The bite has been a little inconsistent this past week. We still have an influx of fresh water draining into the intracoastal and Mosquito Lagoon. The bait is still plentiful throughout the backwaters of New Smyrna Beach and Mosquito Lagoon. The fish are still there but just a little scattered so you have to put your time in to locate them, but they are definitely chewing when you find them. They have been receptive to both live bait and artificials.

If we can get a cool front to move through in the next week or so it will really get these fish fired up as of right now they’re still kinda in limbo of a summer time pattern or a Fall pattern. The weather looks to be the same into the weekend but we have a little chance of a front next week.

A bunch of quality fish on topwater and DOA Shad tails and jerkbaits for Nick and Capt. Bouncer

Another windy week of fishing but the inshore bite was still strong. Plenty of snook and trout on artificial and topwater. The bite was strong early, sometimes until mid day. Once the topwater bite slowed the fish were eating DOA Shad tails on 1/4 ounce VMC jig heads and DOA jerk baits on jig heads as well. There have been plenty of schools of jacks roaming the lagoon willing to eat anything you throw in front of them and mixed in the jacks are plenty of sharks. Pompano have shown up around the islands and some of the flats and we were getting them on small chartreuse VMC hot skirt jigs which are just 1/2 ounce bucktails and also on goofy jigs but the bucktails seem to hold up well and get more bites.

Looks like another windy week but if you can get out of the wind and find some bait the action should be pretty good still with the warm temps and east winds.

Chung caught this 40-inch redfish and a 30-inch slot snook on Friday using finger mullet.

Good morning all you Sebastian Inlet fishing fanatics, I hope everyone had a great weekend! Here we go with this weeks “what’s biting at the inlet.” This is your last week to get your “north jetty” fishing mojo out of the way before the extended closure! And for you folks that have asked me, and those that are wondering about fishing the seawall and rock area between the bridge and jetty, per my conversation with the district, that ENTIRE area will be fenced off as a “hard hat/safety vest” construction zone, no public access what so ever, it will be a NO TRESPASSING area for public safety. Just wanted to keep you all posted and aware, and safe. Now on to the fishing.

North Jetty

There has been a pretty good bite on the north side of the inlet, with several different species being caught. The north jetty has been the hotspot for snook. Live finger mullet fished in the surf, and just outside the surf break have been tie ticket for some nice slots being caught. Also quite a few undersized snook have been caught as well. Also saw a couple of big redfish caught as well. The main topic has been the jack crevalle, bluefish, and spanish mackerel, they have been pretty much out of control! All shapes and sizes are being caught, with the spanish mackerel being the sought after species, with some of them in the “jumbo” class, 3-4 pounds! Live greenies and finger mullet being the ticket for bait. Several anglers were lucky enough to catch their limits with the mackerel. I did also get a report that on Sunday the black drum made an appearance with several nice fish being caught on live shrimp on the incoming tide, along with quite a few slot snook as well. Along the seawall and rocks on the incoming tide there has been a decent bite on smaller snook on live baits, pigs and pins and shrimp. Most have been too small to keep. Also there have been a few mangrove snapper still around, and a couple of sheepshead and black margates.

South Side

Over here it has been slower due to the roughed up, dirty and weedy water, but on the incoming tide when it does clean up a tad the snook have been around and biting. Live baits and plastic swimbaits are doing well, with most fish being undersized, some make it in the slot range. Other species making it interesting are redfish, blues and big jacks. Any bait will work for them.

T-Dock Area

Back here it has been a hit or miss deal. Snook have been around on the incoming tide on live baits, also some redfish are mixed in with them to keep it interesting, as well as the large jacks chasing the mullet schools in the inlet. For those fishing greenies and tiny white jigs there have been some nice spanish mackerel around, not a lot, but enough to keep you fishing.

Surf Area, both sides

The surf for the most part has been all washed out from the winds and waves, and the massive amounts of the sargassum weeds the storms have blown in, so that’s been a bust.

