SEBASTIAN INLET FISHING

Tanya caught this 15-inch flounder using live shrimp on the beachside of the south jetty in the “surf pocket” area.

South jetty in the early morning incoming tide there were several under slot snook being caught on live majorra, and a few redfish, which you still cannot keep. At the tip on the outgoing tide about the only thing I saw caught was some smaller black Margate on dead shrimp. I did hear about a couple nice keeper flounder caught in the “pocket area” on the beach side of the jetty, live shrimp did the trick on them. And that was pretty much it for out there. Back in the back around the t dock and cleaning station, there was a decent snook and redfish bite on Saturday, both tides on live majorra, one of my friends said she caught 4 nice redfish, which you cannot keep, season is still closed, and 3 snook, one under slot, and two over slot. She returned on Sunday and in the same area caught a 31 inch slot snook on the very first cast! And after that only a couple under slots were caught. Didn’t see much of anything else caught back here as the t dock is closed, and that is where we see the other species caught.

The surf areas just north of the north jetty, and the area just south of the south jetty have been pretty slow due to the cooler water temperatures, still at 73 as of this writing, and the silted-up water. About the only thing I saw caught in these areas over the weekend were a couple nurse sharks, and bonnet head sharks. Well, that’s all I have for this week guys and gals, it will get better, we just need some warmer water to move in, and STAY here, oh and some more baitfish. Have a great week, supposed to be nice and “springtime” all week long!! Cheers, snookman.

Hello there all you Sebastian Inlet fans! I hope everyone enjoyed the great weekend we had. Fishing wasn’t very good at the inlet, dismal at best! So this report will be a brief one.

The water has remained 74-75 degrees, which is where it should be, but the water conditions at the inlet have been a train wreck! The brisk SSE winds and the bigger surf from the winds has dirtied up the water and made it look like the Mississippi River, very muddy and lots of seaweed everywhere! Over the weekend it didn’t matter where you fished, the water was nasty. And I didn’t see any fish being caught except for a few small whiting and black Margate’s caught on the south jetty. It was pretty rough and wet out there though, not a lot of folks fishing it.

Back in the back, south side, again I didn’t see any fish being caught. I chatted with one of my fishing gals that was there Sunday when I got there, and she said she did catch 3 snook on live majorra, 2 over slot and 1 under slot. And that was all the snook I heard about! Heck, even the boaters weren’t catching anything.

This week is going to be another “iffy” week with the weather and water conditions, supposed to have another front move over for Tuesday bringing rain and some more brisk winds from the NNE, 15-25, and the seas are supposed to go up to 5-7 by late Wednesday through Friday. So if you are going to fish the inlet, the back should be your best bet. Like I have always said, I don’t sugar coat anything to get you all to go fishing, I tell it like it is at the inlet. I love to see you all catch fish, but if it isn’t going to be good, I’ll tell you! Anyway, you all have a great week!

Blair with a Big Black Drum

We’ve had a windy spring so far and this last week was no exception with 15-25 mph winds all week. The only positive was that the winds were out of the south and east and the water temps were good. Spring bait is starting to show up and the snook action is getting to where it should be with some trout and a few redfish in the mix. There’s a few schools of black drum around as well. We’ve been getting plenty of snook on most trips with mostly slot and a few under slot fish. We’ve also been getting a few over slot fish but not as many big fish in the 40+ inch range. I am seeing a few bigger trout around but not too as many as I would expect this time of year.

Frank with a slot snook!

The beach fishing isn’t happening with the winds and rough seas and the inlet has been silty from all of the beach renourishment and the dredging in the inlet. If you’re fishing the inlet, be wary of the dredging operation and the pipes are crossing the inlet and are submerged most of the time but they also can be floating at the surface. There is a sign on the dredge barge on which side to pass if you can’t see the pipe.

Greg Barrow, owner of Snookside Charters shows offf a 29 or 30-inch slot snook caught on his boat using live threadfins for bait.

Good morning all you Sebastian Inlet fishing fans, I hope everyone had a great weekend, a bit windy, but was nice. This report is going to be another brief one due to the ocean conditions we had the last several days, gusty ESE winds, and big 5-6 ft seas, not making it good to fish, but there were some fish biting. And just another reminder when fishing the north side around the bridge, you ARE NOT permitted to fish anywhere on the rocks east of the fencing marked with the three “NO TRESPASSING” signs, and anywhere along the rocks all the way out to the jetty, and you ARE NOT permitted to climb under the jetty at the beach/jetty point either, it is also marked with signage, that entire area is designated a construction area, and if caught by FWC, you will be cited for trespassing. It is for your safety! Thank you.

Now, on to the fishing. It has been a little slow, but while I was down over the weekend, there was a pretty good snook bite for a change, most were small undersized, but plenty of them, and I did see several mid slots taken as well. So here is the scoop.

