WEEKLY FORECAST
4.14.2026 – 4.20.2026
CENTRAL FLORIDA’S BEST FISHING REPORT
Lagoon fishing is back in the prime time slot with the trout spawn coming out of the gate with a scorching start!
If you’ve been waiting for things to heat up on the Indian River Lagoon, the time has come! Spiking water temps in the lagoon system have officially triggered the seatrout spawn, and as expected, these fish are feeding aggressively in the shallows, giving this fishery clear status as the 🔥 ticket in town right now. Big thanks to our DUDE, Knox Robinson, for putting together an awesome primer on Spring trout tactics just in time. Check out Knox’s piece in this week’s forecast and learn how he dials in his strategy for optimal production during one of inshore fishing’s most anticipated annual events…
WEATHER & CONDITIONS
BITE OPPORTUNITY INDEX
OFFSHORE
INSHORE
SURF
FRESHWATER
Weather Overview
Finally, the break we have been waiting for. This week looks pretty darn good overall. Especially compared to the last several weeks. The wind will settle down this week and let us get back to what we love, fishing! The wind will be out of the E/ESE most of the week. Rain chances are low and high temperatures will be in the 80’s. Take advantage of the weather this week because if the current forecast holds, the wind picks back up next week.
Resources
GIVEAWAYS
Latest Reports
Giant Speckled Perch
It’s been another good week of catching these giant Speckled Perch- a. k. a.- Tripletail. Live shrimp are the best way to target them but we also catch them on small soft plastics jigged next to structure and weed patches. In addition to these fish there seems to be an increasing number of flounder around the Port Canaveral area this week. These fish are hitting live shrimp rigged in a jig head. Work your shrimp just off the bottom and let it fall back to create a puff of sand and if there is a flounder around he will find your shrimp quickly. Crevalle jack are schooling up and down the beaches too. Look for them “daisy chaining” just outside of the surf break on calm days. This is their spawning ritual but once they break formation you can normally get hooked up quickly, Assassin Artemis shad in the pilchard color have been working best on these bruisers lately.
It’s a fantastic time to get out and fish. If you want to go on a charter for any of these species of fish, or try for red snapper during the EFP season from May 22 through June 20, please give me a call or book your trip on my website and we will get out there and catch your next memory!
School is Out for Summer: Juvenile Tarpon of the Space Coast
Juvenile Tarpon - Special Report
Ghosts & Goblins of the Backwaters
There’s a moment every backwater tarpon angler knows…You’re sliding through a quiet creek at first light, or maybe easing along a mangrove edge in that low, humid stretch just before sunset. The water looks lifeless at first glance; dark, still, almost closed off from the world. Then it happens. A soft push of water, a flash of silver, a roll that breaks the silence.
It’s not explosive, It’s not chaotic, it’s subtle. Almost deliberate. And once you see it, you start seeing it everywhere.
Juvenile tarpon don’t live where most people expect tarpon to live. Forget the beaches, the bait pods offshore,and finding silver in the blue. The fish we’re talking about today are swamp creatures in the truest sense.
They live deep in mosquito ditches, mangrove creeks, tidal ponds, stagnant residential canals, and shallow marsh drains that most anglers would never bother to explore twice. To the anglers chasing them, they can be as elusive as ghosts, to the small forage that uses the backwaters as a refuge that can be as terrifying as a goblin.
If it looks too shallow, too dirty, or too lifeless to hold fish – it’s probably perfect tarpon water. But yet, they’re there.
Ghosts & Goblins of the Backwaters
Why They Live in the Worst-Looking Water
The reason is simple: survival. These backwater nurseries offer something the open lagoon can’t – protection. Juvenile tarpon spend their early lives in enclosed systems where larger predators struggle to follow them. In these low-oxygen environments, competition drops and opportunity rises. Tarpon also have an ace up their sleeve; they have a trick most fish don’t. They can breathe air.
A specialized swim bladder allows them to gulp oxygen directly from the surface. That’s why they constantly roll. That’s not just behavior, it’s survival. It’s how they live in water that would suffocate most other predators. So while snook, jacks, largemouth bass, and other gamefish move in and out of these systems, juvenile tarpon can stay. They grow there. They hunt there. They hide in plain sight there.
Passage to a Mangrove Pond
Learning to Read the Water
Once you spend enough time around these fish, you realize they’re not actually that secretive. They give themselves away constantly – you just have to know what you’re looking at.
A slow, gentle roll usually means fish are suspended high in the water column. These fish are often comfortable and feeding upward. A bait fished just under the surface tends to get eaten quickly in those moments. A taller, splashy, or arched roll tells a different story. Those fish are aiming deeper, and moving bait downward. That’s when weighted jigs or slightly deeper presentations start to matter.
