WEEKLY FORECAST
7.11.2023 – 7.17.2023
CENTRAL FLORIDA’S BEST FISHING REPORT
Who's ready for the most exciting 2 days in offshore fishing?
It’s a BIG week as we’ve got the run for the red roses this Friday and Saturday… That’s right, bust out your fancy hats and mint julips for the most exciting two days in offshore fishing. Often a circus, usually a controversy, and always over just as quickly as it begins, it’s recreational fishing’s Kentucky Derby — get ready for Red Snapper Season 2023! Like past red snapper seasons, recreational anglers may keep one fish, per person, per day on July 14 and 15. Bear in mind that a rigged and ready venting tool or descending device is now legally required on any vessel attempting to harvest reef fish, as these devices are critical for a healthy release. Good luck out there to all those hoping to put fresh caught snapper on the table this weekend!
WEATHER & CONDITIONS
BITE OPPORTUNITY INDEX
OFFSHORE
INSHORE
SURF
FRESHWATER
WEATHER OVERVIEW: The weather forecast is looking pretty steady from day-to-day this week, as is common with summertime patterns. Every day is gonna be a HOT one (highs in the low 90s) with a decent shot of thunderstorms and wind ~10-11 mph. For those going red for snapper, both Friday and Saturday are projecting for the same offshore conditions with southwest winds of 5-10 knots and 2-3ft seas. Get out early to beat the heat and avoid the storms.
Resources
GIVEAWAYS
WEEKLY STRIKE-ZONE GIVEAWAY
Each week, we’ll randomly draw a name from our email subscriber list to award a $20 Strike-Zone Fishing Gift Card. To enter, all you need to do is subscribe to our weekly forecast email (once subscribed, you’re eligible to win EVERY week).
Congrats to this week's winner, Scott Cumber, Port St Lucie
NOTICE: If you are announced as a winner, you must EMAIL US within 5 days to claim your prize (please include your phone number and mailing address), or your prize will be forfeited and added back into the giveaway pool for future winners.
LATEST Reports
Fish Lake
Went out Saturday morning, put 10 in the boat, lost 4 on the way to the boat, including what would have been the biggest of the day and missed a handful. Started off in the first cove and got the first one as I threw back in the narrow entrance towards the main lake close to the tree. Then started along the reeds to the right and got 2 2lbers off the point. Worked my way around and got another 3, couple of pounders and the biggest one at 5.09lbs. pictured. Got the big one on a Berkley powerbait maxscent General in babybass color right next to the dock beside where the grass ramp ends. The others came on a Yum Swim n Dinger in watermelon pearl and a Strike King Ocho also in Babybass. Moved over to the other cove and got a couple more , pound and a half and another 2lber. Moved across the lake and fished the shore line back up towards the boat ramp and caught the other 2.
Overwhelmed with weed.
Slow bite and lots of seaweed off Cape Canaveral. Looking forward to better waters off the beach.
Craaazy November Weather
Here we are into mid November and still with highs near 90 and the possibility of a hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico. But with all the craziness of weather the bite continues to be strong throughout the New Smyrna Beach and Mosquito Lagoon waters. We continue to have plenty of bait on the flats making for an abundance of life. Artificials and live bait have both been working well making for an enjoyable time catching fishing on the water. The weather looks to be stable moving into the weekend and then possible storms mid week depending on approaching storm.
Headwaters area
Water remp mid to upper 70
Water levels up and clarity varies lake to lake
Headwaters has been a shiners dunkers dream
Alot of bait pods in deep water and fish are grouping up
High pressure is dictating close to cover and live bait and artificial have produced
Spinner baits fair top wateriffy
Worms good
Grass that hasn’t been nuked is holding groups of fish
3 forks has produced the biggest at 8.7 many fish from 3 to 5 lbs
New front with more wind looks to keep this pattern for another week
Still have a few days in November call for an adventure
Sebastian Inlet North-side Fishing Areas Shutdown Until July
Good morning all my Sebastian Inlet fishing junkies! I hope everyone had a great 3 day weekend! And thank you to ALL you veterans who served, and are currently serving, and your families! God bless you all!! Now off we go with another installment of what’s going on at the inlet!
This report is going to be another short one due to the fact that the north side fishing areas are NOW shutdown until July, so this side is going to be tough to catch any fish, unless you know where to go find them. On Monday while I was down, and last Saturday it was pretty slow, with only a few sheepshead caught along the rocks west of the bridge on sandfleas. Back toward the back along the mangroves shoreline west of the tide pool, I did see a couple boats net a few snook. Otherwise not a lot going on as the tide was an outgoing one most all day. On the beach in the surf area, I chatted with a father and his 2 boys and they were catching some small but fun snook on swim baits. It could have been better, but there were zero mullet around at all, but the water was cleaning up nicely, not very muddy anymore. That’s pretty much for this side.
