SEBASTIAN INLET FISHING

We’ve had good action in the lagoon. Plenty of trout and a decent snook bite even though they are smaller fish. There are some redfish and black drum being caught in the inlet, shrimp and croakers have been the best baits. The flounder bite has been decent, as well.

Fishing for sheepshead and snapper in the lagoon has been pretty good as well and the pompano have been on the flats too. Nearshore, some pompano and mackerel as well as blues and jacks when we can get out with some blacktips and spinner sharks following the macs and blues and jacks. Looking for some warmer weather this week and strong winds according to the forecast.

The fishing should be pretty decent if you can get out of the wind.

A lone angler and his feathered companion stake out the breakwater at the Sebastian Inlet tidepool.

Good morning, Sebastian Inlet fishing fans. I hope everyone had a good weekend, despite the winds! This is another short report because the high winds and huge surf at the inlet for the last few days have made it difficult to fish some areas — especially the south jetty where it has been wet and wild! This week isn’t going to be much better, until the weekend possibly.

The fishing on both side of the inlet west of the bridge has been hit-or-miss, but there have been fish caught in small numbers. Over the weekend, the water quality and clarity looked great, but was still pretty chilly at 66 degrees. Along the shorelines west of the bridge, north side, there were reports of whiting and sheepshead being caught back in the area of the steel on live and dead shrimp. West of that area, back by the mangroves, anglers were catching small undersized snook on live shrimp and thumper jigs. Everything was too small, but still fun.

On the south side, west of the bridge, there were a couple anglers catching sheepshead on dead shrimp and sand fleas; either tide was good — you just had to find the fish. I did talk to a couple guys who saw some flounder caught back there on live finger mullet. The three fish they saw caught were in the three to four-pound range, with one they heard about in the 10-pound range! I’m hoping that this year will be a better flounder bite, because last year was horrible.

Near the cleaning station on either tide, black drum and sheepshead are possible on live and dead shrimp. At the T-dock, with the cleaner water, Spanish mackerel have shown up on small white jigs. Around the north side in the back of the inlet in the intercoastal, there have been reports of a good pompano bite on shrimp and goofy jigs, along with spotted sea trout on swim baits and live baits, but you can’t keep them until January 1. Good fishing for kayakers and boaters.

That’s all I have for now. We need the weather to calm back down, and it will get better. Reminder: Snook season is now CLOSED until February 1. Have a great week, everyone!

Good morning, Sebastian Inlet fishing junkies. I hope everyone had a great weekend and enjoyed the nice weather! That is going to change on Wednesday when a cold front comes through, heralding stiff breezes and big surf. If you’re going to fish, get it done these next two days. So here we go with the report.

First, just a reminder that snook season closes on Sunday, December 15, and will reopen on February 1. The fishing has been lackluster due to the cold water (66 degrees along our coast) and that in itself will sometimes slow the action as it gets too cold for everything. The snook fishing has pretty much shut down. You might find some, but you’re going to have to search for them. Most of the snook being caught are the juvenile undersized fish who don’t mind the cold so much. They are pretty much everywhere in the inlet.

North side

The boaters again are off the NE tip of the jetty doing well again, with lots of black drum, some pompano and sheepshead for the ones fishing live shrimp. The snook are mostly undersized, but plentiful, and you just might find a slot fish in the mix. Also being caught are redfish on live baits, pins, pigs, shrimp. Incoming tide is similar along the tide line on the inlet side of the jetty. Back by the steel, west of the tide pool, they have been catching black drum and sheepshead on cut shrimp, also some redfish and small snook. No flounder yet. Probably won’t hear much about them on this side this year due to all the good areas being closed to anglers due to the ongoing construction project.

South side

On the south jetty the fishing has been rather good, with good numbers of black drum, sheepshead and pompano on dead and live shrimp, and sandfleas on both tides, beach side of the jetty. The incoming tide has produced the same, but in smaller numbers. The snook over here on the incoming tide, as I have mentioned, are of the smaller undersized fish, but there have been a few keepers in the mix — you just have to put in the time to find one. Live baits and artificials are working. Another species I did hear about were the flounder, one lucky angler did catch a nice one about 3-4 pounds on a live finger mullet fished in the surf pocket area along the rocks. Along the shoreline from the bridge west to the T-Dock there have been fairly good numbers of sheepshead being caught on dead shrimp and sandfleas. Either tide is working, you just have to find them. Also, there are some of the smaller fun snook wanting to play on live baits and swim baits.

T-Dock are

Back here, it has been slow, with only the annoying puffers, and a couple of stingrays I saw the other day when I was down there. A couple of my friends were fishing around the cleaning station on the incoming tide the other day and caught a few black drum, but only one was big enough to keep, along with a redfish, and a small mangrove snapper, and a couple undersized snook. All were caught on live and dead shrimp.

