SEBASTIAN INLET FISHING

A happy angler at the south jetty on Friday.

Good morning all my Sebastian Inlet fans! I hope everyone had a great weekend despite the afternoon rains. This week is supposed to be about the same, so get out early. Lets start off this report with some good news, no the jetty isn’t opened back up yet, but as of last Saturday the T-Dock is finally opened back up! Lol. So here we go with the report. Note, snook season is now CLOSED until September 1st.. Catch and release only!!

North Side

Over here the fishing has been kind of slow still due to the restricted access of places to fish. On the outgoing tide fishing has been slow, most of the action has been on the incoming tide along the rocks west of the tide pool. Small mangrove snapper and sheepshead are being caught on live and dead shrimp. Up under the bridge there have been some small snook being caught on live majorra, if you can find some. West of the tide pool along the mangrove shoreline area there are some snook being caught also on live baits. Also some sheepshead and snappper are being caught as well. Live of dead shrimp.

South Side

This side has been where most of the action has been, mostly on the incoming tide. At the tip it has been all about the pompano being caught on small goofy jigs. They are still around because the water is still cool enough for them, plus it has been pretty clean, which they like. The snook bite had been pretty good too for those fishing live majorra, shrimp and threadfins. Most of the fish have been under slot size, but a few keepers were caught. The boaters fishing the area have been doing well. As mentioned, snook season is now CLOSED until September 1st, catch and release only! The outgoing tide on this at the tip of the jetty has been producing black margates, lookdowns, nice sand perch and a few whiting and pompano on sand fleas and cut shrimp. Jack crevalle and blue runners and some small bluefish round out the species being caught on small jigs and spoons.

T-Dock Area

Back here there have been some bigger snook being caught on live majorra, shrimp and croakers, incoming tide. Now that the T dock is open back up, expect the snapper and sheephead bite to pick up fishing around the pilings on dead shrimp and cut baits. It’s the time of the year for them. Either tide is good. Also expect to see some spanish mackerel to start showing up with all the tiny minnows around the dock. Very small jigs and swim baits will attract a bite from them. Jack crevalle and bluefish are possible as well.

Surf Area, both sides

The south side has been where the action has been, slow, but there has been fish being caught. Pompano, whiting and bonnet head sharks are being caught, along with a few bluefish that are still around due to the cooler water temperatures we still are seeing. 77 as of this report. Sand fleas and shrimp are the baits of choice. Surf on the north has been pretty slow due mostly to the water being low tides in the morning. Just isn’t enough depth to bring the fish in. It’s been clean though. There hasn’t been a lot of mullet running the beaches like there was, but be on the lookout for any and there might be snook, tarpon and big redfish around them for some action.

Well, that’s it for this week, wish I had more, but when the north jetty opens back up, it will add to the action, since that is where the majority of the action is this time of year. Have a great week everyone!

Good week fishing, inshore, and off the beach, but a slow end of snook season in the lagoon. Got some over slot fish and a few other slots but the slot size fish weren’t as cooperative for us. Live bait was the best bet but artificial worked early morning specifically top water. We found some nice schools of jacks along the beach as well as some big fish in the lagoon. The fish on the beach were pretty finicky and the ones we caught in the lagoon were on live bait. There’s a lot of little sharks along the beach as well as some tarpon, but not as much bait as we should have at this time.

As we get more rain, it should push more bait out of the creeks and the lagoon and push some more bait inshore. Looking for more opportunities in the near future with schools of tarpon as well as bonito crashing on the bait pods.

An elusive “slot” snook Friday evening at the south jetty

Good morning all you Sebastian Inlet fanatics, I hope you all had a great and safe weekend, despite the afternoon thunder storms. Weather was nice, water was nice, but the fishing was a bit slow for the most part, no baitfish anywhere to be found, and that made it kind of tough, but there was some majorra, you just had to search and work hard to find any. There were some fish being caught, just not like it should be for this time of the year. The water was pretty clean for the most part until the winds switched and became SSE, which in turn dirtied it up on the south side. The seaweed was still around, but nothing like it was, also the water has warmed back up to 78 as of this writing, which for this time of year should be in the low 80’s. So that’s that, here we go with the action we did have.

North side

The action over here has been up under the bridge on the rocks on the outgoing tide, a few anglers who were able to find some majorra were catching some small undersized snook, and a couple small catch and release redfish. Remember in this area, you are NOT permitted to go past the fencing with the no trespassing signs just east of the catwalk, it is a designated construction area. Back towards the back, west of the tide pool on the incoming tide a few snook have been caught fishing live majorra, and back along the mangrove shoreline. That’s pretty much it for this side since fishing access is limited.

