Fishing May Heat Up @ Sebastian Inlet

Paul with a nice trout. Photo credit: Emily Hanzlik

Good morning all my Sebastian Inlet fishing friends!! Happy Monday!! I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend, the weather was awesome, fall/summer. lol. So here we go with what you all are looking for to start off the week. Fishing at the inlet all last week, and the weekend was for the most part pretty good! Most of the action was on the north side due to the pretty dirty water from the river runoff coming out on the outgoing tides and mixing with the churned up beach water. The north side was much cleaner all along the beaches north and coming down the shoreline. Baitfish were scarce as the water was pretty cool last week, 68-69 water temps, but that brought out the cooler water species, black drum, pompano and sheepshead, which all were playing quite well. As of yesterday the water temps have gone back up to 73 degrees along our coast from the SSE winds blowing the warmer water back in. The snook bite has been a hit or miss deal due to the ever changing water temps and clarity, but they were biting none the less, along with some big redfish I saw caught as well. The spanish mackerel have thinned out a lot due to the absence of the greenies and pilchards, but some were around, along with some bluefish. So here we go with the breakdown.

North Jetty

On this side the bite has been mostly on the high tide period, and the first of the falling tide while there is still some water on the beach side. We still have that sandbar on the beachside of the jetty to keep it kind of shallow on the low tides. Black drum, pompano, whiting and some smaller redfish were being caught on the beach side of the jetty all the way up to Bonsteel Park. Sandfleas were the target bait they wanted, but fresh cut shrimp or fish bites would also attract a bite. Last Monday through Wednesday it was really good! Then the water dirtied up a tad and slowed the action some, but fish were still being caught. On the inside of the jetty, same high tide period, the snook bite has been pretty good on large live shrimp, if you could get some. Not a lot were being caught, but enough to keep anglers interested. Many of the snook were either over slot, or under, but quite a few slots were caught while I was down there over the weekend. Remember, snook season closes on December 15th at midnight! Also in that same time frame and area, they were catching some very nice black drum up to 24 inches! Nice fish. Redfish were present as well, but still cannot keep them, they must be released “unharmed” back into the water as quickly as possible. Some nice sheepshead were being caught between the pilings on fresh sandfleas. Another species I saw caught on the jetty over the weekend, same high tide period, were a couple really nice flounder! One of them was about 24 inches! That’s a pretty big flounder! Live shrimp did the trick for that one. One other species I heard was being caught were a couple of really nice cubera snappers at the tip of the jetty on big live shrimp, outgoing tide, early morning. The outgoing tide at the tip of the jetty for the bluefish has slowed down some, but they are still catching some nice ones on silver spoons. Not the numbers as in weeks past, but enough to keep you interested, if that’s what you like. The spanish mackerel bite has slowed a bit as well due to the absence of the small baitfish and finger mullet. There are some around, but not like they were a week or so ago.

South Jetty

Over here the fishing has been a hit or miss deal, if you get some cleaner water on an incoming tide, you just might get a few snook and redfish to play, live baits should work best. For the most part it has been pretty slow and wet due to the bigger waves washing up on the jetty, and the SSE winds keeping the water dirtied up. The flounder bite hasn’t picked up over here yet, doesn’t mean they aren’t there, just nobody is fishing them hard yet because snook are still open until December 15th at midnight when that season closes. The outgoing tide at the tip is the same thing as always, black margates, blue runners, puffers and catfish are about all that is playing there. The pompano bite on this side hasn’t been good due to the very dirty water present.

T-Dock area

Back here fishing has been not too bad, with quite a few really nice flounder being caught in the boats on finger mullet and mud minnows. I saw quite a few pretty nice fish caught boated over the weekend. From the shoreline I didn’t see any caught, but most anglers are still fishing for snook, which are still playing well on the incoming tides on live baits. On the dock about the only thing I saw caught over the weekend were some very small mutton snapper, they have to be 18 inches to keep, and a few spanish mackerel and bluefish, along with the ever present puffers! lol.

Surf Area, both sides

For the most part the sough side has been pretty slow due to the dirtied-up water from the runoff coming out and mixing with the roughed-up surf. Pompano and black drum and whiting are a possibility, but you need to find some clean water to get away from the catfish and stingrays. Also over here they are catching small bonnethead and Atlantic sharp nose sharks, which are pretty good to eat if you know how to prep them after you do catch one before you put them in the cooler. You can keep one shark per person per day, and of these two species there is no size limit on either one.

North side where we have some deeper and cleaner water, and on the high tide phase, the pompano bite has been pretty good all last week, but slowed down a bit over the weekend due to the water getting a little silted up and warming back up some. Black drum and whiting were also being caught. Live sandfleas were the best bait, but fresh cut shrimp will work as well. Even with the absence of the finger mullet, there are some, but not much, the snook and redfish are still around to be caught if you are in the right place at the right time. Most of the snook are small, but some have been keepers.

Well, my fellow fishing fanatics, that’s all I have for now! A lot better report than it has been. The surf report I monitor shows that the surf in our area is going to pick up some by Wednesday, and the winds clock back around to the NNE at 15-20, that will help clean the water back up more, and cool it back down again for the cool water species. Hopefully it will pick back up to what it was a week ago! So, grab your gear, get some bait and get out to your favorite spot and wet a line. You never know from day to day what you might catch. Cheers everyone, be safe and have fun! Snookman