Sebastian Inlet Report

07-05-12 THURSDAY: MANGROVE SNAPPER, BONITA, BLUES AND SPANISH MACKEREL 

We hope everyone had a happy and safe July 4th holiday. It's a pretty morning at the inlet, although winds are barely blowing out of the South-Southeast at 3 mph, making it pretty warm. Take insect repellent if you head to the inlet to ward off the no see 'ums. 

This morning big schools of Bonita are darting around the north jetty, hitting live bait! It's pretty amazing that they are inshore, as they are normally a deep water fish. Good sized Mangrove Snapper are biting as well. A few Blues and Spanish Mackerel are in the mix, but not in huge numbers.

Glenn Cook and his stepson Andrew Gamble of Orlando, camped at the Sebastian Inlet State Park  and landed a couple of nice fish for dinner! Photo one is of a 22" Sea Trout landed by Glenn on live shrimp drifted under a Cajun Thunder bobber at dusk.

Photo two is of Andrew Gamble with a 19" slot Red he landed on cut mullet. They grilled it over the campfire, along with the Sea Trout. 

From Whites Tackle - Ft Pierce

The inshore fishing has been good with trout and redfish along the west bank north of the power lines. Snook and tarpon have been in the mouth of the inlet on the incoming tide.

Sebastian Inlet Report

07-03-12 TUESDAY, MANGROVE SNAPPER, REDS, AND BONITA? 

Our web cam photos haven't updated since yesterday, we are aware of the situation and are addressing the issue. Believe us, it's a beautiful morning at the inlet! Winds are blowing out of the West-Southwest at 2 mph and gusting to 4 mph. With very little wind blowing, the no see 'ums are out in force, take insect repellent with you if you head to the inlet. The water is clean and calm this morning and looks like a great day for boating or surf fishing. Always check the coastal forecast prior to going offshore.

Tommy Turowski of the Sebastian Inlet Bait and Tackle Shop reported that two nice Bonita were landed off the north jetty this morning, around 8 lbs each! That's rare for the north jetty, they are usually found in deeper waters. SISP Ranger Ed Perry reported tons of small ones in the water and he saw one big one, but this is a real treat, indeed! Mangrove Snapper continue to bite if you can get the right baits. They have been hitting greenies, mojarra and small shrimp. 

Our first angler today is Tavian Campanelli. Tavian and his dad, Brian went fishing on Tavian's 13th birthday. They were fishing from the north catwalk using live mullet to land this beautiful 31" C/R Red. After a quick measure and photo, it was returned back to the inlet unharmed. Tavian's words were "Best birthday EVER"!! He and his brother Aiden (age 10) also landed some Mangrove Snapper to take home for the table. Congratulations and happy birthday Tavian!

Our second photo is AMAZING. Duc Nguyen landed this 54 lb Redfish on the south side of the State Park. Duc weighed it with a Boga Grip and two Park volunteers took this photo and witnessed the catch. Duc may have set a Florida record as the current record is 52 lbs, 5 oz. He will have to submit all the necessary paper work to the IGFA and make sure his scale is calibrated correctly, but it will be worth the trouble if he tops the record! 

From Capt. Charlie @ Fishing Center - Ft Pierce

Fantastic weather has finally moved into the Treasure Coast and anglers are heading out to enjoy the water and fishing along the area.  Once Debby moved off after dumping all that wind and rain on everyone, the skies cleared and the fishing has been great.  It's time to head to your favorite fishing spot and have some fun.

We have enjoyed a variety of fish biting this week all around the flats of the Indian River.  Redfish and trout have been our main target, but we managed a few snook, jacks and grouper in the mix lately.  The trusty DOA shrimp has worked well this week, especially the 382 Silver Holographic color

Top water is a favorite of most anglers this time of year and the action at first light has been good. 

We have fished both north and south of Fort Pierce and had success in both directions.  A lot of the trout have been in two to three feet of water in the mornings.  Redfish are gathering and you should be able to find some nice schools soon.  Most are mid-slot to upper slot fish now.  DOA shrimp, gold spoons and top water are great ways to fish the shallow flats or sand bars.

