Sebastian Inlet Report with The Snookman

 

The bite is back in time for a busy Labor Day weekend

“Good morning, all my Sebastian Inlet fishing junkies; I hope you all had a great weekend, despite the rain and humidity. Good news! The fish are biting better than they had been. I feel that the water temperatures and quality PLUS the influx of baitfish have sparked things up considerably. There are still quite a bit of mullet of all sorts of sizes around the inlet and the surf area, along with a lot of greenies and pilchards all around the north jetty. Also, in the back of the inlet the small and bigger mojarra are around the t-dock area and along the shoreline, so getting bait isn't a problem. The bait shops are starting to get some bigger shrimp for a change. I knew the day was coming when the fishing would pick up; it was just a matter of timing. There were a variety of species caught throughout the inlet on both tides, but the incoming tide was the better time to fish. The outgoing tide at first turn is clean, but the freshwater runoff from the Sebastian River that follows is murky. Here’s where the action is:

North jetty: Over here all, or MOST of the action has been on the incoming tide on both sides of the jetty. Last week (Wednesday through Friday), the snook bite on live shrimp and mojarra was outstanding! Quite a few snook were hooked, but most were broken off on the rocks and dead lines around the jetty; the resident monster goliaths ate many, but several were landed and released. Along with the snook were catch-and-release redfish. Spanish mackerel were caught on freelined greenies on the beach side of the jetty. Quite a few nice fish were caught, with several anglers getting their limits of 15 per person. Also, the mangrove snapper bite has picked up as well, but the majority of them are smaller at 10 to 10.5 inches; however, I did see a few in the 12 to 13 inch range. Another species making a showing are the mutton snapper. Many were caught on the jetty, but most are just short of the 18-inch minimum to keep. They have been biting a bit in the previous weeks, but last week and over the weekend they bit better. Cooler water temperatures and that last offshore storm blew them in from the inshore reefs, along with the baitfish schools. Also, small numbers of cubera snappers were caught on live mullet at the tip of the jetty. Those I have seen and heard about have been in the 22 to 28 inch range. Nice fish, and a bear to deal with when you hook one! The outgoing tide has been a little slower due to the fish moving out further and the water quality going down, but snook and reds have been caught, along with the snappers. Live shrimp, live mullet and live greenies have been the baits of choice. And the good news is that the action  continued through last weekend. It hasn't been as action-packed as last week, but it was still on the up and upside with everything being caught that I mentioned. 

South jetty: Over here it has been the same thing: The incoming tide was a bit wild as well, with snook, redfish, jacks and mutton and mangrove snapper playing well! Live shrimp, mojarra and small croakers for the snook and reds, small live or dead greenies and mojarra for the snappers. Just a little note about the mutton snappers I have seen caught by myself and others, they prefer dead bait over live bait. Outgoing tide at the tip of the south jetty is all about the black margates, blue runners, jacks, and the mutton and mangrove snappers. Again, over here too, most are under the legal size to go home, but several nice ones have been caught, the mangroves that is, the muttons are too small over here too. Dead and live shrimp, cut bait are the key to success over at the tip. Also there have been a few bonnethead sharks caught in the beach/surf area on all baits. 

T-Dock area: Back here the fishing hasn't really picked up much, even though the bait is all around — just not a lot of folks back here fishing. Either tide, fishing around the dock pilings they are still catching the smaller mangrove snapper on live and dead cut greenies, and also some of the small mutton snapper as well. Most of the muttons caught, though, have been in the area about 20 to 30 feet away from the dock. With all the tiny minnows around the dock there are some nice Spanish mackerel for those fishing small white or green feather jigs, and freelining live greenies. With the mullet coming into the inlet, expect some big jack crevalle to be following them. Use large silver spoons tossed out to the channel or fish the big mullet freelined on a 4-5/0 hook. The snook bite has been hit-or-miss, depending on the water quality. The incoming tide around the area has held some clean water along the shoreline east and west of the dock, and some of the guys fishing live croakers and mojarra have been catching a few, most of which have been over the 32-inch maximum to keep. The arrival of cooler water and the spawning season ending soon should wake them up and get them to bite better. You just have to be there when they decide to have a party!  