South side was still a washout pretty much with the big swells washing over the low jetty and making it pretty wet to fish. And with it being an outgoing tide most all day, the water from the ICW and Sebastian River was not very clean! It had a lot of rain runoff and tannic acid in it from C-54 canal draining into the Sebastian River, making it like black coffee! Yuk. A couple guys were fishing the tip, getting soaked, but catching jack crevalle and catfish. The only good fish I did see caught on this side was back towards the campground, and T-Dock area. The boaters who were fishing west of the T-Dock close to the shoreline were catching a few snook on pinfish and pigfish. Most were small around the 24-27 inch range, but did see a couple slot fish caught. On the dock itself there were lots of the small minnows around attracting some spanish mackerel for those fishing live greenies and small white jigs. Jack crevalle were also around eating whatever you tossed out to the channel area. Other fish being caught I saw around the cleaning table back here were some very small mutton snappers, and a couple small black drum, all on dead shrimp. That’s it for this side!
The surf, both sides for the most part is still roughed up quite a bit with the seas on Monday were 5-7 foot, great for surfing, but not fishing. Well that’s all I have for this week, we really need the water to clean up some more to get the fish happy again. When it does, expect the fishing to pick back up for the black drum and sheepshead, they were here before the blow started, and the water is the right temperature, and it is the right time of the year for them! Oh, and the pompano too, they should show up. Have a great week everyone, stay safe and have fun! Snookman.
Fish Lake
Got out on Monday, Veterans Day, and got 4 in the boat, lost a few on the way to the boat, one as I tried to boat flip it, and missed some. I started out in the second cove focusing on the docks, wood and seawall but didn’t hook up. Had plenty of bites but missed everyone. I was using a Yum Swim n Dinger in watermelon pearl and a Gambler burner worm 7inch in Gold Rush. Left the cove and went across the lake and started fishing the reeds, lily pads, docks and grass. Caught 4 all on the Burner worm, biggest pictured at 4.3lbs, another at 1.8lbs, 1.5lbs and a dink. Water temp was 78 degrees and I was in 2 and a half feet of water to 7 feet throwing up shallow.
Good Fishing Despite Relentless Wind
Decent snook and trout bite in the lagoon this week!
The winds won’t seem to let up but the fishing is pretty good. Plenty of snook in the inlet and along the shorelines from little tiny guys to slots. The trout bite has been good along mangrove shorelines and spoil islands if you can deal with the winds. DOA 3” shad tails have been working well for both the snook and trout. Jacks, ladyfish and bluefish are thick around the inlet and there have been some pompano around as well.
Winds look to lay down a bit this week and a couple cold fronts should be coming through which may slow down the snook bite but the trout bite should remain strong and the pompano may move in larger numbers.
Kayak Fishing: Fort Pierce Mangroves
Fort Pierce Mangroves
Happy Monday Spacefish!
I hope everyone is having a great Veteran’s Day Weekend! We had to be in school today due to losing days because of the hurricane a few weeks back (boooo!), but on a more positive note the football team in which I am the Offensive Coordinator/QB Coach (Melbourne Central Catholic), ended our regular season Friday with an 8-2 record after a wild shootout win, 51-44 vs True North Classical in Miami. That was a big win for the Hustlers, because we were both 1A, Top 10 teams, and we needed that win to help get us a good seed in the playoff bracket. We ended the regular season as the District Champs for 1A-6, and our offense is averaging 400+ yards per game, and 37 points per game. I find myself under pretty tough time constraints during football season, so bear with me a few more weeks as my reports will continue to be a little more skimpy than they are in the other times of the year.
Hustlers Win a Wild One in Miami!
Fishing Fort Pierce
So this is an area I have been interested in fishing for a little while now. I have heard that the area north of the Fort Pierce Inlet is a really cool spot to fish, the water quality and clarity is really good, and there are some mangrove islands that offer nice wind protection north of the causeway.
I launched from kayak launch of Little Jim Bait & Tackle located on the north causeway. There is a nice little kayak/canoe launch area, and a large public boat ramp just across the water. Both of these locations offer access to the mangrove islands north of the causeway, or you can head south and fish those mangroves closer to the inlet. I plan on making a return trip to hit the southern parts, but on this trip I went north.
