Joshua Bedolla shows off a beautiful 39-inch snook he caught last week at Sebastian Inlet.

Hello there, Sebastian inlet enthusiasts; I hope everyone had a great weekend! Off we go with ANOTHER boring report. I dislike writing reports like this, but as I always say, I tell it like it is so you don’t waste your time and money to travel to the inlet for fishing when nothing is biting.

Water conditions continue to be the biggest issue, and the SSE winds have been churning up and clouding the water. Sargassum weed remains a big problem, especially on the south side, and water temperatures have dropped back down to 75 as of this writing. All of this equates to poor fishing at the inlet. The lack of bait fish again doesn’t help either: The mullet I saw a week ago have vanished, and the mojarra that were thick last week have taken another vacation. To that end, here is the gist of things:

South jetty

The water is just awful on either tide. Last weekend, all I saw caught were sail cats and small bluefish eating everything you tossed out! They were everywhere. No snook anywhere due to the presence of bluefish. Back around the T Dock and cleaning table, water conditions were slightly better, but there were no fish around. I didn’t see or hear of any snook over the weekend, and like I said earlier, the mojarra usually found here were on vacation. Even the commercial guys that net them to sell to the bait shops were not getting any! And back here the snook bite usually coincides with the bait being here.

North side

The water was much cleaner, but again, the fish were absent. The only fish I saw being caught were bigger jack crevalle in the back at the end of cove road on live and dead baits. Under the bridge were a couple of undersized snook caught on live mojarra along the rocks — and that is the only snook activity I heard of in the entire inlet.

Surf area, both sides

The south side was a washed-up mess, nobody was fishing it due to the waves, dirty water, and massive seaweed problem. The north side was cleaner, but nobody was fishing the surf. It looked good to me, the absence of anglers was largely due to low tides in the morning and the big sandbar around the jetty, making it tough to reach deeper water. You would have to go north on the beach where everyone swims, which makes it tough to fish.

Well, that’s all I have for this week. Expect good fishing weather until the storms arrive on Friday, so get out beforehand and hopefully catch dinner. Have a great week, have fun and be safe!

Great week of inshore fishing again as the spring bait has finally showed in the last week or two. Big snook have been the main target but we’ve got a few nice trout, several short and under slot snook, and triple tail as well.

Winds have kept us inshore and we haven’t been able to get off the beach so we haven’t been able to catch tarpon, sharks and kingfish. The winds should slow down this month and we should start getting on the tarpon as they migrate north in the next week or two.

Hey gang,

Hopefully you guys and gals have had a chance to get out and enjoy this beautiful weather that we’ve had lately, and you’ve been able to get involved with the snook bite that continues to be surprisingly good both along the lagoons and at the inlets.

Live baits are still your best bet if you’re fishing during the daytime hours, however Angler who are working shorelines early in the morning or late in the evening are doing fairly well on soft plastic jerk baits, suspending plugs and even swim baits like the Saltwater Assassin Artemis shad.

Look for fish hanging around docks or mangrove covered shorelines from Vero beach to south Melbourne Beach. These fish are BIG. Some pushing into the mid 40-inch range. In fact I spoke with captain Blair Wiggins the other day and he landed on that went an amazing 47-inches on a live croaker.

The inlet fish are running 27 to 36 inches on average and they are beginning to fill up with eggs and milt. This means spawning season is right around the corner. I’ve been encouraging my anglers to let any fish go that they don’t intend to eat immediately. No sense putting snook in the freezer when they can reproduce in the next month or so. We can wait until September to invite the extra fish home for dinner

I hope everyone has a fantastic summer of fishing and if you’re looking to book a trip with me my next availability is in July

I would love to get you out at that time for some great catching action. Give me a call (321-636-3728) or check out my website – Fineline Fishing Charters – and let’s go catch your next memory!

The hot bite continues with snook and redfish leading the charge. While things haven’t changed much over the past week, the onset of rainy season will likely bring shifts in fishing patterns soon. For now, I’m still finding success in shallow areas using small 3-3.5″ paddle tails on 1/16 or 1/8 oz jig heads, both on bait and structure.

Dock fishing remains promising, especially on warmer sunny days. Live shrimp or mullet are effective, and artificial baits like paddle tails and shrimp lures also get bites. Stay adaptable, as techniques may need adjustments soon.

The fishing was great but windy for this past weeks outings. Monday on the Stick Marsh finally produced a topwater bite in an area where the Shad are congregating for the spawn. The first 40 minutes we had somewhat calm water to throw a topwater lure and right away the bass ate our lures. Then the big fans kicked up to whitecap water and spoiled the fun.