There are also bubbles. Tarpon almost always leave a trail of air after they roll, and those bubbles can tell you more than the roll itself. Watch them long enough and you’ll start to see direction, where the fish came from and where they’re going.
Silver Princes of the Swamp
Tarpon Haunts on the Space Coast
Across the Indian River Lagoon system, juvenile tarpon are spread through nearly every type of backwater you can imagine. The Indian River Lagoon is the core of it all, an interconnected nursery system where fish can move from canal to creek to open lagoon, they can hop docks and cruise creeks and grow and mature all within the lagoon system.
Some of the most consistent local fisheries include:
Turkey Creek — especially around the US-1 bridge to the train tracks and deeper upstream bends back in the sanctuary where fish stack up in shaded water. The spillway offers opportunity for landlocked anglers, and the Tillman Canal also will hold Tarpon.
Eau Gallie River — The main harbor holds gigantic adults in warmer months. Juveniles can be found year round heading down Elbow Creek, the north channel all the way back to the dam holds a high number during the warmer months.
St. Sebastian River — particularly the upper river stretches and Goodrich Island area where juvenile fish hold year-round. The channelized stretch of the north fork is a true hotspot.
Crane Creek — the back reaches between the water plant, and Babcock street offer a quieter but steady producer of small tarpon in tight, shaded water. The main basin can hold larger sub-adults that roam and hunt aggressively in the summer.
Then there are the countless unnamed canals, marsh drains, and ditch systems across Merritt Island and surrounding areas that quietly produce fish for anglers willing to explore. The Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge offers anglers the chance to cast to lots of juveniles but a bike or truck may be needed to run and gun to multiple spots per outing.
Creek Poon on a Tiny Terror Eyez
Baits, Gear & Tactics
Finding fish is only half the equation. Getting bites in these tight systems comes down to subtlety. Juvenile tarpon are keyed in on small forage: mosquitofish, tiny shrimp, and baitfish no longer than 2 to 3 inches. That means downsizing is everything.
Some of the most effective small-profile lures in these situations have been:
- DOA Tiny TerrorEyez
- Tsunami 2-inch Swim Shad
- Storm 2 inch WildEye Swim Shad
- The JYG 2-inch Paddletail
Modified Soft Plastic Jerkbaits (Robin Hood Rig or Nub Rig)
Color matters too, but not always the way people think. Purple gets a lot of attention for its silhouette and contrast, but black, silver, and gold also shine depending on water clarity, light angle, and bait presence.
Stealth matters just as much as tackle selection. These are shallow, quiet systems. A kayak drifting too fast or a lure splashing too hard can shut things down instantly. More often than not, it’s the quiet presentations that get eaten.
Only after you understand all of that does color really start to make sense. In tannic water, low light, and shaded mangrove creeks, darker tones create a strong silhouette that stands out without looking artificial. That’s where purple earns its reputation. The “blurple” effect (black mixed with purple) creates an easy visual target that looks like a struggling baitfish in bad shape. It doesn’t necessarily match anything perfectly. It just shows up.
The same logic is behind the long-standing popularity of “June bug” style soft plastics. Dark profile, purple flash, just enough contrast to separate it from the background without spooking fish. There are days when natural colors get ignored completely, only for purple to instantly turn fish on. Maybe it’s science, maybe it’s magic…or maybe a fish destined to grow up to earn the title “king” is just attracted to the royal color of purple.
As far as terminal tackle goes, a spinning rod with a 1000-4000 reel will get the job done, sometimes if you are in tight environments, a 6-6.5 foot rod can be your best friend, likewise a smaller reel can be easier to handle when you are whipping around smaller profile, lighter baits. For braid I typically go with an 8 to 10 pound test and for a leader I prefer a good 3 to 4 feet of fluorocarbon. Typically I will start with a 15 or 20 pound test, and tie on a bite tippet of 30 if I feel like I need it. I have caught several sub-adults in the 40ish inch range, and I have used 30-40 pound leaders when targeting them in the river channels.
Match the Hatch
Conclusion
One of the biggest keys to consistently finding juvenile tarpon isn’t just knowing where to go, it’s being able to actually reach them. That’s where mobility on the water makes all the difference. A good kayak setup can open doors to creeks, ditches, and mangrove shorelines that are otherwise impossible to access by foot or a larger boat. That kind of access is often what separates occasional encounters from truly understanding these fish.