There are still lots of sheephead around the river along with snapper.  Most will be caught around channel edges, docks or bridges with live or dead shrimp.  You can still find plenty of bluefish around, too.  The jetties have had a good snook bite on the higher ends of the tides with live bait, Bait Busters or feather jigs.  Surf anglers continue to catch plenty of whiting along the beaches.  July should prove to be a very good month!  

Sebastian Inlet Report

07-02-12 MONDAY: MANGROVE SNAPPER, BLUEFISH, REDS, LADYFISH, JACKS AND SPOTTAIL PINFISH 

It's beautiful at the inlet this morning. The wind is blowing out of the Southwest at 2 mph and the water is calm and clean. 

Tommy Turowski at the Inlet Bait and Tackle Shop reported quite a few Mangrove Snapper over the weekend, a few Spanish Mackerel, big Reds, one 7 lb Flounder was landed under the bridge, and large and small Mullet were coming and going. Glass minnows were thick, as were greenies. 

We also received an update from SISP Ranger Ed Perry who fished Friday night after work. Ed and his co-worker Barbara Courtney landed Ladyfish and lost a Spanish Mackerel. Bonito were buzzing all around, most were small, in the 14" range but he saw one that was about 10 lbs go ripping by. They were eating small juvenile fish about an inch long and wouldn't hit anything else, not even live greenies! Ed was casting for bait and caught a Snook, a Croaker, Atlantic Bumper, Pilchards, and baby Bluefish, a good variety of small fish hanging around the inlet. Ed saw another angler pull in a C/R Red, and saw several Snook swimming around the jetty. Ed took home a Bluefish and had it for dinner. He panned seared it with olive oil and spices and said it was delicious. Thanks Ed!

Our first photo is of Ed Lectric of Sebastian with an enormous Snook he landed off the north jetty using live mojarra. Dave is nearly 90 years old and is one of the best Snook fishermen on the north jetty. The big Snook was lowered back into the water via net. 

From Capt. Charlie Conner @Fishtalescharter.com

July brings hot weather, chances of afternoon rains and Fourth of July parties. Oh....and lots of great fishing out there, too! Watch out for afternoon thunderstorms this month. Mornings on the river will bring action at first light on top water lures for snook or trout along the flats. They will seek deeper water as the sun rises. It’s a hot, but very productive month around the Treasure Coast.

I will be fishing along the mangroves for snook and redfish with DOA shrimp, CAL jerk baits and top water lures where the water will be 2-3 feet deep. Trout will move to deeper flats in 2-6 feet of water and will most likely hit pigfish, DOA shrimp or Deadly Combos. Look for the trout to move to the deeper edges of the flats as the sun warms up the water. Fish the sand holes on the flats! You will find the bigger fish sitting in these holes waiting on the tides to bring the food to them.

Redfish will continue to hold up on the flats. Read the water as you move across the flats and look for any activity that might be a school of reds. Gold spoons, soft baits, like DOA shrimp or CAL jerk baits will work best for them. Search along the docks during the day for snook or redfish hanging around there as well. It’s a fantastic month to be fishing!

Bridges will be producing snapper, drum and sheephead during July. Live or dead shrimp will be hard for them to resist. Watch the tides and fish the slower sides of them for best results. Whiting will continue to be in the surf with the occasional bluefish and Spanish mackerel. There will be larger snapper in the river around structure and along channel edges. Sharks will be patrolling along the beach also. The glass minnows will be flowing into the river in huge schools. Watch for these bait schools and fish the edges for your best action.

 Areas to fish in the river for July: Bear Point, Queen's Cove and Round Island. South of Harbor Branch will be a great area to work for trout in the mornings before the sun heats up things. The flats in front of the power plant taper off to 3-5 feet and will be holding trout during the day. Live pigfish are the favorite food for trout this time of year. It’s time to set the traps to feed these hungry fish! Try a DOA TerrorEyz during the day also for trout. The west shore down there will be good areas to search out redfish. Channel edges will be yielding snapper on structure. Tripletail will be around channel markers and pilings to the south towards Jensen Beach. 
 

From Native Tackle - Sebastian

INLET    Nice redfish are being caught on pinfish during high tide! A lot of reports of C/R snook! Pompano are also feeding on doc's goofy jigs, while Spanish mackerel are feeding spoons! Some nicesnapper are being pulled up from the bottom using live shirmp! Surf The spanish mackerel have been hitting spoons and their is still a good whiting bite.