Surf area, both sides: The mullet are coming from the north surf area, down the beach. The bigger swells from last week were hampering the action, but has calmed down greatly, so look for schools of mullet in the surf. If you find some, fish it with either a medium-sized swim bait, or if you have a cast net, net some and fish them!  As autumn and the mullet run nears — and snook season opens on September 1 — it could get pretty ‘fishy’ out there with snook, reds, tarpon and sharks and the BIG jack crevalle. For those fishing the beach for the small fare, whiting and croakers are being caught on live and dead shrimp. South side surf has been  dirty  due to the outgoing water flowing south along the coast. It gets roughed up from the surf and sucked back in on the incoming tide. The day use area of the park has been producing mangroves snapper, black margates and some of the small mutton snappers, along with lots of catfish and bonnet head sharks. 

 So, there we go, my friends, a really good report for a change. I knew that when we enter this season with cleaner and a bit cooler water, AND the baitfish showing up, the fishing would improve. Please note, snook season opens up on Sunday, September 1, and closes December  15. One fish per person daily can be kept with the size limit min 28 inches to max 32 inches, with the tail pinched. Expect big crowds this holiday weekend. Try to be courteous and patient  when you visit the inlet. Please adhere to the posted rules and regulations. Fishing at the jetty is a privilege, not a right, and can be taken away at any time by the park management! Get out there, catch dinner or a memory, but above all, have fun and be safe.” — Snookman.

From Todd @ Juno Bait Crew-Juno Beach

 INSHORE-  Snook season opens Today; welcome news to anglers hopeful for some fresh snook fingers.  Overall snook fishing has been very good, with no reason to believe it will slow down into the weekend.  Mullet have started to show up inshore (not full on yet, but a decent amount), and the snook are keyed in on them big time.  During the day live mullet fished along seawalls and under boat docks is going to be the best bet for the snook.  At night live mullet are also a solid choice, with flair hawk jigs and bigger swimbaits also being good choices.  When the snook have the mullet schools pushed up on top (likely at sunrise and sunset) a topwater lure will also be a great choice.  Some midsized tarpon and jacks will also no doubt be tagging along with the mullet.  A handful of mangrove snapper reports this week inshore; but most interest this weekend will no doubt go to the snook and mullet.  

SURF/PIER-  A few early pods of mullet showed up this week, with hungry tarpon in tow.  Snook, and a few bruiser jacks, have been mixed in with the mullet as well.  It is not full on mullet run yet, so it takes a lot of looking to find them.  Setting up  in one single spot is not the ideal strategy for the early pods; instead be ready to move (sometimes a long way!) with them.  A live mullet fished on the edge of the school, or kept slightly separated from the school will help improve the mullet run lottery odds.  Fishing a mullet under the school can also be a good way to go.  The small early season pods are often some of the best to fish, and can provide some of the best shots at getting big tarpon bites.  The Juno Beach Pier snook bite remains good, and will no doubt draw a lot of interest this weekend with season opening.  Pilchards are still hanging around the pier, and will provide a good bait choice for the snook.  If the mullet pods get pushed in around the pier the snook will likely switch over to them.  Spanish Mackerel action has been very good around the pier as well.  Freelining small live pilchards is a good way to go fort the Macs, as is a white crappie jig.  A few early season pompano around on the beach, and east winds in the forecast for the weekend could help push in a few more.   

From Todd @ Juno Bait Crew-Juno Beach

 INSHORE-  Catch and release snook fishing remains goods inshore.  The snook are in and around the inlets in solid numbers.  Look for the snook to start to slowly break out of the inlets after this full moon and the arrival of the mullet in the not so distant future.  This weekend could see a nice push of snapper show up in the inlets as well.  We haven't had a good hurricane swell yet this summer...time for some of those mutton and mangrove snapper to get pushed in!  Other inshore action remains spotty.  Could see the resident tarpon rolling around in the Loxahatchee River a little more fired up as a few early season finger mullet start to show up.  

