Sebastian Inlet Report

09-05-13 THURSDAY: REDS, MANGROVE SNAPPER, SPANISH MACKEREL, JACKS AND SPOTS 

It's another beautiful morning at the Sebastian Inlet. Winds are blowing out of the East at 5 mph and the water is calm with a light ripple on the surface. A mix of sun and clouds may help with the heat index today, it's been pretty brutal.

Fishing has definitely picked up. Yesterday, slot sized Redfish were taking a variety of baits, from shrimp to live finger mullet according to Mike Ricciardi of Vero Beach. The Mangrove Snapper bite slowed down, but Mike was able to catch his limit of five. Spanish Mackerel are returning in better numbers and Diane Buyce of Melbourne got her share along with a few other anglers, they were good sized, in the 18" - 25" range. Live greenies were the Mack's bait of choice and were plentiful. Only one Snook was landed in the morning hours, a 37" C/R by Mike Misserville. Our first photo is courtesy of Mike, of inlet regulars Chris Robinson (kneeling), Jose Dore, Tony Swiderski, Chuck Fischer and Mike Ricciardi, all with slot Reds in the 24" - 25" range.

Spiro Stathopoulos of Malabar landed a nice 24" Red yesterday morning as well.

Photo three is of Mike's Redfish, surrounded by Mangrove Snapper on the cleaning table.




Mike Ricciardi of Vero Beach fished the north jetty yesterday and sent in an update. Mike arrived at daybreak, netted some mojarra and proceeded to fish. Snook were evasive and although all the "regulars" were targeting them, there were none to be had. Spiro Stathopoulos of Malabar had a couple of hook-ups and lost one that appeared to be a slot Snook due to a cut-off, Mike Misserville also had several hook-ups but nothing for the table. Mangrove Snapper were biting well and Mike, Diane Buyce of Melbourne and Don Weller of Sebastian all got their limits of five each. Diane also landed several Spanish Mackerel and a lot of Blue Runners came over the rails. Mike landed an oversized Red at the end of the jetty using live mojarra, he didn't bother to measure it, but he estimated 34". Mike also reported bait fish of all kinds were thick! 

Our first photo is of Mike Ricciardi's C/R Red he landed.
Richard Doughman of Melbourne is featured in our second photo. Richard landed his Mangrove Snapper off the north catwalk using finger mullet.

Photo three is of Jose Rojas who fished the north jetty and landed his 5 lb. Jack using live finger mullet. 

From Capt Joe Ward @ Bait Shack - FT Pierce

INSHORE - The inshore fishing has been improving as the water starts to clear up in some locations. The snook bite in the Ft. Pierce Inlet has been good when using live shrimp and finger mullet. Only a few slot fish have been reported. At the South Jetty the tarpon action has been red hot. There has also been Spanish mackerel, jacks and a few blues working the bait pods along the beaches. The snapper bite has also been good around the area's bridges as well as along the channel edges both to the north and south of both bridges. Try a live shrimp or a small white bait for the best results. The trout and redfish bite have slowed down some but a places like Bear Point and the Midway Road area to the south and to the north try Jack Island and also Round Island. The north area has been giving up a few nice size fish on the high tide when using live baits like pilchards, greenies or a large live shrimp. Try free lining any of the three baits in 3 to 5 feet of water up around the grassy and sand pockets areas.

From Whites Tackle - Ft Pierce / Stuart

Ft Pierce
 Inshore the fishing has been ok with some nice redfish around north of north bridge on soft baits and top water at first light. The snook fishing is starting to pick up around the bridges  with live bait and jigs. the beach fishing continues to be good with tarpon, snook, jacks and a few redfish mixed in the bait. 

Stuart
The beach has been really good fishing, the bait is still really thick  and allowing for many opportunities to catch large Tarpon, Jacks, and Snook. Try throwing smaller plugs in the Albino Shiner or Glass Ghost color or a green or black back lure will work well also.  Inshore the crossroads have been holding good bait and there has been an awesome snook and tarpon bite there as well.  Round island and north have been a good bet for trout, snook and occasional redfish.  Gulp jerk shads in the Camo, Sardine, and New Penny have been working really well around the mangroves and flats.  There has been alot of finger mullet and large silver mullet in the river north of the north bridge in Ft Pierce, should be a good sign of things to come. 

Sebastian Inlet Report

09-03-13 TUESDAY: MANGROVE SNAPPER, SNOOK, REDS, JACKS, SHEEPSHEAD, SEA TROUT AND LADYFISH 

It's a beautiful morning at the inlet. Winds are blowing out of the West-Southwest at 4 mph and the water is calm. Be sure to take insect repellent, sunscreen and lots of water if you head to the inlet.