Well everyone, that’s all I have for this week. The rest of the week is supposed to get back to being windy and the seas are going back up again, just like last week was. So if you go out on the jetties, please be careful as it can get pretty nasty out there. You all have a great and safe week!

Had the pleasure of going on the Lagoon with one of my ex-clients and also the pleasure of having Captain Glyn Austin on board as well. Our morning was
rudely interrupted by a massive acre size of large Jack crevalle erupting in the water. Our first attempt of hooking up on these brutes was cut short because both of our fish were attacked by sharks and broke us off. We quickly retired and made a short run on the big motor to get back in front of this school and wait for them to come to us. It didn’t take long for the NO PAIN NO GAIN to happen. A special thanks to Capt. Glyn to be the smart one in the group to sit it out and get the picture.

The rest of the day we caught lots of mid size trout and over a dozen snook. The trout were eating closer to the bottom so throwing soft plastics with a 1/4 oz. jighead worked well. All our snook came on YO ZURI suspending jerkbaits. I usually stay far away from the river on weekends but I couldn’t pass up on the company to share this day with.

I hope everyone is doing well and catching plenty of fish. The surf has been hit or miss this past week due to weeds, rough waves, and strong currents. On the days when most people managed to get out and fish, the catches included black drum, whiting, plenty of palometas, and a few bluefish.

Using a standard pompano rig paired with a 3-5 oz sputnik sinker was the go-to for most anglers to hold bottom and avoid rolling into shore within a minute. Frozen shrimp pieces and frozen mullet chunks produced the most bites. Fishing the first trough has been incredible; the storms and northeast winds have carved it out quite nicely!

We’re also coming into the season for Spanish mackerel, so stocking up on spoons and Gotcha plugs before they start flying off the shelves would be a smart move.

Looking ahead, waves are expected to pick up again, averaging 4-5 feet, with east winds also increasing. If you plan to fish, don’t forget the sputniks. Hopefully, things will calm down soon, allowing everyone to fish hard.

Tight lines, and have a great week!

Happy Monday Spacefish!

I do not have a fishing report this week; I had a crazy weekend – The Melbourne Central Catholic Hustlers won a wild shootout Friday, 51-42 against Orlando Christian Prep, so I got home late Friday, and my wife and I spent most of our free time this weekend volunteering as Pumpkin Peddlers at Saint Joseph Catholic Church in Palm Bay – which I will say, to those in need of a Pumpkin, go check out the Pumpkin Patch at St. Joe’s!

I did want to get on here today though and make one last push for a big event happening this weekend at Kayaks By Bo…

November 2nd from 2-4 pm Kayaks By Bo Inc. is hosting a Free Fishing Seminar with Chris Mitchell! Are you ready to level up your kayak fishing game? Don’t miss this chance to learn from one of the best in the sport!

Chris M has been a guy I’ve been watching on YouTube since I moved to Central Florida in 2020. Florida Bass fishing is so much different than what I’d experienced in Georgia, Chris has been a guy I’ve learned a lot from over the years!

He is a seasoned kayak angler with:
– Nine 1st place finishes
– Ten 2nd place finishes
– Six 3rd place finishes
– 52 Top 10 finishes
– Back-to-back Kayak Anglers of Florida Championship wins (2020 & 2021)
– Angler of the Year (2021 & 2024)

Chris will be sharing his top tips for landing trophy bass, navigating tricky waters, and excelling in kayak fishing. Whether you’re a seasoned angler or just starting, this seminar is packed with knowledge!

Date: November 2nd from 2-4 pm
Location: Kayaks By Bo – 1127 W King Street, Cocoa FL, 32922
RSVP Now: 321-474-9365

You will not want to miss this event!

