fishing team of Mike Espinoza, Tom Flynn, Jimmy McDaniel And B.J. Meyer in the Yappie Hour fishing tournament hosted by the Lighthouse Point HOA in Palm City.

Inshore: The tarpon action in the lagoon and St. Lucie River has been very good. Snook can be caught under the docks throughout the Indian River Lagoon and in the river, too. Ryder Burr, 6, caught his first redfish, 20 inches, and flounder, 23 inches, while casting a gold spoon in the Intracoastal Waterway near the Crossroads while fishing with his parents.

Ryder Burr, 6, of Hobe Sound caught his first redfish, a 20-incher, and his first flounder, this 23-incher, while casting gold spoons in the Intracoastal Waterway near the Crossroads.

Lake Okeechobee

Capt. Butch Butler of Okeechobeeguide.com said the big bass are still biting. Fish the shallows at first light, then switch over to deeper water as the sun and the water temperature climb higher.

Editor's note: The fishing report in print and online editions of TCPalm and Treasure Coast Newspapers now runs on Tuesday and Friday. Send fishing reports and photos to Ed Killer at ed.killer@tcpalm.com and follow him on social media at @tcpalmekiller on Twitter and Instagram, or Ed Killer on Facebook