I’d like to make a note about Little Jim’s – this is a really cool place with a lot of history. It has been here since World War II when it was a local watering hole for the Navy Seals that were training on North Hutchinson Island. You can read about it in more detail here – https://www.littlejimbaitandtackle.com/a-little-more-history#:~:text=Little%20Jim’s%20dates%20back%20to,and%20checkpoint%20at%20the%20bridge.
Fort Pierce Area Map
Finding Fish
Snook on the Clarity (Glassy) Chunk
I ended up spending 4-5 hours fishing the mangroves of Snapper Cut, and St. Lucie Cut. I kept things pretty simple. Topwater at daybreak which resulted in 0 landed fish, I transitioned to the subsurface stuff after that. I kept going back and forth between two tried & true presentations. The Vudu Shrimp, and the Clarity Lures “Chunk” in the Glassy colorway. The Chunk skips really well under the mangroves and results in a good number of Snook (mostly little ones) and two right at/just under the slot size. I also caught 2 little dinks, and about half a dozen mangrove Snapper on the 2.75 inch Vudu Shrimp in Cajun Pepper/Chartreuse. The key here was to get the bait as close to the mangroves without getting hung, and this little shrimp lure skips pretty well too.
Snapper from Snapper Cut
The nice thing about this area is there are lots of mangroves to fish situated next to deeper water in these cuts. Which are going to hold fish. In addition to a high number of Snook and Snapper, I also caught a really big Jack, which I thought I got a picture of, but somehow screwed it up. I was videoing when I thought I paused, and was paused when I thought I was recording, smh!
St. Lucie Aquarium
So this is a great area to take the family. You have the inlet jetties that offer great shore fishing access, there are great places to take kids paddle fishing as well. But in addition to the fishing, there is a really cool aquarium here that I took the wife and kids to, and they really enjoyed it!
The St. Lucie County Aquarium is located along the south causeway, and has a cheap admission price. The aquarium really focuses on our local Indian River Lagoon estuary and habitat which is really cool. There are also great places to eat in the area. All in all, it’s a great place to take a day trip!
St. Lucie County Aquarium
Conclusion
I really enjoyed fishing this area, and feel like I barely scratched the surface of the potential here. It is a bit of a drive just to go fishing, but when you factor in the aquarium, Little Jim’s, the Navy Seal museum – there are plenty of other attractions in the area to justify a day trip down to Fort Pierce.
I’d also like to give a special THANK YOU to all of our Veterans. We are blessed to have the lives we do, the nation we have, and the opportunities and freedom because of the brave men & women who made the choice to serve our nation through the armed forces. So if you are reading this and you either are currently serving, or have served our nation. I’d like to give you my special thanks!
Thank you all for taking the time to read, make sure you check out all of the good deals, and the awesome inventory of all things kayak fishing at Kayaks By Bo! Until next time!
On the Fish!
The Ocean Obsession out of Sunrise Marine at Port Canaveral is on the fish. They were able to take advantage of a small weather window and get out and put their customers on the meat. Lane and mangrove snapper amongst other species made for a fun trip with some good eats to bring home. They are looking to make it happen again this week so be sure to book your spot now to go have fun and catch some fish!
Lots of Options This Time of Year
This is the time of the year that offers up a number of different fishing options and species to target. Whether you want to sight-fish for reds on the flats or catch tarpon in the river, you can do it. The bite has been on fire with the mullet run starting to slow down. There’s still lots of fish looking to capitalize on the remaining schools of mullet pushing through.
I have days available in November and December. If you want to go catch some fish, give me a call at 386-295-5991 or go to my website.
Weekend Report
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.
New moon
Headwaters has received more water and cooler water temperature has shrunk back grass mats.
Fishing shiners has been a no brainer as usual they chomp shiners
Artificial bite has been really focused on moon phase long pauses followed by torrents of bites
When you find one slow down and fish the group and move on
Grass clump and lily pads are a good bet
Spinner bait. Worm, fluke and top water has been effective
Still have days call for an adventure
CAUGHT ON CAMERA
CATCH A BIG SMILE WITH JASIN YOUMANS DMD!
LOCAL EVENTS
The FSFA South Chapter meeting is BACK! Front Street Civic Center, Melbourne (2205 Front Street, in Melbourne, next to the Front Street boat ramps, across from Harry Goode’s). Social time starts at 6:30. Meeting starts at 7:00. Capt. Sonny Richards of Aquaholics Aknotymous talking about fishing offshore Sebastian. Food and drink available for a donation.
SEE YOU NEXT TUESDAY!
Don’t forget, if you’ve been fishing, we’d love to hear from you!
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