Went out to Fish Lake on Friday morning and got 8 total, 3 dinks, 3 pound and a half to pound and 3/4, 2.39 and 5.37lbs. Started in the back cove and got the 2.39lbs just as I came into the cove before the first dock on the left on a Yum Swim n Dinger in watermelon pearl. Got a few more as I worked both sides down to the back of the cove. Lost the swim n dinger and tried a couple different worms in the Babybass color scheme but no luck. Put on a Yum Thumpin Dinger and got back to catching them, seemed like it had to have a tail that gave it some movement that they wanted. Moved out of the cove across the lake and started going back to the right towards the boat ramp fishing the reeds, docks and trees and got a few more including the biggest at 5.37lbs. The bites were still faint but a touch stronger than last week. I got to try out my new rod and reel, Handing 7’3 MH fast action and Handing reel. It compares very well to my Trika 6X, but costs about half as much for both rod and reel as the Trika rod. Feel was just a touch muted but very good. I think the Echo Chamber handle of the Trika is the difference but I can deal with it for the cost savings.

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.

Unfortunately due to the strong winds, surf fishing will be tough. My advice is hit the jettys or certain portions of the rivers.

We only fished a few days this week till the winds blew up on us and it looks like they are here for a while. It’s normal for this time of year I guess though. Anyway, Capt Joe and Capt Ricky were both able to get offshore and have a little fun with the mahi and some bottom fish. Due to Milton the waters were muddy out to about 200 feet and that did not make the most ideal conditions. But they powered through with it and did ok.

This happy angler caught a 30-inch snook using live finger mullet. He caught this beast at the seawall (in the background) near the bait and tackle shop.

Good morning all you Sebastian Inlet fishing fans, I hope everyone had a great weekend! It sure was nice out, except for the winds and the seas being up and wildly rough at the inlet! Going to start off our report with a little heads up on the construction project slated to start on the north side wall, jetty and rock shoreline on November the 4th, which is when they are going to start mobilizing heavy equipment, supplies, and fence off the area as a construction site. Access to the north jetty when the project starts will at times be OFF LIMITS for the duration of the project. So, if you are planning to come over to fish the north side, I would suggest you call the north ranger station at 321-984-4852 to check on the area status. More info can be found on this link to the Sebastian Inlet District website, and their Facebook page. Also if you noticed, the webcam is down due to storm damage, and will remain down for the duration of the construction project. The cameras have been removed so as to not sustain any damage by the heavy equipment in the area.

https://www.sitd.us/sebastian-inlet-s-north-jetty-slated-for-repairs-improvements

Also on the Sebastian Inlets State Park website:
https://www.floridastateparks.org/Sebastian-Inlet

Updates to how the project is going will be provided by the Inlet District on their Facebook page, and on their website. SebastianInletDistrict.com, under the “news and events” section. Now on to the fishing.

As you all know the winds have been absolutely brutal over the past week, and also the weekend, and with seas running 6-7 foot, and morning high king tides along the coast, it was pretty much a war zone down at the jetty’s! The waves were busting OVER the north jetty, and also the south jetty and rocks, making it very dangerous to be out there, BUT, there were some quite a few folks out risking their safety to catch a fish. About the only fish I saw being caught were lots of jack crevalle and ladyfish on the north jetty. The seaweed was very bad also making it tough to fish. Not ideal conditions at all.

Back inside the inlet along the north seawall between the jetty and bridge, I did see some spanish mackerel caught, along with some really nice black margates, sand perch, and various snappers, mangrove and schoolmaster snappers. They were all keepers! One young man I saw did catch a nice slot snook in that area on live mullet, as pictured in the AOTW photo! South side in the back around the cleaning table and t-dock was kind of active, the water had cleaned up some. The incoming tide was producing some snook on live pigfish and shrimp. Also a few nice catch and release redfish. Spanish mackerel, jacks picked up the slack for those tossing small jigs and spoons to the channel area. Not much else back here. So, there you have it for this week’s report. The winds and seas are supposed to start calming back down by Thursday. So, we’ll see how that goes.

Hope everyone has a great week!