South side

Over here all the action has been at the tip of the jetty on the outgoing tide, cut shrimp was attracting bites from black margate, spot tail pins, small whiting, and some very nice sand perch. I also did get a report of some flounder being caught as well, but didn’t hear if they were keepers or not. The incoming tide has been pretty slow with the dirtier water, but there were a couple undersized snook caught on live croakers. That’s pretty much the jest of it out here.

T-Dock area

Back here the fishing has picked up a bit from what it has been, but with the T-dock still being closed, it is limited. On the incoming tide, and beginning of the outgoing, if you find some majorra, snook are possible. I did hear about a few slots being caught, but I did not see any the entire weekend I was there. Early morning seems to be the time for that. Along the rock shoreline I did see some small mangrove snappers being caught, which this time of year when the water warms up on the intercoastal, they will start showing, plus all the tiny minnows that are around the T-dock attract them. Also being caught back here are sheepshead, and a few black drum, live or cut dead shrimp for the snappers, drum, and sheepshead.

Surf Area, both sides

North side has been pretty slow due to the fact that we have a massive sandbar on that side from the jetty all the way up to the north parking lot which makes finding deep water tough, so not many folks fishing this side. On the south side the water is much deeper, but also much dirtier due to the SSE winds kicking it up. An occasional pompano or two have been caught, along with some small whiting on live sandfleas and cut shrimp. Puffers, catfish, and some pesky bonnet head sharks round out what is happening on this side.

Well friends, that’s it for this week! This week is going to be kind of iffy weatherwise, but if you get out early before the storms, you might just catch some fish. Have a great week folks! Snookman.

Tyler with his first snook!

Inshore fishing is still really good, but the bite is early. Plenty of snook and some good trout as well as some jacks and a few redfish here and there.

Nearshore waters are warming and the jacks are showing up in good numbers. There are some tarpon around but not that many yet and they are picky. The water off the beach was cold all week and warmed up on the weekend. Both jacks and tarpon were picky but the small sharks were eating well.

AJ caught his first tarpon off the beach

Kingfish will be showing up on the beach in decent numbers as the water stays warm and the bait stays around. The kingfish will eat both live baits and artificial baits and they will mix in along with the bait schools and even the schools of tarpon. The rain should help the bite a bit as it pushes the smaller baits out of the creeks and lagoon and gets the fish we are looking to catch fired up.

Good morning, all my Sebastian Inlet fishing/beaching friends; I hope everyone had a great and safe weekend! This week’s report is FINALLY a better one than what has been going on — and I like that! Without any further ado, here you go…

North side

This side the water has been relatively clean and weed-free for a while now, and some fish are biting, mostly on the incoming tide. In the back near the old “steel” area they have been catching sheepshead on cut shrimp and sand fleas. In that area and along the rocks just east of there, around the tide pool there have been a few snook (use live mojarra, incoming tide and the first of the outgoing, if you can find some, as they have been pretty scarce the last week. That’s it for this side as access is limited due to the ongoing jetty construction.

South side

Here, the outgoing tide at the tip is where I have been seeing the most action: blue runner, black margates, sand perch, and sheepshead have been biting cut shrimp. Also over here, same tide I saw some nice lookdowns, small bluefish, Spanish mackerel, being caught on small goofy jigs, also saw a couple of pompano as well, same jigs. The water has cleaned up and had warmed back up to 77/78 degrees. The seaweed has also dissipated somewhat. The incoming tide has produced a few snook on live mojarra — again, if you can find some, they’ve been scarce. Some nice sheepshead have also been caught on cut shrimp and live sand fleas on the incoming tide along the rocks, both sides of the bridge.

T-Dock area

The dock remains closed as of this writing, but all the dredging piping and equipment has been removed, making it easier to fish, and cast net bait. It has been a little slow back here, but there have been a few snook caught on live mojarra and threadfins. Also, anglers have caught a few sheepshead and whiting on cut shrimp on the incoming tide. That’s it, since the T-dock is still closed.

Surf Area, both sides

The water on both sides of the inlet on the beach has cleaned up quite a bit, especially on the north side where it is deeper. I received reports of a few nice black drum, sheepshead, pompano and some whiting caught on the north side roughly 200 yards north of the jetty. Live sand fleas and cut shrimp are the baits to use. Keep an eye out for mullet coming down the beaches because there might be snook and tarpon around the schools. Approximately 200 yards or more down from the south jetty there have been pompano and black drum for those fishing live sandfleas and cut shrimp. Early morning high tide is the time to fish the beaches while the water is high. The cleaner water on this side, along with the very small surf has helped the fishing pick up. Also, I chatted with a couple of anglers who have hooked up with some big sharks here. They are commonly found on this side.

Well, friends, that’s all for this week. I’m glad the conditions and the action are improving. As I have said, when things get better weatherwise, fishing WILL improve as well. Expect hot weather this week, but light and bearable wind and surf for good fishing. Get out there and enjoy everything the park has to offer. Have a great week.

