Good day all you Sebastian Inlet fans, and fishing fanatic’s! I hope everyone had a great weekend despite the bad weather we had Monday. And I have to say, this week is not going to be much better! Going for another roller coaster ride with the weather patterns we are seeing. A little info for you all, I did some research on this “El Ninio” and “La Ninia” patterns to see how long they last. Seems as though the “El Ninio” last on an average of 9-12 months, and it is due to get back to our “normal” patterns around April-June. The “La Ninia” patterns they show last on an average of 1-3 years! So lets hope we get back to normal pretty soon. But on the other hand, the good news is the fish have been biting really well the last 4 days!
I’m not going to do a big breakdown because there are only two areas producing fish at the moment. The north jetty, and the south jetty…. So here we go with the what’s up..
North Jetty
HOT, HOT, HOT!!! For the last four days the black drum have finally made an appearance and stayed this time! There have been a LOT of really nice fish being caught on BOTH tides, both sides of the jetty, with the tip being the hot spot on the outgoing, and the beach side AND the inside of the jetty on the incoming. Most of the fish I saw, and were told about when I wasn’t there all have been in the 16-20 inch range with a lot of fish pushing the 24 inch max limit as well, and quite a few over slot! Remember you can only HARVEST five per person, per day,14-24 inches, but of the five you keep, ONE of them can be over the 24 inch max. On an average I would be safe to say that about 100 or so fish a day have been caught and kept in the last four days! Also, I didn’t see, or hear of any undersized ones caught. One of my friends and his buddy said, and I agreed, this has been the BEST black drum bite we have seen in about the last 8-10 years!! A drum bonanza, for sure.
All of the fish being caught were biting shrimp, live or dead, didn’t matter, also sand fleas and fresh clams. On the clams being used for bait, remember live clams in the shells are NOT ALLOWED to be brought onto the jetty and shucked/smashed on the concrete out there and a mess of shells left on the deck. Rules number six, and seven on our rules sign asks that you shuck them at the cleaning station before you take them out on the jetty. Thank you.
Along with the black drum there are some big redfish being caught on the same baits, and big jigs and silver spoons on the outgoing tide. But remember, they are still “catch and release.” Some nice sheepshead are still being caught around the pilings, but not in the numbers they were weeks ago. I did see a few really nice pompano caught as well on Saturday at the tip. There also were some nice whiting being caught on Sunday, same baits as the drum. And that’s pretty much all for over here.
South Jetty
\Not so hot! lol. But there are some fish over here as well, just no numbers to speak of. Outgoing at the tip are the normal cast of characters, black margates, spot tail pins, some sheepshead, a few black drum and pompano, and LOTS of catfish! Live shrimp, dead shrimp and fleas are the baits of choice. On the incoming tide with some cleaner water the drum bite has been better along the shoreline. Also mixed in with them are some pomps and catch and release redfish. I did hear of a couple nice flounder caught in the surf pocket on mud minnows. That’s pretty much all that is happening over here.
The T-Dock area has been really dead, and the surf areas, both sides have been a dirty mess, especially the south side. North side, if you catch the high tide, and some clean water you just might catch a few drum and pompano and whiting. Cut shrimp and sand fleas for bait. But it’s been tough.
Well that’s all I have for you folks. Like I said earlier, it’s going to be another roller coaster ride in the weather department this week, so if you do go out, be prepared for some rain and wind, and the cooler temps coming by the weekend! Get out and catcha some of those black drum before the run away!
Drum are 14-30 with 1 over 52″ per day