Surf Areas, Both Sides

The surf fishing has largely been blown out with the NNW and NNE winds dirtying the water again, and it’s going to get worse after Wednesday.!

That’s it in a nutshell. There’s fish out there; you just have to work for them. I hope everyone has a great week!

Winter is in full swing as cold fronts have been colder than the last few years for late November/December. Water temps are in the mid to low 60s pretty steady which makes the snook fishing tough in the lagoon but the inlet bite has still been pretty good mostly on the warmer days and night time. Live bait has been the key but the night time bite is always better on artificial as well. There’s also a few flounder, redfish and black drum in the inlet. Inshore bite is mostly trout, bluefish, pompano and jacks with plenty of sheepshead and black drum mixed in around the docks. Macs out on the beach as well as spinner and blacktip sharks on poppers and bait.

Good morning all my Sebastian Inlet friends and family! I hope everyone had an enjoyable Thanksgiving with friends and family! So here’s this weeks update on the fishing at the inlet. Last week the fishing was pretty dang good with the cooler water temperatures, 72, and the fact that it had cleaned up quite a bit and the fish were on a roll so to speak.

The hotspot was the NE tip of the north jetty, but only the lucky boaters could fish that area, luck dogs. But it’s all good because the south side was producing fish as well. The boats, some of them who were fishing with live shrimp and not just live pins, pigs, and croakers were catching quite a few really nice black drum, sheepshead, pompano, redfish and a lot of small snook, mostly undersized because when the water cools down the juveniles love to come out to play! That all ended on Friday afternoon when the seas and the NNE winds decided to pick up and make it too rough to fish there anymore. The south jetty was pretty good all week as well, up until Friday afternoon when it all went away with the winds and seas picking up. Both tides they were catching some black drum, sheepshead, pompano, and even some small bluefish. Sand fleas and either live or dead shrimp worked for everything. A couple of the guys were using the small goofy jigs to catch the pompano, beachside. The incoming tide along the rock shoreline was producing black drum, sheepshead and black margates on cut shrimp. Some snook were around, but they were mostly the smaller fun ones. Any live bait will entice them, and smaller swimbaits. The water temperature of the water along our coast has now dropped down to 69 degrees with the north winds we have been seeing. This in turn will make our cool water species want to bite, if the water cleans back up.

Flounder season just opened up December the first, so they should be showing, there have been a small number of them caught last month, but they were small, and closed. The limit for them is 14 inch minimum with a bag limit of 5 per person per day. Live shrimp, small finger mullet and mud minnows are the preferred baits, but they can be caught on small artificials too. Anywhere along the shoreline you can find them, incoming tide is the best, and at the tide change periods either tide. Another species that usually show up this time of year when the water gets this cold and cleans up is the spotted seatrout, but they are still closed until January the first. The stats for these fish in our area are, 2 per person per day, 15 inch minimum, 19 inch maximum, and one of those two fish can be over the 19 inch maximum, but you can only keep two fish. The south side is usually where a lot of them hang out. Live shrimp is the best bait for them, but they do gat caught by the anglers fishing with mud minnows and small finger mullet. Also, the smaller artificials work well with them. I did hear that there are a lot of them in the intercoastal, back side of the inlet, along with some pompano.

The T-Dock area has been a hit or miss deal with the fish, some days there are some spanish mackerel back there on small white jigs, and also there have been reports of some of the black drum and sheepshead being caught on live and dead shrimp. Not much action on the snook back here, except for the nigh timers tossing flair jigs, they are catching a few, but most are too big to keep. The surf is a blown out mess again!!

So that’s all I have for now my friends. This week is going to be a little brutal with the stiff winds all week, and the kicked up waves , and the cold weather. It should start laying back down and warming up some by Thursday, so we shall see how that goes. I hope everyone has a wonderful week!

Aldo Luis Rodriguez is one of many anglers that put pompano back on the dinner menu this week!

Good morning, Sebastian Inlet fishing friends; I hope you all had a great weekend! Time for another installment on the happenings around the inlet. Good news: the fishing has picked back up just as I predicted when the water cleaned up and cooled down. Seas are 73 degrees along the coast in our area, and that, in turn, draws the ‘cool water’ species. With that said, here’s the breakdown.

North Side, west of the tide pool

Nice snook are being caught along the mangrove shoreline for those wading back there and using live pigs, pins and shrimp, or croakers, and for the folks fishing in the boats as well. Most fish are being caught on the incoming tide when the water is the cleanest, but some are also being caught on the very first of the outgoing tide. Most of the fish are over slot — and a lot of smaller ones – but there are some slots being caught. Also, back here on the incoming tide, black drum and sheepshead are biting on sandfleas and live or dead shrimp along the rocks and shoreline. Also, on this side in the surf since the ocean has calmed down considerably and cleaned up, the pompano have made a showing, along with some nice black drum and whiting on live and dead shrimp fished way out past the breakers. The boaters have been doing well also with the drum, and the snook, but the guys I talked to said most of the snook are too small to keep, but plentiful, so there should be some in the surf as well if you can find some mullet.