For anglers looking to get properly outfitted, Kayaks By Bo in Cocoa has become a go-to resource on the Space Coast for dialing in the right kayak setup for backwater fishing; especially for tight, shallow systems where stealth and maneuverability matter most.
Once you’re on the water, having the right tackle matters just as much as having the right access. Located on 192 in Melbourne, Strike-Zone Fishing remains one of the most reliable spots to stock up for juvenile tarpon season. From small-profile soft plastics and jigs to the terminal tackle needed for tight creek fishing, it’s a solid one-stop shop for getting dialed before you hit the backwaters.
Because at the end of the day, success in these fisheries usually comes down to two things: getting there quietly, and showing them something they can’t ignore when you do.
Inlet Fishing Slow, but Cleaning Up
Hello all my Sebastian Inlet friends and fans, I hope everyone enjoyed the weekend, and all you mom’s had a great Mother’s Day! Here we go with this week’s Sebastian Inlet report — it’s still kind of slow, but there are some fish being caught. The water has cleaned up pretty nicely on the north side, but remains a little dirty on the south side. The good thing is that there are still quite a few finger mullet schools around, and some majorra at times too. The water temp is still good at 82 as of this report, up from the 78 it was during the week. So with that there should be some more baitfish showing up, and the warm water species that eat them as well. Over the weekend on the outgoing tide the weeds were a bit of a pain, but tolerable. Here we go with the action spots.
North Jetty
Over here the majority of the action has been on the early morning/day break outgoing tide at the tip, some nice redfish and snook were caught on live shrimp, small croakers, and artificial shrimp jigs such as thumpers, lucky shrimp, and DOA’s. The redfish are catch and release only, and in the 27-30 inch range, the snook were mostly oversized, but a few nice slot fish have been caught, along with some shorts. Early in last week there were a few decent black drum caught on dead shrimp, but only a couple as the water is warm enough that they will leave until the fall when it cools back down again. Sheepshead continue to be biting around the pilings on either tide using live fiddler crabs and sandfleas. On the incoming tide the snook bite has been slow as well, a few fish have been caught, most were too big to keep, but a few were keepers. Redfish also have been present. Live shrimp, croakers and majorra, and live mullet are the baits of choice. For those fishing dead shrimp, sheepshead, black margates, spot tail pinfish are biting around the jetty pilings. Beach side on fleas and shrimp there were some pompano and whiting being caught on the high tide in the afternoons.
South Jetty
Over here it is slow due to the water being dirtied up by the ESE winds, and the weeds, but there are fish around. Outgoing at the tip it’s all about the black margates, spot tails, and a couple nice pompano, shrimp being the best bait, also being caught are some of the regulars, blue runners, small jacks, and puffers. Incoming tide, if you catch some cleaner water the snook bite has been pretty good, lots of undersized fish, but a few decent slots were caught. Live threadfins, small croakers, and majorra are the baits of choice. The snook have been present along the shoreline on both sides of the bridge on the incoming tide. Also being caught are some decent sheepshead, and some smaller mangrove snapper, they aren’t big enough to keep yet, but they are starting to show up. Live shrimp, and dead shrimp for them, shrimp, fiddlers, and sandfleas for the sheepshead.
T-Dock
Back here the fishing has been pretty slow, with the exception of some small mangrove snapper, sheepshead and whiting being caught on cut dead shrimp fished around the pilings and the rock shoreline. Either tide will work, just have to keep it tight to the shoreline on the outgoing tide. Last week a couple of black drum were caught on the dock, along with a bunch of the spot tail pinfish that were big enough to keep and eat. No size or bag limit on those tasty panfish. The snook bite has been hit and miss, live majorra or tiny croakers fished on the incoming tide around the dock, either side.
Surf Area, both sides
The north side has been back in action with the water being deeper away from the jetty, and it’s been pretty clean. Whiting, black drum, sheepshead and a few pompano have been caught fishing dead shrimp and sandfleas on the outside trough area. There are nice schools od mullet coming down the beach lately, so keep an eye out for them as there may be some predators wanting some action, snook, big jacks, redfish and tarpon follow them up and down the beaches. Oh, and the sharks! Lol.
South side has been about the same now that anglers have access to the beach again, and can fish it. Same species being caught as the north side, along with the pesky puffers and stingrays to boot. Blue runners, jacks and a few straggler bluefish have been caught as well.
Well folks, that about wraps things up for this week’s report. The week is supposed to start of kind of rough and windy and rainy on Monday, but calm back down and be a good week. I’m hoping that the water will stay clean, and that will help get us back on track for more good fishing. Stay well everyone, and have a great week!! Snookman.
