Any Fellow Egret Owners Fish Stuart Area?

91tiger

Was planning our normal trip for tarpon to Flamingo beginning this weekend but that is on hold since the Park is closed with the Govt Shutdown. I fished Stuart once and liked it. Was considering stopping in Stuart and trying to hit the mullet run. I've seen a few reports here and there that it is starting to go off around there. That way if they open the Park we are only a few hours away and can shoot on down to Flamingo.

I fish the Keys a lot so if nothing else I will go there but thought I would try something different. I will have my van/rv that we stay in at Flamingo so I'm not crazy about leaving it at a public ramp. I thought about leaving the boat docked at a marina overnight but then I worry about not being able to keep an eye on the boat. Is there a lot of theft in that area with boats at the marinas? Would my rods be safe locked in the lockers?, trolling motor, push pole...? I don't have room to store all of that in the van if we are camping in it and don't care to strip the boat down everyday. So which would be safer, a van that looks like a prime target at a public launch ramp or the Egret overnight in a marina slip?

Larry418

I am not familiar with the Stuart area, but have you considered Everglades City? 1.5 hrs west of fort laud.

Fishing is somewhat like Flamingo. The Rod and Gun Club is a safe ramp to leave your van and I believe there are several places to camp in the area. I have left a boat on the river there for several nights. Probably no safer than anywhere else. I leave the triller in, but remove all other gear.

Renagade69

The Stuart Area is pretty safe for the most part. The mullet are getting thicker by the day. I fish Fort Pierce and Stuart allot. I would do either one you mentioned that you feel will be easiest.

91tiger

The problem with Everglades City is that it sits within the Park as well. Sure you can launch and trasport through park waters to fish north but you can't fish in the Baron River or areas to the south. The area I know like the back of my hand is the Harney River south to Cape Sable and it is illegal to be in those areas. Talking to Captain Bob Lemay, during the last big Govt shutdown the park service had rangers patrolling around Everglades City turning boats back that tried to enter.

We will probably end up in the Keys but I have always wanted to hit the mullet run so who knows. I guess that's the nice thing about fishing from a small RV, I can pull up stakes and move locations pretty easily.

FlatsBoy

Stay in Jensen Beach at the River palm Cottages. You can fish the Ft Pierce, Jensen Beach and Stuart area. Your right on the river you can leave your boat in the water at there dock or you can use the public boat ramp next door!

http://www.riverpalmcottages.com/

91tiger

Phil,

That's a great recomendation. That's exactly the kind of place I was looking for if I didn't stay in a campground and launch everyday. I like your option better. Doesn't look like it's too far from St Lucie Inlet. I assume that run back to River Palms would be pretty easy to navigate even if we fished the ICW bridges at night?

FlatsBoy

Yup your in the river and all the channels are marked. Very easy to get around!

mtd885

X2 on River Palm Cottages. They are pet friendly too! The Snook fishing is off the charts there.

91tiger

We are still undecided on what we are going to do. It's close to 900 miles down there for me so it's kind of hard to make last minute changes in plans. We are considering pushing the trip back to leaving next Friday in hopes the Park will be open by then. I'm just worried the weather will go down hill and it will be a howling west wind or a big low pressure. Any later than that and the cold fronts start rolling in and pushing the tarpon out of that area.

Is most of the fishing during the mullet run basically running the beaches and looking for big pods with fish on them. It seems really cool and the Egret would be perfect but how consistent is it? I also hear of people hitting the bridges at night during the mullet run for big snook? I've done that for tarpon during the shrimp run in Miami so I guess it would be similar. Do you free line the baits in the shadow line of the bridge or put them on a big jig head and fish them down around the base of the pilings?

Renagade69

I free line the mullet without weight and throw them in the center of pods getting busted around bridges , sea walls, & creek openings. You can also throw a diving 9 inch plug around the bridges with success during the run.

91tiger

Thanks for the info. We did decide to wait until next Friday (10/11/13) to leave in hopes the shutdown will be resolved. It's not looking good so we may still end up in Stuart instead of the Glades.