South side

Over here, it is the same deal: black drum, pompano, black margate and some sheepshead on live or dead shrimp and sandfleas fished on the outgoing tide at the tip, ocean side. The pompano can also be caught on the goofy jigs. Also, this is the time of year that the flounder show up, so one might just catch some in the “surf pocket” area beach side, there were some last week in the back by the T-dock. Small live baits and jigs will work for them. On the incoming tide along the jetty and the entire shoreline, snook are still possible using live baits, shrimp, pigs, pins and croakers. You will find most are too small to keep with the cooler water temperatures, but fun, nonetheless. Also being caught along this side especially incoming tide has been black drum and sheepshead on dead shrimp.

T-Dock area

Back here has been a little slower, but still, they are catching fish, mainly on the incoming tide with the cleaner water. Sheepshead, black drum and an occasional pompano or two are being caught. Live or dead shrimp is the ticket. Some snook are still around for those fishing live baits and artificials, mainly on the incoming, and the very first of the outgoing tide. Haven’t heard of any more flounder back here, but that doesn’t mean they are not around.

Surf Area, both sides

As I mentioned earlier, the talk is about the pompano drawn by cleaner and cooler waters. They are around, but not in big numbers yet. The water needs to clean up and cool down a bit more. Also, they have been catching some nice black drum and decent whiting in the surf while fishing for the pompano, not many, but a few.

Well folks, that’s it for this week! The weather is supposed to be stellar, with calm seas and the possibility of rain on Thursday, so get out and enjoy the nice weather, and catch some fish! I wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving!

Inshore and inlet fishing was good before the first real cold front of the year. We caught lots of trout as well as some snook, plenty of jacks and ladyfish to keep anglers busy. There were quite a few pompano caught as well and a few tripletail. Fishing the islands has been good with soft plastics and bucktails as well as the inlet with live bait. Once that front hit late last week and the temps dropped quite a bit, the bite slowed dramatically.

It’s picked up again now that it has started warming and the bite should improve until our next cold spell. Beach fishing this week should be good with light winds and calm seas. It’s time to get out on the beach and see if the spinner and blacktip sharks are out in numbers and ready to eat the big poppers which is a ton of fun!

Fishing on the jetty last week was not for the meek of heart

Good morning, Sebastian Inlet friends. I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend. The weather sure was great! And there is more to come after we get drenched on Wednesday, compliments of tropical storm Sara. After that, cool-down city! I’m hoping the winds and waves calm down, too, so that water can clear up and prompt the fish to play better.

But anyway, there are fish to be had, but they are all on the south side; some are being caught on the north side, west of the cove back at the steel. Most of the fish being caught that I saw, and heard about were black drum, sheepshead and black margates, all on live or dead shrimp. The incoming tide on the north side is better, with less current flow. Some snook also have been reported back here, but they have been caught in the boats fishing the shoreline mangroves. Live pins, pigs and croakers are the baits.

The south side is producing fair numbers of black drum, sheepshead and black margates, all on either live shrimp, or dead shrimp. Again, the incoming tide is the best time to fish. The south jetty is still kind of unfishable due to the large waves and the wind making it very wet and dangerous to be out there. Most of the fish on this side are being caught west of the bridge, where you can escape the big waves and most of the wind. The snook have been playing decently back here on live baits such as shrimp, pins, pigs and croakers, mostly on the early and late incoming tides. I chatted Friday with an angler at the park. He was fishing with his wife by the cleaning table and they caught a couple nice flounder! It’s getting to be that time of the year for them to arrive if the water cools down and cleans up. The surf on both sides has been a mess due to the big waves and blustery winds, so no report on that.

That’s all I have for this week’s report. With the north side being shut down, the reports will be shorter because most of the action happens on the north side. With that, I wish you all a great week! Stay well, and get out and enjoy the outdoors!

Another week of decent inshore fishing with plenty of trout and some smaller snook. Bite is still hot on soft plastics and some topwater action early. The snook have been around the mangroves with some slot size and smaller fish with some bigger fish around the spoil islands.

The inlet bite around the shorelines on the north and south sides have been good the last week as well. Plenty of snook on pigfish and spots with a few fish on soft plastics. I am sure that night bite on bucktails is pretty hot. Pompano bite has been good around the spoil islands and drop-offs on some of the flats around the inlet.

The big cold front coming later this week should push the flounder into the inlet, but keep in mind the season isn’t open yet and will open on the 1st of December. Typically the week of Thanksgiving is the time most Flounder fishermen start hitting up the inlet looking for the doormats. Let’s hope this season is a good one.

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.