Great start to summer break for Alex with a big snook!

Winds finally laid down and we are able to fish the beaches. However, the water temps are in the low 70s on the surface and much cooler below and the action was slow. We did find a few tarpon but they weren’t active due to the colder water temps. The were only a few schools of jacks that were out there and hungry but the bait is scarce so they are on the move. Inshore bite is still good for snook and trout and there’s still some bluefish around in the lagoon and out on the beaches.

The best bet right now is stay inshore and focus on the snook and trout and hit the beaches once that water temp gets back to normal which hopefully be pretty quick.

Good morning all you Sebastian Inlet hardcore fishing junkies! I hope everyone had a great weekend, a safe weekend especialyy the fishing moms out there, Happy Mothers Day! After the fact. Lol. This weeks report is going to be a carbon copy of last weeks, absolutely not much going on over the weekend! Deadsville. Main reason being again, the poor water quality, dirty and still too cool, 76 as of this writing, should be in the low 80’s by now, and the continuous brisk SSE winds stirring up the surf, and keeping the weeds coming, and NO bait!

There are a few mullet around, just nor what the springtime run should be for our area, and the majorra again have gone on vacation! The guys are having a really tough time catching any. And like always, no bait, no fish. But on a good note, the dredge pipes that were in the water at the T dock have been removed, south side pumping is done, so the area is open again for castnetting. The T dock on the other hand is still closed, and will be for the duration of the dredging project.

Also, while I was out on the north jetty last week doing some surveying, they are coming along nicely with the project from what I saw and chatted with the lead engineer. Remember, it won’t be finished until JULY! Not May, not June… JULY! I keep hearing rumors from anglers that it will be done early, so I just want to set the record straight. It’s July… Because that is what’s on the district website.

So that’s it for this week, wish I had better fishing news, but I tell it like it is. Everybody have a great week! And it will get better.

Jumbo snook and Jack for Noah!

The wind laid down early in the week and let us fish the beach to find some jacks and a few tarpon. We managed to jump a couple and we caught a few jacks but by mid week the wind picked back up kept us in the lagoon. We still had a decent snook bite and a few bigger jacks on both live bait and artificial. We managed to find some good tripletail as well on the crab trap buoys and brought a couple home for dinner.

Still waiting on that wind to lay down and get out and chase some tarpon, jacks and king mackerel along the beaches.

Joshua Bedolla shows off a beautiful 39-inch snook he caught last week at Sebastian Inlet.

Hello there, Sebastian inlet enthusiasts; I hope everyone had a great weekend! Off we go with ANOTHER boring report. I dislike writing reports like this, but as I always say, I tell it like it is so you don’t waste your time and money to travel to the inlet for fishing when nothing is biting.

Water conditions continue to be the biggest issue, and the SSE winds have been churning up and clouding the water. Sargassum weed remains a big problem, especially on the south side, and water temperatures have dropped back down to 75 as of this writing. All of this equates to poor fishing at the inlet. The lack of bait fish again doesn’t help either: The mullet I saw a week ago have vanished, and the mojarra that were thick last week have taken another vacation. To that end, here is the gist of things:

South jetty

The water is just awful on either tide. Last weekend, all I saw caught were sail cats and small bluefish eating everything you tossed out! They were everywhere. No snook anywhere due to the presence of bluefish. Back around the T Dock and cleaning table, water conditions were slightly better, but there were no fish around. I didn’t see or hear of any snook over the weekend, and like I said earlier, the mojarra usually found here were on vacation. Even the commercial guys that net them to sell to the bait shops were not getting any! And back here the snook bite usually coincides with the bait being here.

North side

The water was much cleaner, but again, the fish were absent. The only fish I saw being caught were bigger jack crevalle in the back at the end of cove road on live and dead baits. Under the bridge were a couple of undersized snook caught on live mojarra along the rocks — and that is the only snook activity I heard of in the entire inlet.

Surf area, both sides

The south side was a washed-up mess, nobody was fishing it due to the waves, dirty water, and massive seaweed problem. The north side was cleaner, but nobody was fishing the surf. It looked good to me, the absence of anglers was largely due to low tides in the morning and the big sandbar around the jetty, making it tough to reach deeper water. You would have to go north on the beach where everyone swims, which makes it tough to fish.

Well, that’s all I have for this week. Expect good fishing weather until the storms arrive on Friday, so get out beforehand and hopefully catch dinner. Have a great week, have fun and be safe!

Great week of inshore fishing again as the spring bait has finally showed in the last week or two. Big snook have been the main target but we’ve got a few nice trout, several short and under slot snook, and triple tail as well.

Winds have kept us inshore and we haven’t been able to get off the beach so we haven’t been able to catch tarpon, sharks and kingfish. The winds should slow down this month and we should start getting on the tarpon as they migrate north in the next week or two.