There was a pretty decent snook bite, but sides, both tides. A lot b of shorts, but I did see several slots kept, and some overs released. South jetty incoming, shrimp and threadfins, in the back, south side, majorras and thumper shrimp jigs, and threadfins, the majorra were plentiful. The hot spot in the back was by the t dock, and cleaning table, both tides. North side I saw several snook caught in the back by where the mangroves start, along the rocks, incoming tide. The boats were catching quite a few west of the bridge along the shoreline we can’t get to because of the construction and being OFF LIMITS. Was a pretty active day on Saturday. Best I have seen in a few weeks!

North side baits were live threadfins and majorra. That’s pretty much all there was going on, didn’t see much of anything else being caught except for a few kitty fish, jacks and a couple of small nurse sharks. Good thing about it all is the water is gradually warming up, 73 degrees as of this writing. With the easterly flow of winds, the water will continue to warm up some more. It just need to calm down in the wind department, and clean back up.

That’s all I have for now guys and gals. It’s supposed to be a great week all week, more springtime like it should be. 2-3 ft seas, and lighter winds, no more 15-25’s. Lol. So, grab your gear, water, sunscreen and go out and catch some fish!

Good day, all my Sebastian Inlet fishing fans. I hope everyone had a great weekend; the weather sure was nice! Here we go with another installment of what’s happening at the inlet, or in this case, what’s NOT happening. There wasn’t a lot biting at the inlet over the weekend. I spent most of Sunday at the inlet and saw only one fish caught — a small slot snook on the north side, west of the tide pool along the rocks (using live shrimp). The gal who caught it said there were also a couple of redfish caught as well on live shrimp, and only one other slot snook. The fish were caught at the end of the outgoing tide and the beginning of the incoming tide. Nothing else on this side, even at the bridge where sheepshead are usually caught.

South side

Over here it was slow. I saw NO fish caught from the jetty all the way back to the T-dock, not even a jack or blue runner, or any black margates, which are usually always biting. That’s pretty sad, but we have the water temperatures to blame, it had dropped back down to 68 degrees over the weekend, but it was clean, calm and weed-free. I did hear about a couple undersized snook caught early on the outgoing tide on live bait, but only a couple, not the numbers that were being caught. I think the snook all went to school and got educated.

T-Dock area

Back here, it has been slim pickins, possibly because the dredging equipment is making the fish a little skittish with all the activity around it. The incoming tide only produced small bluefish and ladyfish for the anglers, no snook. Zero fish on the outgoing tide.

Surf area, both sides

There weren’t many anglers at the north side, but those who were out caught black drum and a few pompano and whiting. Live sandfleas was the bait of choice. South side of the inlet there weren’t very many folks out there due to the dredge pipes being setup along the beach, but the anglers that were out reported a few nice pompano and whiting, along with the ever present bonnet head sharks. Again, sand fleas was the bait of choice.

That’s all I have for this week. This week is supposed to be pretty nice until Friday, when the winds and surf are anticipated to pick back up and likely churn the water, but you never know. I hope you all have a great week!

Fished inshore with mixed results. Inconsistent cold weather and winds have made the bait scarce and with the bait scarce the gamefish are scarce as well. Inshore we caught a few snook, some trout, jacks, mackerel and ladyfish. Also had a school of black drum in the lagoon but the fish were very picky. Finding them wasn’t too hard, but getting them to eat proved difficult. Overall, the inshore bite was pretty slow, but we did get some good fish. Live bait was key with the snook but everything else came on artificial. We also got a few tripletail off the crab traps in the lagoon.

Beach fishing was decent until the week until the winds started howling and the seas got rough. The seas calmed at the end of the week but the fish were scattered. Looking forward to more consistent weather in the coming weeks and a normal pattern for this time of year.

Big Black drum for Sean, his brother and friends

Another week of inconsistent weather with heavy winds a couple days. Typical spring where the bite changes daily with the weather and the full moon didn’t help the bite much either. We were able to get out on the beach and catch plenty of bait and plenty of Trout, weakfish, macs, blues jacks and even found a few ribbonfish. Bonus catch was about a 6′ hammerhead shark that was most likely in feeding on the mackerel, bluefish and jacks.

Jack got a snook over 40″

The inshore bite was hit or miss with plenty of jacks and some trout with a few snook mixed in. The big black drum have been very picky lately as well.

The upcoming week looks to have similar weather with some cold and windy days followed by some calm winds and warm air temps which will warm the water up a bit and hopefully improve the bite in the lagoon and off the beaches.

Arden, poses with a clean 27-inch catch-and-release snook caught Sunday with live shrimp on the south jetty.

Good morning, Sebastian Inlet fanatics, I hope everyone had a great weekend! The weather was decent again, but the fishing suffered due to the big SSE winds, 15 to 25 mph, along with the three to five-foot surf making things a bit dirty and challenging. But there were some fish caught. The good thing about it is that the water has remained at 71 degrees and didn’t drop any. We have a couple of breezy and big surf days ahead, but the winds should calm down by Wednesday. To that end, here is what I saw over the weekend from Friday through Sunday.