This Week on the Lagoon
The bite has stayed active over the past few weeks, and lately we’ve been seeing a little bit of everything: snook, redfish, trout, flounder, bluefish, and jacks all in the mix.
3” paddle tails, 3” shrimp plastics, and Spook Jr. topwaters have been producing well around docks, mangrove shorelines, and shallow flats. Morning and evening trips have both been productive, especially around moving water and lower-light conditions.
Overall, fishing has been pretty consistent lately, and it’s a great time to get out there.
Beach looking better
We had a good week of fishing on the beach and inshore! The beach weeds mostly moved out over the past week, allowing lots of whiting, bluefish, black drum, and margate to eat our baits. The river is still filled with redfish and trout biting on Gulp shrimp and live shrimp. Pearl and chartreuse have been the best colors to use, and skipping baits around the mangroves has been a necessity.
The beach this week is going to stay relatively calm, with a nice breeze to somewhat keep the heat at bay. The go-to rigs have been white, pink, and orange pompano rigs baited with small pieces of peeled frozen shrimp and live sand fleas. You are still going to need some sputnik weights because the undercurrent has been ripping most days. A lot of beach access points now have decent troughs, with some southern beaches showing massive drop-offs for fish to feed in during the changing tides.
If you’re into shark fishing, we are ramping up into the small- to medium-sized shark season, so make sure you grab some castable shark rigs that we make in-house. If you are looking for custom-made shark rigs, we have everything needed to build a setup for you. Bonito chunks, whole mullet, and jacks have been getting chewed up as bait, but don’t forget that live whiting make great shark bait as well!
That’s it for this week. As always, tight lines!
Rain Provides Pleasant Relief
Last night’s rain we received in the Palm Bay Area was a pleasant relief finally. This past week the Stick Marsh has been showing more and more of what were submerged stumps now sticking out of the waters. Anglers need to keep their eyes more focused on what’s ahead of you while moving around on-plane in their boats. My first spot I usually start at isn’t far from the ramp and is usually good to sometimes great for catching bass. I made a few casts with my Prop bait and was rewarded right away with fish. The overcast skies in the early morning have produced great fishing. I put up the conventional tackle for a moment and pulled out the fly rod for some real fun once I knew the fish were chewing. I had a popper type fly pattern tied on for some surface action and my first presentation was greeted with an explosive strike. This went on for about 45 minutes.
Once the sun came out from behind the clouds the bite was completely shut off. I only caught a few more fish that morning after I moved from my first spot so by 11am I put the boat back on the trailer and headed home. There is quite a bit of floating eel grass on the southern end of the lake that makes any lure with treble hooks getting clogged up with grass at this time something more weedless will be a better choice to throw.
Lots of Bait Inshore Sebastian
Will Caught a 42” Snook along with a few smaller snook and Claire caught her share of trout, snapper and jacks.
Inshore fishing was pretty good this week with a lot of bait around and plenty of snook, trout and jacks. Live bait worked well for the bigger snook and trout but artificial worked well on the smaller fish around the bait pods. Beach fishing was a bit slower this week as we had some wind and choppy conditions but when the wind calmed there wasn’t a lot of bait around and not much activity for tarpon, mackerel, jacks and sharks.
The nearshore reefs were decent for margate, sheepshead, snapper and grunts. We have another front coming this week with temps in the low 80s and light north winds which may slow down the bite slightly but the cooler temps will make it more comfortable to fish the lagoon before the summer heat shows up.
Toasty Taste of Summer
New Smyrna Beach had received a little taste of some Summer weather this past week and I will say it got toasty. The fish did not seem to mind the hotter temps as the bite has still continued to be strong throughout the waters of Daytona Beach south to Mosquito Lagoon. The bait has also started to make an appearance with good numbers of mullet on the flats. Trout, black drum and snook have all been chewing well. Shrimp, cut bait and pinfish have been working well along with soft plastic, plugs and spoons for artificial’s. The weather looks to be stable and warm moving into the weekend so the bite should only continue to increase.
Popping Corks Producing Trout
The trout bite has really turned on using popping corks and Gulp baits this last week with lots of bait starting to show up. We have tarpon on the beach as well as starting to show up in the creeks. The inshore tarpon are great for fly fishing first thing in the morning. They have announced our Atlantic red snapper season is a go! I have dates available if you want to go get some red snapper. Also, offshore lane snapper, mangrove snapper and cobia are being caught. You can book a charter by calling 386-295-5991 or go directly to my website at www.fatfishguide.com.
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Florida’s 2026 Atlantic Red Snapper Season
The 2026 Atlantic red snapper season will go on in two phases, summer and fall, for a total of 39 days!
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