Sebastian Inlet Report

                                          
Black Drum, Sheepshead, Snook, Redfish and Pompano – all around!

Getting reports of Black Drum, Sheepshead, Snook, Redfish and Pompano at the inlet with folks fishing from the beaches, jetties and catwalks with good success.  Check out this massive Black Drum caught by our angler of the week – Leonardo Tzitzios - while fishing the North Jetty   “My personal best Black Drum…caught on clams.”  

Try the outgoing tide if your targeting Snook and use shrimp, bait fish or your top water lures to reel them in.  Redfish are biting throughout the inlet and around the jetties.  Use shrimp, clams and sandfleas.

Anglers have been sending in reports of Sheepshead and Pompano too, and really all of the different fishing areas have been productive – beaches, North and South jetties, catwalks.  Don’t forget to check out the T-dock on the Southside too if you want to drop a line.

From Todd &Trey @ Juno Bait -Juno Beach

INSHORE-  Warmer weather over the past few weeks really had the springtime inshore fishing (Big snook and jacks) going off pretty good.  This cold front will most likely slow it down a bit, but as temps rise the snook and jacks should go right back to chewing.  The snook and jacks have been keyed in on springtime mullet moving along seawalls and under boat docks.  While at the bridges at night, the snook remain keyed in on shrimp.  Tarpon fishing back in the Loxahatchee River has been fairly good as well over the past few weeks.  Handful of pompano reports still coming in from the inshore side of things.  Sheepshead are biting live shrimp around the bridges and in Palm Beach Inlet pretty good.    

SURF/PIER-  This week saw some better surf and pier action than previous weeks. The surf saw a nice little pompano bite Monday through Wednesday from the Juno Beach Pier to Jupiter Inlet.  Sandfleas, Clams, and FishBItes will be the bait of choice for the pomps.  Get those pompano in quick...the Blacktip and Spinner Sharks won't be far behind!  The Juno Beach Pier was much better this week.  Better conditions brought a nice wave of jacks (Including some big ones), a few bluefish, fair number of pompano, and a scattering of Spanish Mackerel and smaller Kingfish.   The pompano lit up on the Doc's Goofy Jig pretty good, while the Macs were tuned into small flashy diamond jigs and swimming plugs.  
                                
Croaker have been biting shrimp in the surf very good.  Fresh pieces or small live shrimp will be the bait of choice for the croakers.  As mentioned above...the sharks should be around in pretty good numbers this weekend! 

Beach Fishing With Paul Sperco Palm Beach/Martin County Area

When the wind and surf finally calmed down and guess what? The pompano, bluefish, and mackerel decided to bite. I looked at all of the webcams, Jensen Beach, Jupiter, and Fort Pierce late Tuesday afternoon and saw the Hobe Sound shot on the Jensen Beach site was showing some great looking water. This is a resource that I use on a daily basis and although things can change overnight, at least it can give you an area to target for your trip the next day. The good water, a morning high tide, and the forecast for an oncoming weather front on Thursday made Hobe Sound my beach to try first. Even with all of these positive factors in your hand, anyone who pursues pompano knows nothing guarantees they will bite. Today things worked out. When I was walking down the beach to set up it seemed all of the anglers throwing spoons and plugs were having a field day with the bluefish and mackerel. I threw my first rig out and by the time I had the second rod ready there was a pompano on the first rod. Once the tide changed around 9:30 it was game on with the pompano and other than losing a few to the sharks, I left them biting around one oclock. My cooler will hold around 40 and thats exactly the number New England Seafood had on my ticket when I left. I am hoping this is just a preview of our Springtime Pompano bite because this is the type of fishing we normally have every spring. As far as hot baits today, my rods with the plain Yellow Crab and EZ Flea Fishbites outfished the other rods with clam strips and clam Fishbites and frozen sandfleas tipped with EZ Flea Fishbites, 3 to 1. It sounds like the bite was good up and down Jupiter Island today and I did not get a report from anyone who fished up our way on Hutchinson Island. Weather looks a little shaky tomorrow but the forecast is for things to calm down on the weekend. 

