Big fish were on the move this week one 9.7 2 over 8 and one at 7.15
Top water whopper plopping got the biggest in shallow water on hydrilla clumps others came in 5 to 7 feet.
Fluke bite found some girls as did the wacky worm
Water is way up moving and cooler
3 forks is way up
Headwaters near pool
Kenansville is way up not full
Running water holds alot of fish drifting worms
Haulinbass

Good morning all my Sebastian Inlet fishing friends! I hope you all had a great holiday weekend, and were able to dodge all the rain storms we had over the weekend, with whatever you were doing! Well we now have the first two days of the fall snook season under our belts, and I have to say, just like always, it was a very dismal start to the season with not very many fish being caught.

I have learned over the years that they may be biting like gangbusters just before the season, as they did, then when it opens up, they’re gone! Happens every year in the fall. They go to school to learn this and how NOT to be around when all the anglers come from out of the woodwork to throw junk at them, plus all the boats anchored up around them, they just tense up and get “lock jaw.” They will be back on track in a week or so when the water cleans back up some. It did get pretty dirty over the weekend. There was plenty of mullet, greenies and pilchards around for food for all the other species to keep us entertained. Monster jacks, some reds and a few tarpon were around crashing the mullet schools on Friday and Saturday when I was down then, all throughout the inlet. Spanish mackerel, mutton snappers, mangrove snappers, and lookdowns and blue runners were keeping folks active. So with out further ado, here are your action spots.

North jetty

All weekend the winds had picked up and blew SSE 10-20 and just really dirtied up the water, but it remained warm at around 84-85, which it needs to cool down some to really spark the action we had a couple weeks ago when it was that temp. The last of the incoming tide over the weekend did produce some snook hookups, but not like it was a week ago. Most fish caught were either too big, or too small to keep, and had to go back. There were just a couple slot fish caught that I know of. Outgoing tide at the tip there were some big snook being hooked up on live mullet, but again, too big to keep. Along with them were also a few big redfish caught, same bait, live mullet. But you still CAN NOT keep reds. On the beach side of the jetty, both tides the spanish mackerel were biting pretty good on live greenies fished either on a float line, or freelining them. Most fish were in the 14-16 inch range, and several limits of 15 were caught by some anglers. Around the pilings of the jetty, and the rock shoreline from the jetty to the bridge they were catching some nice mangrove snapper in the 11-13 inch range on either live or dead greenies, or the tiny majorra, and shrimp. The muttom snappers that were around have seemed to slowed down a bit, but they are still catching them, but again, all short of the 18 inches they need to be.

South Jetty

Over on this side the action on the outgoing tide has been at the tip with cut bait. Blue runners, small jack crevalle, black margates, and some small mangrove snappers were being caught, along with plenty of those pesky kitty fish, as the water has been so dirty from the wind switch, and big surf. Incoming tide, all along the shoreline from the tip to the bridge, once it gets going a bit the snook and redfish bite has been pretty good on this side all along the shoreline. Any live bait is producing fish, but again, most of them are either too big, or too small, most have been too small the guys said. This side is notorious for the smaller snook. You might catch a bunch, but there are usually some slots in with them, ya just have to weed through them. Also being caught over here are the mangrove snapper, small live baits, or cut bait such as shrimp and greenies will work for them.

T-Dock area

Back here around the dock pilings the small snappers are keeping folks busy, muttons and mangroves. Small live bait, and cut dead baits are the baits of choice. The incoming tide, if you get some cleaner water back here, the snook and reds are biting live mullet, croakers, and flair jigs at night. Also, back here on both tides when the big schools of mullet are around, you can toss one out to the channel area, or large silver spoons, and mix it up with the huge 15–20-pound jack crevalles that are chasing them through the inlet. You might even get hooked up with a tarpon, I have seen them around, and they usually show up in the fall to feed on the schools of mullet.

