Page 5 - Martin Downs Bulletin - May '22

Martin Downs, Page 5

art HappeninGs

Spring Into Martin Artisan • Jeanine Baum
• Michaelann Bellerjeau
Guild’s May/June Show • Jane Lawton Baldridge
• Deborah Bottorff
By Jackie Holfelder • Dot Galfond
Get ready for the season of bold sunshine and balmy • Mark Stall
breezes at the Martin Artisans Guild’s delightful “Spring • Maria Miele
Forward,” their next exciting exhibit at The Palm Room Art • Mallo Bisset
Gallery, located at 3746 S.E. Ocean Boulevard in Stuart’s • Tepa Charles
Harbour Bay Plaza. • Dinija Berkien
As usual, a gala opening reception kicks things off • Deb Terrio
from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. on May 4 with live music, luscious • Jordan Silvia
appetizers and a cash bar. The Palm Room Gallery
Enjoy new work by 15 of the Treasure Coast’s favorite is open Tuesday to Saturday Dot Galfond
artists: from noon to 6 p.m.
• Marian Vitale An entertaining Meet the Artist Event will take place on
• Mary Mirabito June 1 from 4 to 6 p.m. Jeanine Baum
• Barb Bucci For more information, visit www.martinartisansguild.org.

Michaelann Bellerjeau

Photos by Martin Artisans Guild

Treasure Coast

Outdoors

By Jim Weix
Summer fishing is
finally happening. Cobia
are being caught around
the reefs and wrecks in
60 feet of water. Sandpile
Hill and Bull Shark
Barge are favorites, but
often crowded.
At these sites, some
anglers try hanging a dead
bonito over the side of the
boat to attract the bull sharks and then sight cast at any
cobia following them. This can work, but all too often you
will lose any hooked cobia to the sharks.
Since the bull sharks are already there, it is important to
get any hooked cobia in the boat quickly. I use 80-pound
braided line with a 30-pound fluorocarbon leader. It may
not sound sporty, but I’d rather eat the cobia than feed it
to the bull sharks.
If this hook and haul them type of fishing doesn’t appeal
to you, try sight casting a cobia jig to them when they are
following rays, sharks or turtles. This will get you away
from the crowds and you are likely to pick up some dolphin
while you are searching.
The mutton snapper bite is great. Work reefs in depths
of 70 to 90 feet, off Stuart and the Loran Tower. Live baits
fished with long leaders work best, but anchoring and using
hunks of bonito fished on the bottom is also a favorite.
Lane and vermilion snapper are being taken using
chicken rigs around the six- and eight-mile reefs as well
as the Loran Tower reef. Be sure to also put out a couple
of flat lines with live bait, as the kingfish bite is good.
The catch and release snook bite in the St. Lucie River
continues to be good. Some huge fish are being found along
the docks and bridges. They are mostly being caught on
live baits in these areas.
Anglers are catching flounder at the Stuart Causeway.
Shrimp on a jig head or small, live pilchards on a knocker
rig seem to be a favorite.
Editor’s note: Jim Weix is an avid hunter, angler,
conservationist, as well as an outdoor writer.
Jim is included in the Wisconsin Waterfowl Association’s
Hall of Fame, for his work in helping restore thousands
of acres of wetlands. Jim is a broker associate with The
Keyes Company. He can be reached at (772) 341-2941 or
See answer in this paper. by email: jimweix@jimweix.com.