North side under the bridge, legal side of the fence, west side

On the incoming tide, there are still some nice sheepshead being caught on live sandfleas and cut shrimp fishing behind the pilings, and close to the rock shoreline. In the back, west of the tidal pool, the incoming tide has been producing sheepshead and a few black drum on live sandfleas, and cut or live shrimp for the drum. I heard that a few guys caught smaller snook back there as well on live shrimp floating the current. Not much else back here.

South Jetty

All weekend on the south jetty the bite has been hit-or-miss, incoming tide early has been producing quite a few of the undersized snook on live shrimp along the jetty rocks, small thumper jigs have been getting a few as well. I only saw one slot fish caught over the weekend; the rest were too small. Black drum and sheepshead continue to make a showing once in a while, too: use live shrimp and sandfleas. The outgoing tide at the tip always gets crowded, but they have been catching black margates, sheepshead, blue runners, small jack crevalle and a drum or two. Since the water has gotten so dirty, the pesky catfish are around as well. Another species I saw make a showing Friday and Saturday were the big bluefish again. They were a bit farther out than normal, but a big silver spoon or jig did the trick. Also, I saw several smaller, normal size bluefish caught. That is pretty much it for over here.

T-Dock area

Remember, folks, the T-Dock is closed for the duration of the dredging project, and the adjacent parking area, but the shoreline area around it is open for fishing. Back here I didn’t see anything caught. However, chatting with a couple of my friends, they caught some undersized snook and redfish on the incoming, and very beginning of the outgoing tide on live shrimp and thumper jigs. One of my friends did catch some black drum and a pompano on Friday before it got all messed up. So that’s pretty much all for back here.

Surf Area, both sides

As you may have guessed, it has been all blown out, rough and dirty.

That’s all I have for this week. We really need the weather to calm down and remain that way. As the water continues to warm up, fishing will pick up. Cheers, everyone!

Greg, owner of Snookside Charters (left) and an inlet regular showing off one of the many black drums caught in the boat at the tip of the north jetty.

Hello, all you Sebastian Inlet fishing fans. I hope everyone enjoyed the awesome weather we had all weekend. With that said, here’s what’s going on and what’s NOT going on at the inlet.

Let’s begin with news about the dredging project: The T-Dock and surrounding parking area is closed for the duration of the project. The dredge, barges and tug have launched in that area, with dredging expected to begin this week. Wooden ramps constructed over the dredge pipes at the south jetty allow access for those with fishing carts, as well as the handicapped folks. With that, here is the report:

North side

Under the bridge, on the LEGAL side of the fence on the incoming tide the sheepshead bite has been pretty good, with many fish in the two to three-pound pound range caught on live sandfleas around the pilings and rocks. There aren’t many places to fish as it can get busy and dangerous on the rocks, so be careful. Small undersized snook are being caught in that area as well on live shrimp. Back in the back there have been a few black drum, sheepshead caught on live sandfleas and shrimp on the incoming tide. Small undersized snook are back here as well, live shrimp for them.

South jetty

In the early morning, during the incoming tide, the snook bite has been decent on live shrimp. Most fish as always for this time of year are undersized, but I did see several mid- slots caught on Saturday and Sunday. They were 29 to 30-inch fish. On Saturday, I was there during the incoming tide and saw a couple of 14 to 16-inch flounder caught. The outgoing tide at the tip on both days was producing small snook, redfish, black drum, black margates, sheepshead and sand perch, live and cut shrimp and sandfleas were the baits of choice.

Back in the back on this side around the cleaning table I did see a couple of really nice black drum caught on live shrimp. The 20 to 24-inch fish were caught on the incoming tide. One of my regulars said that he caught some nice pompano back there on small thumper jigs, one of them he said was 18 inches, nice one! Small snook and some redfish round out the mix for back here, again, incoming tide, and the very beginning of the outgoing.

Surf, both sides

The surf fishing the most part still remains slow, with the water still cleaning up from the blow we had last week. The water quality has cleaned up greatly and as of this report is back up to 72 degrees where it should be.

That’s it for this week. Expect rain and winds on Monday, but it should settle down by Wednesday through the weekend. After Tuesday, it should be sunny and comfy again. So, get out there, grab your gear and go fishing, or just enjoy the beach. Be safe everyone!

Bill and his friends from New Jersey with some big black drum

Good week of fishing inshore and nearshore. Nearshore bite was good with plenty of bluefish, mackerel, jacks and sharks. Plenty of action on artificial baits as well as live bait for the sharks and mackerel. Inshore action was fairly good with some schools of big black drum in the lagoon along with some pompano, trout and snook.

Mr Conneen with a Tripletail he brought home for dinner.

Tripletail were on some of the crab trap buoys as well. Best bite was artificial but we did get some bigger snook on live bait. Paddle-tails from DOA and Rapala provided most of the action along with some bucktails from VMC for the pompano and mackerel. This week’s weather looks decent and we will be back out on the beach to see what we can get into and the snook bite inside should be heating up.