SURF/PIER- Catch and release snook fishing remains good at the Juno Beach Pier and along the beach, with a little more summertime bait (pilchards and threadfins) finally filling in a bit more.   A change in the weather the next few days will shake things up a bit though!  As Hurricane Ernesto scoots up the coast it looks like a decent swell is going to build in over the next few days.  What exactly will happen is hard to say: But it could push the summer bait out and bring in some early mullet.  The other hope is that the swell helps push the snapper into the pier and inlets.  Last week saw a few early season pompano around; east winds and a swell this weekend could have another little push of pomps around.  

Sebastian Inlet Report with The Snookman

 "Good morning, my Sebastian Inlet fishing friends. I hope everyone enjoyed the weekend. Here is your fishing report for this week: It is going to be another slow one, as it was pretty slow at the inlet all weekend.  Fish were caught there, but not many. They were scattered all over the inlet, but no place was a hotspot.  Again the slowness is due to the SSW winds impacting  water quality, not to mention rain runoff from the Sebastian River and other mainland tributaries. I'm not going to break it all down, like I said, there weren't any hot spots. 

The north side produced small mangrove snapper along the rock shoreline on the incoming tide on live and dead greenies, and live shrimp. Most were too small to keep, but I did see some that made the limit to be kept.  Also, in that area there were catch-and-release snook caught on live mojarra, but only a few. At the tip of the jetty on the outgoing tide, there were catch-and-release snook on mojarra and croakers, but again, only a few. The incoming tide had small mangroves being caught, but most here were also too small. The south side jetty, outgoing tide was mostly all about the catfish and puffers. And a ton of seaweed, it was pretty bad over here with that. On the incoming tide, if you found cleaner water along the shoreline, there were small catch-and-release snook on live mojarra. Not much else on this side all the way back to the T-dock, except catfish and puffers. 

That's all I have this week, folks.  As always, I tell it like it is. We need clearer, warmer water for more action. Temperatures dropped from 83 early last week to 71 by Friday, but now it is back up to 78. Whenever it does that, it will affect the bite in a negative way. Everyone have a great week. - Snookman.

ICAST 2024

 

From Todd @ Juno Bait Crew-Juno Beach

 INSHORE-  Overall inshore action remains fairly slow.  Catch and release snook fishing remains fair to good depending on the day and conditions.  A bulk of the snook are in and around the inlets, but no doubt a decent number will also be scattered in the ICW and Loxahatchee River.  Coming off the full moon, the snook will break out of the inlet and do a little more traveling.  Early morning and late afternoon generally will provide the best bet at the snook: With dock-light fishing also popping off (generally those fish will be a little smaller, but the numbers can be pretty darn good).  No great mangrove snapper reports inshore; but a few scattered ones will no doubt be around.  Generally the mangroves will bite a little better at night.  Sandperch action in the ICW has been pretty good, with small pieces of shrimp being the bait of choice. 

SURF/PIER-  A little wind late in the week has the beach stirred up a bit.  While the chop and slightly off colored water can make sight fishing snook (One of the most common things to go on this time of year) along the beach tough, overall it generally doesn't slow the fishing down much.  The snook have continued to bite pretty good.  When the wind blows a bit and the water gets stirred up; it's time to go to a touch bigger lure or something that makes a bit of noise.  It doesn't look like the wind really lasts long, and it should be back to normal conditions before long.  The Juno Beach Pier snook bite is still good.  Live baits will generally get the most bites when the sun is up higher, but don't overlook a swimbait early and late in the day.  The croakers and sandperch have been biting good at the pier late in the afternoon, with small pieces of fresh shrimp and FishBites being the baits of choice.  A handful of kingfish showing off the end of the pier late in the afternoon, along with a few bonita throughout the day.  

