Florida mullet run fishing with Miciah

The fall mullet run is one of the biggest fishing events of the year on the east coast of Florida. It's been going on for a while now, but we haven't had a chance to fish it. My longtime friend Miciah is in Florida right now and wanted to meet, so it was the perfect opportunity to revisit the beaches around Stuart to fish for predators and hunt for new species. We arrived at high tide and started off throwing small Krocodile spoons. They were a good imitation for the small mullet, and the jacks went nuts for them.

Crevalle Jack (Caranx hippos)

Ally and I each pulled in several large jacks and many more smaller ones. Miciah was fishing a smaller hook and caught small crevalle jacks and a few leatherjackets. We even saw a small shark chasing the schools of mullet in the shallows.

When we were satisfied with the jacks we switched to microfishing gear. Each person had their targets. For me it was sand drum, for Ally it was palometa, and Miciah needed a several species. I dropped my bait around submerged rocks. The first two fish to bite were masquerader hairy blennies and juvenile black margates. I've called these blennies hairy blennies in the past, but I'm finally giving in to the consensus that they're masqueraders. It doesn't change my lifelist count. Eventually I'll go back and edit my blog and species list to make sure everything is consistent.

Masquerader Hairy Blenny (Labrisomus conditus)


Black Margate (Anisotremus surinamensis)


Miciah was fishing the pockets of open sand between the rocks, and he caught several species of interest. The first was a flagfin mojarra, one of the only mojarra species left that Ally and I both need. He also caught a sand drum, my target for the day.

Ally was also microfishing and discovered some juvenile permit. I seized the opportunity and caught a sand drum where Miciah had been fishing, and then I caught a permit where Ally had been fishing. This is a perk of fishing with friends!

Sand Drum (Umbrina coroides) - new hook & line species #787


Permit (Trachinotus falcatus) - new hook & line species #788

Ally didn't find her palometa, but we all left the spot with new species. Miciah's family and lunch were calling, so we packed up and went to meet them at their hotel. On the walk out we stopped to watch huge tarpon and sharks blowing up on mullet just outside the breakers. It was REALLY cool to see!

After lunch we headed into town to fish the river from a pier beneath one of the causeways. It was a sunny day, so we appreciated the shade. The water was murky, but we saw a lot of bait activity.

Photo credit Ally Toth.

Ally discovered the first new species here. She was using a sabiki with extra tiny hooks and pulled up a small anchovy. I had a larger hook for catching snapper, so I borrowed her rig and quickly caught an anchovy of my own. Thanks Ally!

Bay Anchovy (Anchoa mitchilli) - new hook & line species #789

We were catching small mangrove snappers around the pier pilings. After an hour or two, Miciah asked if we realized that some of them were dog snappers. We thought they were just more colorful mangrove snappers, but he was correct! I hadn't been taking any photos of them, so I pulled up a few more fish until one of them was a dog snapper. Thanks Miciah!

Mangrove Snapper (Lutjanus griseus)


Dog Snapper (Lutjanus jocu) - new hook & line species #790


Our trip to Stuart ended up being one of my best species days since moving to Florida. Four new ones in one day is pretty rare for an area that you've already fished several times. I really owe all four of them to Ally and Miciah, so once again, thank you!

Photo credit Ally Toth.

The next weekend Ally and I did an impromptu kayak session on the Indian River close to home. We started off fishing in the mangroves, but we also wanted to get some miles in, so we paddled out to an island. After stretching our legs we headed east towards Pelican Island. After getting soaked by the rain we paddled through a gap in the mangroves to a lagoon between the two halves of Pelican Island. 

Red Drum (Sciaenops ocellatus) - new hook & line species #791


I cast lures towards the mangroves, but after a while I decided to troll around the perimeter instead. I had one hit, and it wasn't a ladyfish or spotted trout or crevalle jack. It was my first redfish! We finished up our paddle in the rain as we worked our way back to the launch.

Miles: 8.5

Hours: 4:48

Next up we have our first multi-day Florida road trip!