Over the weekend, a lot of Jacks and Ladyfish were active in the evening hours. The Snook bite was fair for opening season, most were over the slot. Mangrove Snapper continue to bite along with some Reds, slot sized and oversized. Please handle catch and release fish with caution. Don't keep them out of the water too long. If you need a net to bring them up onto the north jetty; please use a net to lower them back in, it's a long drop for a tired fish. If photographing, hold the C/R fish horizontally and support it with two hands.

Miles Gates of Cleveland, TN was in town visiting family for the long weekend. Miles and his brother-in-law got out on the flats and had a great time. The two men landed Mangrove Snapper, Sheepshead, Snook, Sea Trout and Jacks using live shrimp, fishing along the docks north of the inlet. Miles is featured in our first photo today with a good sized Sheepshead

Richard Doughman of Melbourne fished the north jetty Friday night. When the tide turned to outgoing, a lot of people were nabbing a lot of fish. A couple of Reds, lots of Jacks and Ladyfish, and a few Snook. Richard landed a 36" C/R Snook using 10 lb. monofilament and a 15 lb. fluorocarbon leader. Richard released the Snook unharmed, right after the photo. 

Our next three photos are courtesy of Mike Ricciardi of Vero Beach. Photo three features inlet regulars (L-R), Larry Robison of W. Melbourne, Chuck Fischer of Satellite Beach and Mike Ricciardi of Vero Beach. The men fished the north jetty Thursday morning when Larry and Mike landed 26.5" Reds between 7:00 - 7:30, using mojarra. Early bird Chuck landed his before daylight.!

Vern Roberson of Winter Haven is featured in our fourth photo. Vern landed this nice 16" Mangrove Snapper using mojarra. Vern landed his limit of five that morning. 
Our last photo today is of one of those Goliath Groupers that lie in wait beneath the north jetty. They just love to jump out and nail a nice tasty meal being brought in by a jetty angler. Alberto Morales was unfortunate enough to get this one on the line for about 30 minutes before it broke off. It was estimated to weigh 300 lbs.!

Event Tonight At White's Tackle Stuart

Please join us tonight at 6 pm at Whites Tackle in Stuart for phenomenal seminar with Kadri Benton on Snook Fishing!! The season opened on Sunday and the bite has been red hot!! A master at fishing the flare hawk, Kadri will be sharing all his knowledge and techniques on catching the illusive linesider!!! Party starts at 6 but get here early to reserve you seat! We will See Tonight!!! 

Capt. Jonathan Wright

From Capt. Charlie @ Fishing Center - Ft Pierc

September is always an exciting month to fish along the Treasure Coast. Anglers eagerly await the arrival of the annual fall mullet run. The beaches and rivers will be filled with mullet and you can find lots of predators following the bait this month. Look for tarpon, snook, jacks, bluefish and many other species feeding on the mullet this month. Top water and suspending lures work fantastic in September. Try a DOA Baitbuster or Big Fish lure while fishing around the large schools of mullet. It's a great time of year to fish early mornings along the beach. The fish will be cornering the bait along the surf and action can be fun and exciting.

Snook season opens again on September 1st. Anglers have been patiently awaiting the chance at keeping a slot fish for dinner. A few things to keep in mind while you are anxiously getting ready for the start of the season are making sure your license and snook permit are not outdated. Know the slot size, which is 28" – 32" and a one fish per day limit. Check your rods, reels and fishing line. Don't lose that keeper fish because of something that you could have avoided by a little preparation. Remember that there will be lots of anglers heading out the first several days of the season. Have fun and be safe!

You will be able to find some redfish schools this month as they gather up to head out to the ocean. Look around the shallow sandy flats for them to be feeding. DOA shrimp or CAL jerk baits can coax them into biting. Trout will continue to bite around the usual flats like, Bear Point, Harbor Branch and Round Island. Deadly Combos fished on the edges of the bait schools will find some action with trout and other species. Snapper can be found along channel edges and around structure. Sheephead, drum and snapper can be caught on the catwalks of the bridges. Live or dead shrimp will find these fish.

September Tip:
Fish the bait schools! It's easy to spot the bait this time of year. If you don't find bait around your favorite fishing spot, you will most likely not find many fish there. Move around if you need to in order to find active bait. Fish love this time of year and they are out there gorging themselves on the bait in anticipation of the coming winter months. Try a CAL Airhead or DOA Bait Buster around the mullet schools. Early mornings can be exciting on the flats. You can find big fish in shallow water around the bait pods. It has been a long hot summer and finally temperatures will begin to mellow out and water temps will get back to normal. It's a great time of year to be fishing!

From Whites Tackle - Ft Pierce / Stuart

Snook Season is here and the bite has been red hot on the beach around the inlet and to the south toward hobe sound beach.  Get there early to beat the heat as, the bite starts to shut down the higher the sun gets.  Use rapala x-raps and yozuri crystal minnows in the pearl and black back colors. Also doa cal's in the holo pattern with 3/8 jig head.  You will find tarpon , ladyfish, and jacks mixed in chasing the glass minnow schools.