Surf Area, both sides

The surf on the south side has been pretty much blown out with the winds and big waves making the water pretty muddy. The north side surf for the most part has been pretty clean all along the state park shoreline. For the cut bait anglers using shrimp or fish bites, expect to catch some whiting and croakers, and possibly a small black drum or two. I saw a couple caught on the jetty last week, so they are around. And for the heavy-duty bait guys, the mullet are still coming down the coastline, but not like they were last week. If you see them, either fish a medium swim bait in and around them, or cast net some and fish them in the wash. Big snook, big reds, tarpon and jacks, not to mention the sharks all possibly could be there for some action.

Well guys and gals, that’s it for this weeks report, the action has slowed a tad on the snook, but everything else is still on target for this time of the year. So grab your gear, and some bait, water, and get out and enjoy the inlet, and catch some dinner, or a trophy!! Snookman.

Despite only making two trips this week, the fishing was productive and showed promising signs for the upcoming weeks.

On my first trip, windy conditions led me to seek shelter on the protected sides of spoil islands. This decision paid off, and I was able to find:

– Smaller snook on the windblown points of the islands
– An abundance of bait and a healthy number of trout on the protected sides, with the largest measuring up to 20 inches

The Mirrolure Lil John was the lure of choice, and I noticed that long pauses triggered many hits.

My second trip, which took place early this morning, focused on fishing docks. Getting out just before sunrise proved to be beneficial, as most of my catches occurred before 7:30 am. The fish showed a strong preference for the 4″ paddle tail.

Additionally, I’ve been observing:

– Good schools of mullet moving through the river, indicating that the fishing should start heating up shortly

Look for another update next Tuesday!

Three days on the water last week targeting different areas. My first trip was on the lagoon. Started off getting rained on very early. I made a short trip to my first spot to run from it for a few minutes. I had little hope of catching anything due to no bait in this area. I was right, no fish but the rain caught up with me anyway. I hit another spot and the same scenario, no bait.

My third spot was better with finally finding some bait activity. This area is a very shallow spot and with nothing showing any feeding activity I decided to throw a YO ZURI 3D Inshore surface lure “wake bait.” This lure when retrieved at a faster rate will swim just under the surface. It wasn’t long before I had two upper slot snook charge the lure but was scared away by being too close to my boat. I did manage to later catch a 24” snook and a small trout using this pattern. The next morning I fished Headwaters. Same scenario as past posts. First hour in the morning and after that time frame the bite was slower and slower. The following morning I fished 3 Forks and right away when putting the boat in the water the water was way up and had a smell to it. They were moving water into it. We never had a bite but the highlight of this morning was watching a group of guys pulling in a 11’6” gator into their boat.

Didn’t fish anymore after this day as the check engine light came on in my truck. I’m sure it will be at the dealership most of the week.

Adam with his first Snook

The mullet run is just getting started. That said, we still have a long way to go for the big schools lining up and down the beach and in the lagoon. We have found a few schools running the beach with tarpon and a ton of sharks. The beach has been a little rough but if you aren’t having to make long runs, it’s not too bad but if the mullet and fish are tight to the beach, be careful.

Michael with a nice trout

Inshore, the mullet were absent most of the week but a few started showing up during the weekend. The bite was slow but there has been some snook and jacks mostly with a few nice trout mixed in. There have also been some big tarpon and sharks on the pogie pods in the channel as well with some jacks and sail cats you will have to deal with while trying to get the tarpon to eat.

If we get some north winds or another tropical storm north of us the next few weeks, we will get more mullet and predators migrating down. Should be a good week of fishing in the lagoon!

Happy Labor Day to everybody. Hope y’all got a day off to enjoy a nice day out on the water. Unfortunately, we had to cancel our trip once again due to offshore weather being bad. Go figure the slow season comes. Weekends are always booked and the weather always comes in on weekends. We did quite a few shark fishing trips this week and all were very successful with an abundance of variety type of sharks black nose Black tip, sharpies, small hammer heads.