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Early Spring Pompano Run Surf Fishing

A little cold weather is no worry for fishing

From Todd &Trey @ Juno Bait -Juno Beach

INSHORE-  Looks like the spring mullet run is kicking off inshore.  The spring mullet run is a little tougher to pattern than the fall run, and it is more big mullet...but the action that goes along with it is fantastic.  Snook fishing has been very good in the Loxahatchee River.  Alive mullet fished along a seawall or under a bot dock is not going to go unnoticed for long.  Look for likely ambush points, docks with current flow, and access to deeper water as key ingredients to finding the snook.  Been some big jacks cruising around  as well; also very willing to smash a live mullet.  The bridges are holding snook in good numbers at night, and that will continue to improve as the weather warms.  With the spring mullet around now is a good time to throw the bigger jigs and swimbaits.   The snook will still bite the shrimp and shrimp jigs, but the bigger baits will not go unnoticed these days.  Farther up the Loxahatchee River the juvenile tarpon have been active early in the morning and late in the afternoon.  Jacks and a few snook are making up a bulk of the action around Munyan Island as well these days.  

SURF/PIER-  Gonna be a tough weekend for surf fishing based on the forecast (See below).  This week saw fairly mixed reports from the beach and pier.  A few pompano were around north of Jupiter Inlet, but no big numbers anywhere to speak of.  Scattering of bluefish around, along with a few jacks.  The Juno Beach Pier has had a few Spanish Mackerel around.  Spanish Mackerel action has been good overall at Peck's Lake; but this weekend doesn't look very favorable for trying them.  Blacktip and Spinner Sharks have been around in good numbers...but not going to be a great weekend for targeting them.  

Sebastian Inlet Report

Snook and Massive Reds on Outgoing Tide

Just got the report from Sarah at Sebastian Inlet Bait & Tackle.  There’s been lots of Snook on outgoing tide hitting shrimp, baitfish and your top water lures.  We are still getting reports of massive Redfish being caught on the outgoing tide too.  Use crab, shrimp, clams and sandfleas. Anglers have been bringing in Black Drum, Pompano, Sheepshead, Spanish Mackerel and Bluefish too, so it’s all out there to be had.  Try the North and South jetties for the Black Drum, Pompano, Spanish Mackerel and Bluefish.  To target the Black Drum and Sheepshead, stick to your shrimp, clams and sandfleas.  For the Pompano, use bucktail jigs or live shrimp.  And, go see Sarah or Tommy at the bait shop by BG’s Surfside Grill & Adventures for the latest.

Our featured angler of the week is this week is one of our very own Commissioners and avid fellow angler - Michael Rowland.  He and his friends went out to the inlet week before last and brought home these Pompano.

Perfect Combination for Fishing

Beach Fishing With Paul Sperco Palm Beach/Martin County Area

Based on reports and my own time spent on the beach the last few days, the " fishing"has been great but the "catching"has been less than spectacular. Conditions have been pretty good but the biggest issue has been the water color. I fished Hobe Sound the last couple of days because that has been the beach area with the cleanest water. I finally started to catch a few pompano on Tuesday afternoon after the tide change and after putting 3 nice fish in the cooler, the sharks showed and it was impossible to get to your rod after your bite without being bit off. I headed back down that way this morning and packed the gear up after not having a bite for two hours. A friend of mine caught two nice pompano at daybreak on the south end of the Bridge Road access and he never had another bite. I went as far north as Porpoise Beach in Fort Pierce after leaving Hobe Sound and the water got dirtier the further north I went . I made a return trip this afternoon to Beachwalk Pasley , Bob Graham, Tiger Shores, Bryn Mawr, and finally Santa Lucea and the only spot that had decent water was Santa Lucea. I did not throw them out due to the fact the beach was covered with folks enjoying our weather and there really was not a spot to set up.Tomorrow, Thursday , is going to be your last opportunity to try the surf for the next few days as the predicted front is going to shut surf fishing down. On a positive note ,I watched an angler at Santa Lucea catch croaker after croaker fishing the first trough 15 to 20 yards from shore. 

Scouting Around Palm Beach And Martin County

Inshore fishing:

The flats near the House of Refuge has had a good pompano bite the past week. They are being caught using Fishbites as well as pompano jigs

At the Stuart and Jensen Causeways there is good action on black drum and sheepshead. Working the pilings and bumpers with shrimp on a jig head is producing good results. There are also snook around the bridges and they are being taken using shrimp and fishing during the outgoing tide.

Up at the Fort Pierce Inlet there is still good action on redfish. Shrimp and chunk bait are working.