Sebastian Inlet Report with The SnookmanSebastian Inlet Report with The Snookman

 

 Catch-and-release snook and redfish top the list as the action picks back up 

“Good morning, Sebastian Inlet anglers and sightseers; I hope everyone had a great weekend. The weather was awesome, and so was the fishing! The action was all over the inlet, but the north side was the better spot due to the cleaner water. There were baitfish in and around the inlet over the weekend: finger mullet, greenies and pilchards, mojarras in the back, but still NO glass minnows in the surf that are usually present this time of year. They have been largely a no-show all along the beaches. The action at the inlet has been the catch-and-release snook, redfish, good catches of mangrove snappers, Spanish mackerel,  and a few hooked-but-not-landed cubera snappers. Here are your action spots: 

North jetty: Here, most of the action has occurred during early morning and late evening high tide cycles, and on the FIRST of the outgoing tide at the tip. Live mullet and croakers have been the baits of choice for catch-and-release snook and redfish. Most of the snook have been in the 34 to 40-inch range, which are the big breeder females; if you catch any of these big girls, PLEASE return them to the water as quickly as possible! They, just like us when they are worked too hard fighting to land them, have lactic acid build up in their muscles. They cramp and can't swim, and become goliath or shark food. Again, please return them as  quickly as possible. Also, the redfish being caught are nice, too, being in the 27 to 34-inch range, with some being bigger. Like the snook, return them to the water as quickly as possible.

Boaters fishing the tip of the jetty are doing very well with the snook and reds. If you can get good-sized live shrimp — which is kind of tough during the summer when they are small — they will work on the incoming tide for the snook and reds. During early high tide, anglers are catching Spanish mackerel on live greenies on the ocean side of the jetty. Around the pilings and rocks of the jetty on either tide, high being the better tide, mangrove snapper are around and being caught. Live shrimp, greenies either live or dead are the bait for them. Some sheepshead are possible as well on live fiddler crabs and cut shrimp. If you see any schools of finger mullet around, keep an eye out for schools of the big jack crevalles that will be following them. Big spoons, jigs and poppers will attract a bite from them. Moving inward toward the area between the jetty gates and bridge, the incoming tide has been producing mangrove snapper on greenies, live or dead, or cut. Small live croakers or mojarras have been producing catch-and-release redfish as well. 

South jetty: On this side, same thing. Most of the action occurs during the early morning, and late evening high tide cycles. Catch-and-release snook and reds are biting all live baits. The snook on this side are smaller than the north side, but still fun to catch! Mangrove snapper can be caught all along the rocky jetty/shoreline on live shrimp, greenies either live or dead/cut. Most of the snappers are still small, 10 or 11 inches, but larger examples are being caught. At the tip on the outgoing tide, same cast of characters as always, black margates, blue runners, jack crevalles, and a few mangrove snappers mixed in to keep it interesting. Not to mention the annoying catfish and puffers that are ever present with the dirtier water on this side. 

T-dock Area: Back here the action is still a little slow, but fish have been caught. Around the dock pilings and shoreline on either tide, angler are catching  small mangrove snapper and mutton snapper on live and dead greenies. Also, look for Spanish mackerel, using live greenies and small white or green jigs. Mullet schools are coming into the inlet again and attracting big jack crevalles which can be caught on big silver spoons and jigs tossed to the channel area. The snook fishing back here has been a little slow due to the dirtier water, but they are catching some on the incoming tide on live mojarras and croakers. And again, back here too, the pesky puffers are ever present! 

Surf Area, both sides: Again, same as last week: not too many people fishing at the beaches. Those fishing at the beach just north of the jetty where the water was cleaner told me they caught a few whiting and croakers, and an occasional catfish or two. South side, just a bit worse as the water was pretty dirty. Catfish, puffers and some small bonnethead sharks were caught. There has been a dearth of baitfish schools in the surf to attract much of what would be here along the coast for this time of the year.