Tuesday I was honored with a call from my Yo Zuri representative that they wanted to get some filming in for their new colors of lures to be presented at this years ICAST. Needless to say, he picked Tuesday. We woke up to rain at the 4am time but by the time we met at 6:15 at Stickmarsh it was all gone but the winds were already kicking to 15 out of the NE. My expectations were slim on trying to produce any footage of a topwater bite but you know how filming goes.

I headed right back to the area from the day before hoping we could pull it off. When asked what to tie on to me there is none other lure to throw for me in a 2 foot chop but the 3 DB Prop that will make any kind of a commotion. For 45 minutes we hammered the bass up until it wasn’t pleasant anymore with conditions worsening.

We managed to head to the east side to find the calmer waters but no bites were to be had. We started knowing it would be a short outing for us as they both had to get back to the office, so I went back to the first spot once again but this time throwing the 3D Suspending Jerkbait. It only took a couple of casts to find the fish and another 40 minutes were awesome for filming.

We finished the morning with enough film to of made our outing successful. Wednesday was a “take it easy” day at my favorite little pond and downsizing the tackle to 8lb test and small crank baits and beetle spins for bluegill and smaller bass. What a great 3 days for catching.

From my sleeping bag I could see the full moon peaking through gaps in the branches above. The owls were amazing. A constant chorus of owls serenaded us throughout the night. There were other birds too. Occasionally the creaky wail of a limpkin would waft over from the nearby river. Other birds joined in, but I couldn’t identify the species.

All this started 15 hours earlier when I left my house in Titusville and drove north on I95. I turned west on highway 40, eventually meeting up with John Kumiski at Eureka East Boat Ramp. After some creative packing, we managed to load Kumiski’s 15-foot kayak and all his gear next to my Old Town Predator PDL in the back of my truck. We drove another half hour to Ray Wayside Park where we started our 19-mile kayaking adventure down the Ocklawaha River.

The 74-mile-long Ocklawaha River is a central Florida treasure. It starts at George Kirkpatrick Dam (formerly called Rodman Dam) and eventually ends at the St Johns River. The central portion of the Ocklawaha forms the western and northern boundaries of the Ocala National Forest.

The stretch of river between Ray Wayside Park and Eureka East Boat Ramp is incredibly wild. It flows through uninterrupted forest dominated by majestic cypress trees, with sabal palms, red maples, ash trees and willows mixed in. Poison ivy was plentiful, creeping up the trunks of many trees.

The lack of humanity was striking. To say we had the river to ourselves is not an exaggeration. In 19 miles over two days, I saw exactly two motorboats and four canoes. We passed three houses (all together in one short stretch), one small campground with a boat ramp, zero power lines and only one bridge at the very end. The bridge, where County Road 316 crosses the Ocklawaha, is a giant, towering structure that is grossly oversized for a river this small. The bridge is a remnant of days when engineers thought they might straighten and channelize the Ocklawaha as part of the now defunct cross Florida barge canal. The bridge was sized so that massive transportation barges could pass underneath.

As beautiful as the scenery was, our primary goal was not sightseeing. Kumiski and I had plenty of fishing gear in our kayaks and we put it to good use. The river is loaded with fishy looking targets from lily pads to cypress knees to blowdowns. Hitting those targets was more challenging than expected. The Ocklawaha flows faster than any other Florida river I’ve kayaked. Typically, we’d cast our lures into the cover, make a few twitches and then quickly reel in as the current carried us to the next target.

I wish I could report the fishing was epic. Several largemouth bass came to hand, but none of appreciable size. Our biggest bass might have been two pounds. Panfish however were plentiful and cooperative. The river is loaded with stumpknockers (spotted sunfish). There were also plenty of colorful redbreast, (arguably the most beautiful native freshwater fish in Florida) and the ubiquitous bluegill. Any time I picked up my ultralight armed with a Nikko Caddisfly on a 1/32nd ounce jighead, I could catch panfish almost every cast. Most were small ones that barely covered the palm of my hand, but enough fileting sized ones were caught that Kumiski and I could’ve had a healthy fish fry.

The most common sign of humanity during our trip were campsites, not that there were a lot of them. I didn’t count, but I’d guess there were 7 or 8 in the 19 miles we covered. Campsites were usually perched atop high bluffs, and most included a rope swing. Only one was occupied during our trip.

Although I wish bigger fish were caught, it was still a fantastic couple of days. I kept my cell phone off and remained immersed in the wildness of the place. For most of the trip, the only sounds I heard were birds, splashes and the occasional conversation with my kayaking partner. And then there were the owls. I’ll never forget going to sleep amongst the owls.