The Mullet Run is in full swing right now. So the sharks are actively feeding making the near short bite very productive. Fishing down towards the pier in about 35 foot of water has been doing just fine. Keeping the kids happy. Offshore fishing is also in full swing. The local reefs is the father. She needs to go mahi and kingfish. Plenty of those fish out there. They are eating mullet near shore as well as bunker that have also been schooling up everywhere.

Get the latest word on the bite with Damon from Spacefish on the Mark Moses Show. We talk local fishing every Friday on the air at 4pm.

Our fishing in July and August has been very interesting this year. We have had some very good days and also some very slow days. This isn’t what I would consider to be the normal pattern for these two months. For some reason this year we have had unusually high ocean water temperatures along the Space Coast which has pushed much of our summertime baitfish out of the area. In fact, it seems that most of our usual baitfish schools are spending the summer up along the coast of Georgia and south Carolina according to some of my contacts in those areas.

Because of this lack of bait and predators along the near-coastal waters, captain Justin and I are targeting fish in our lagoons. We have had many families with young children out for a fun morning before they returned to school for the fall. They’ve experienced some ‘ve really good action in these waters, especially over the last week after Hurricane Deby passed by the west coast of Florida. Redfish, tripletail, speckled trout, mangrove snapper, and snook are all in play right now as we fish these protected waters in the Indian and Banana River lagoons.

Snook season opens September 1st! The inlet snook action remains good through the summer months. The snook season opens in two weeks and we should continue to have great action on this species. Plus, the fall mullet run will start right around the first two weeks of September, so now is the time to get yourself locked in to a day or two to go out and experience this amazing phenomenon. Book directly on our website at (put link to reservation page here) Or give Captain Justin or myself a call at 321-505-8217 to get included in this years fall time fishing action.

Fished Headwaters 2 days after parking lot was finished. Water temperature is low 80s. Water level is up right at full pool. Lots of topped out grass all over north side water is clear to stained.

Stick baits, jerk baits, weedless, and top water all gave up some good fish. Zillions of small to medium bait fish everywhere. A whole bunch of crappie are stacked up in deep water. A lot of nice schools of medium to large bass roaming chasing crappie and bait pods

Go get em!

Fernando with a very nice 10-pound cubera snapper he caught on the north jetty on Saturday on live mullet on the high tide.

Good morning, all my Sebastian Inlet fishing junkies; I hope you all had a great weekend, despite the rain and humidity. Good news! The fish are biting better than they had been. I feel that the water temperatures and quality PLUS the influx of baitfish have sparked things up considerably. There are still quite a bit of mullet of all sorts of sizes around the inlet and the surf area, along with a lot of greenies and pilchards all around the north jetty. Also, in the back of the inlet the small and bigger mojarra are around the t-dock area and along the shoreline, so getting bait isn’t a problem. The bait shops are starting to get some bigger shrimp for a change. I knew the day was coming when the fishing would pick up; it was just a matter of timing. There were a variety of species caught throughout the inlet on both tides, but the incoming tide was the better time to fish. The outgoing tide at first turn is clean, but the freshwater runoff from the Sebastian River that follows is murky.

Here’s where the action is:

