Publix Mike, aka the “drum doctor,” caught this 70-pound “big ugly” while fishing for snook early Wednesday morning on a flair hasw jig on the south jetty.
Good morning all you Sebastian Inlet fans, I hope everyone enjoyed the fantastic weekend we had again! It sure was nice out. So here we go, lets “spring” into the report. Lol.
Fishing at the inlet has still been a hit and miss deal, but more on the “hit” side, with all sorts of action going on when the fish decide to bite, and the bite has gotten more reliable for those putting the time. The water has cleaned up a lot, the seas have stayed pretty calm for the most part, and the key thing here is the water temperature has gone up to a more acceptable level for the fish to want to play. The last two days it has been hovering right around the 70 degree mark, and if it gets up to 72, things will improve even more. And the fact that there is bait around in the inlet, is another bonus. I have seen majorra in the back, threadfin’s everywhere around the tips of the jetties, and the tide rip south side, and the big black mullet/roe mullet are in the inlet. The key ingredients are there, just need the water to warm some more. So here we go with the meat of the report.
North side, in the back
Back here I have gotten reports of some spotted seatrout, a few flounder and small snook being caught on live shrimp, on the incoming tide. Also being caught back here have been a few black drum and pompano. Live or dead shrimp are the baits being used.
South Jetty
Over here the action has been mostly on the outgoing tide, at the tip. Lots of small bluefish, jack crevalle, blue runners all on spoons and jigs, and cut baits. Pompano have been around on sand fleas, but not a big number of them. The talk of the south jetty has been the black drum, quite a few have been caught on sand fleas and shrimp, either live or dead. There has also been large schools of the “big uglies,” which is what they call the drum over 30 pounds, showing up swimming around the jetty in the early morning tides. Several of the fish were caught last week during the early morning outgoing tide on flair hawks! Yes these huge fish will eat a jig! Some were caught on dead shrimp as well. Th ones I saw caught were averaging in the 25-70 pound range. Big breeder fish! These fish of that size are usually NOT good to eat, the flesh is very gamey, tough, and the fish flesh is usually full of round worms that make it very non appealing! It is suggested that you please return these big breeders back into the water to make more! There also has been some of the smaller, edible ones being caught in the 15-24 inch range, perfect size for eating.
One day last week the big blues made a pass by again, with only a couple being caught on large silver spoons. On the incoming tide there were a few small snook caught, and some redfish as well. Thumper jigs did the trick for them. Along the shoreline from the bridge back to the T dock it has been pretty slow, some sheepshead and drum are being caught on the incoming, but not like the numbers being caught on the jetty.
T Dock Area
Back here it has been a hit and miss deal too, with the incoming being the better tide with the cleaner water. Black drum, whiting and some sand perch are being caught on dead shrimp. There has also been a few nice snook caught on live majorra and the thumper jigs, but not too many as the water is still a bit cool for them to “wake up”. The nigh time snook bite from what I hear has been decent, outgoing tide on flair hawk jigs.
Surf, both sides
The surf just north of the north jetty has been producing quite a good number of nice pompano, black drum and whiting. Cut shrimp and sand fleas are the best. A few of the pompano I saw were in the 3 pound range! Healthy fish. Over on the south side surf, right by the jetty in the pocket there has been some small flounder still being caught on live mud minnows. But I was told that the majority of the flounder are too small to keep, but there have been a few big enough to go home. Also the bonnet head and Atlantic sharp nose sharks are still a problem, and the puffers. A little farther down the beach at the day use area, in the state park, the pompano, whiting and black drum fishing has been really good since the water has calmed down and cleaned up. It has been pretty busy down there for the last week. Live sand fleas is the key bait of choice for everything. And from what I have seen, it really doesn’t matter which tide, but the rising tide is usually better as the beach water gets deeper.
Well, that’s all I have for this week, better than what I have had! And like I said last week, I believe we are on our way to some better fishing and conditions. This week is supposed to be spring like conditions again, but with some winds picking back up a bit for the end of the week, but not bad. So it’s time to get out, enjoy the fun in the sun, catch some fish for dinner, or just hang loose at the beach. Everyone have a wonderful week!! Snookman.
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