The water temp was 78 degrees when we started this morning. April was incredible for my clients and May has started off just as good. May 1st we had an 8lb 12oz, & an 8lb 1oz, May 2nd we had a 7lb 7oz and May 3rd we had a 9lb 3oz and a 7lb 4oz all on live bait. We are catching 45-60 fish in just 3 or 4 hours with the majority in the 3lb-6lb range.

Top baits this week for me were Jackhammer chatterbaits, Bass Assassin RSB worms and the Mike Bucca Bull Shad 6″ Trick Shad.

I’m fishing the Bass Assassin RSB worms weightless or with a 3/8oz weight when it’s windy. I’m using a 5/0 VMC Redline EWG hook with an Ande Fluro leader in 20lb test. I slide my bobber stopper up about 10″ above my hook when im dragging my worms and I peg it when im fishing vertical cover. Gooseberry and black with blue tail are my most productive colors.

I’m fishing the Jackhammers (Green Pumpkin, and Brets Bluegill) on flats with scattered hydrilla in 5’ or less. I only use a 1/2oz Jackhammer with a Green Pumpkin Zako trailer. My line of choice is Ande black braid (50lb) and the rod I prefer is a Dobyns Champion 736CB Glass #dobynsrods

The 6″ Mike Bucca Trick Shad in Gizzard Shad color is my go to swimbait this week. I’m fishing these along grass edges near deep sharp drops or cuts near main canals. I caught some good fish on the flats where the hydrilla was more scattered. It is a fish catcher and it will work all over Headwaters. Swim these just under the surface for best results. Get on the Bullshad email mailing list so you can get the bait drop info. The Dobyns Champion XP 736C FH (frog rod) is the best rod I’ve found to throw the 6″ trick shad.

Call or text me at 304-610-6066 to book a trip of a lifetime. The topwater bite is going to be really good in May, June and July. Book now for May and June my calendar is filling up pretty fast.

Tight lines!

Offshore:
Grouper season opened May 1st! It’s time to hit the reefs, wrecks, and ridges to see if you have what it takes to land one of these powerful fish! The kingfish bite on both 8A and Pelican has been good. A few dolphin being caught too.

Nearshore:
Both inlets, Port Canaveral and Sebastain were slower this week due to muddy water from the SE winds. The good news is we are seeing a lot more bait showing up along the beaches so be ready for those big tarpon following closely.

Surf:
The surf has remained tough this week. There is still a lot of seaweed to deal with. One bright spot is that the snook bite is starting to heat up.

Lagoons:
There are plenty of big snook in the lagoon around the deeper shorelines along the mangroves. These fish are feeding heavily getting ready for the spawn so look for these fish around the bait schools. Fish will eat artificial baits early and live bait throughout the day.

Freshwater:
The live shiner bite for bass on Headwaters Lake is almost unfair right now. Capt. Kenny Haas has helped several different clients catch their personal best over the last few weeks.

I believe summer is definitely upon us here in Central Florida as the days get earlier and last longer. The weather has definitely started to warm and with the warmer weather comes warmer water temperatures throughout New Smyrna Beach and Mosquito Lagoon. The warmer water temps have started to push bait up on the shallow grass flats enticing game fish like trout and redfish to follow.

Further north into the backwaters, the deeper shorelines and oyster bars seem to be alive with several species from snook, black drum, jacks ,trout and redfish to mention a few. Live bait and artificials have been working well both shallow and in the deeper water, as well.

It looks as the weather will be holding steady for the upcoming week with possible showers mid next week.

Well, it’s been another fairly decent week of fishing, but the bite has been completely different this week than last week. We had very good morning and mid morning bites in my last report but now it seems like the bite is coming around noon or later.

Live shrimp, mahorra, croakers or pinfish are still working for the snook this week, but we’ve had to be much stealthier with our leaders, weights and hooks to get these fish to cooperate. Typically, I will use a 4/0 or 5/0 VMC circle hook in my croakers but this week we’ve had to downsize to 2/0 and 3/0 sized hooks to get the fish to bite. These are basically the same size as what we are using in our large shrimp. Leader size has been dropped as well from 40 or 50 pound test fluorocarbon to 30 pound test. These reductions in size and strength have led to a few lost fish. But you can’t lose them if you can’t hook them, so I’m willing to have my hookup versus landed fish ratio diminish to get the fish to strike.

I do not have any availability for my Spacefish readers to book a trip with me until the June time frame but if you want to get ready to catch some tarpon, book early and often. Reservations can be made on my website at finelinefishingcharters.com or give me a call at 321-636-3728. Thanks for reading and give me a call so we can get out and catch your next memory.