North jetty

Over here all, or MOST of the action has been on the incoming tide on both sides of the jetty. Last week (Wednesday through Friday), the snook bite on live shrimp and mojarra was outstanding! Quite a few snook were hooked, but most were broken off on the rocks and dead lines around the jetty; the resident monster goliaths ate many, but several were landed and released. Along with the snook were catch-and-release redfish. Spanish mackerel were caught on freelined greenies on the beach side of the jetty. Quite a few nice fish were caught, with several anglers getting their limits of 15 per person. Also, the mangrove snapper bite has picked up as well, but the majority of them are smaller at 10 to 10.5 inches; however, I did see a few in the 12 to 13 inch range. Another species making a showing are the mutton snapper. Many were caught on the jetty, but most are just short of the 18-inch minimum to keep. They have been biting a bit in the previous weeks, but last week and over the weekend they bit better. Cooler water temperatures and that last offshore storm blew them in from the inshore reefs, along with the baitfish schools. Also, small numbers of cubera snappers were caught on live mullet at the tip of the jetty. Those I have seen and heard about have been in the 22 to 28 inch range. Nice fish, and a bear to deal with when you hook one! The outgoing tide has been a little slower due to the fish moving out further and the water quality going down, but snook and reds have been caught, along with the snappers. Live shrimp, live mullet and live greenies have been the baits of choice. And the good news is that the action continued through last weekend. It hasn’t been as action-packed as last week, but it was still on the up and upside with everything being caught that I mentioned.

South jetty

Over here it has been the same thing: The incoming tide was a bit wild as well, with snook, redfish, jacks and mutton and mangrove snapper playing well! Live shrimp, mojarra and small croakers for the snook and reds, small live or dead greenies and mojarra for the snappers. Just a little note about the mutton snappers I have seen caught by myself and others, they prefer dead bait over live bait. Outgoing tide at the tip of the south jetty is all about the black margates, blue runners, jacks, and the mutton and mangrove snappers. Again, over here too, most are under the legal size to go home, but several nice ones have been caught, the mangroves that is, the muttons are too small over here too. Dead and live shrimp, cut bait are the key to success over at the tip. Also there have been a few bonnethead sharks caught in the beach/surf area on all baits.

T-Dock area

Back here the fishing hasn’t really picked up much, even though the bait is all around — just not a lot of folks back here fishing. Either tide, fishing around the dock pilings they are still catching the smaller mangrove snapper on live and dead cut greenies, and also some of the small mutton snapper as well. Most of the muttons caught, though, have been in the area about 20 to 30 feet away from the dock. With all the tiny minnows around the dock there are some nice Spanish mackerel for those fishing small white or green feather jigs, and freelining live greenies. With the mullet coming into the inlet, expect some big jack crevalle to be following them. Use large silver spoons tossed out to the channel or fish the big mullet freelined on a 4-5/0 hook. The snook bite has been hit-or-miss, depending on the water quality. The incoming tide around the area has held some clean water along the shoreline east and west of the dock, and some of the guys fishing live croakers and mojarra have been catching a few, most of which have been over the 32-inch maximum to keep. The arrival of cooler water and the spawning season ending soon should wake them up and get them to bite better. You just have to be there when they decide to have a party!

Surf area, both sides

The mullet are coming from the north surf area, down the beach. The bigger swells from last week were hampering the action, but has calmed down greatly, so look for schools of mullet in the surf. If you find some, fish it with either a medium-sized swim bait, or if you have a cast net, net some and fish them! As autumn and the mullet run nears — and snook season opens on September 1 — it could get pretty ‘fishy’ out there with snook, reds, tarpon and sharks and the BIG jack crevalle. For those fishing the beach for the small fare, whiting and croakers are being caught on live and dead shrimp. South side surf has been dirty due to the outgoing water flowing south along the coast. It gets roughed up from the surf and sucked back in on the incoming tide. The day use area of the park has been producing mangroves snapper, black margates and some of the small mutton snappers, along with lots of catfish and bonnet head sharks.

So, there we go, my friends, a really good report for a change. I knew that when we enter this season with cleaner and a bit cooler water, AND the baitfish showing up, the fishing would improve. Please note, snook season opens up on Sunday, September 1, and closes December 15. One fish per person daily can be kept with the size limit min 28 inches to max 32 inches, with the tail pinched. Expect big crowds this holiday weekend. Try to be courteous and patient when you visit the inlet. Please adhere to the posted rules and regulations. Fishing at the jetty is a privilege, not a right, and can be taken away at any time by the park management! Get out there, catch dinner or a memory, but above all, have fun and be safe.