Anglers at the Lantana Bridge are catching good numbers of sheepshead. Though they are mostly being caught on clams and live crabs there is an artificial bait that might be worth checking out. Chasebait’s Crusty Crab was proven extremely effective by one young angler the other day when he caught four nice sheepshead using the same lure.

Lake Okeechobee:

The spec is fantastic again! Anglers are regularly getting their daily limits. Using Kentucky Blue or white colored jigs has been producing excellent results in front of the pier at Lock 7. Down in the Tin House Cove and and Third Point area, minnows have been working best. Minnows have also been the go-to bait for night fishing for specs in the Kissimmee River.The bass bite is still good with live shiners getting the nod over artificial baits. That said, Senkos have been working as well. Hot spots have been Tin House Cove and Kings Bar.

the EASIEST way to clean sheepshead

From Whites Tackle - Ft Pierce / Stuart

The inlets have been yielding good Snook catches, both to live bait during the day and jigs and plugs at night. With the calmer conditions the last few days, Pompano catches have also picked up, mostly on clams and sand fleas. Inshore, things have been a bit more hit and miss. There are still reasonable numbers of Snook around the flats and some docks. but the Seatrout fishing has quieted down a bit. Redfish seem to be sporadic as well, but with decent conditions anglers are getting a reasonable number of shots. 

Beach Fishing With Paul Sperco Palm Beach/Martin County Area

The surf has laided down to produce some fishable conditions. I only had a couple of hours this morning to head up and fish and yes, it was fishable, but the water was dirty from Tiger Shores to Porpoise Beach in Fort Pierce. After 7 or 8 sail cats and one small bonnet head shark ,I packed it in. Looking at the webcams and some recent phone calls I received it sounds like we are getting some color back in the water on the local beaches. High tides are in the evening this week so try to schedule your trips for that afternoon bite. EZFlea and Yellow Crab Fishbites should be in your tackle bag to increase your chances of putting a few pompano and whiting in your cooler. My advice is to get your trips in before the weekend because if you read the forecast for Friday and Saturday , it is horrendous. North and Northeast winds from 10 to 20 knots on Friday, increasing to 25 knots on Saturday. Wave heights are predicted to be building to 13 feet on Saturday. Looks like another tough weekend .

Scouting Around Palm Beach And Martin County

Inshore fishing:

At the St. Lucie Inlet there has been good action on snook and pompano are being caught on the nearby flats.

At Peck’s Lake there are still good numbers of Spanish mackerel. Use a flash minnow or a fast-moving spoon.

Along the beaches in Jupiter, the fishing has been good for jack crevalle, ladyfish, pompano, bluefish and a few Spanish mackerel. Live shrimp, Doc’s Goofy Jigs and spoons for the bluefish and Spanish mackerel are working well.

Though uncommon up in the Loxahatchee River, there have been a few permit caught.

Along the bridges along the Intracoastal Waterway there has been a decent snook bite at night. Anglers using Gulfstream Red Tail Hawks and Rapala lures and working the shadow lines are having good luck.

At the Boynton Inlet, anglers are getting snook, jack crevalle and sheepshead off the north jetty and along the seawalls. Using live shrimp or ChaseBaits Prawns has been effective for snook. The sheepshead are being taken on live crabs. 

Freshwater action:

The bass bite has been excellent the past week!

Using live shiners, one guide got his clients 20 bass in under three hours on Wednesday. They were working the pass at King’s Bar and several big fish including an eight-pound, six-ounce lunker. The action has also been good down at the Monkey Box around Observation Shoal. Anglers flippin’ skinny dippers and rubber worms over the eel grass are having good luck.

Largemouth bass are being caught along the 441 canal from Boynton Beach north to Lake Worth on baby Zara Spooks.

In the same area, snakeheads are hitting orange streamer flies on five weight flyrods during the late afternoons.

From Todd &Trey @ Juno Bait -Juno Beach

INSHORE-  Snook fishing has been very good this week with spring (damn near summer) like weather.  Good numbers of snook stacking up around docklights and local bridges at night; and hanging along seawalls and boat docks during the day. Live shrimp, DOA Shrimp, and custom shrimp jigs remain a solid choice for the snook.  Been some spring run mullet showing up as well, so don't be afraid to break out the bigger baits as well. Surprising number of mangrove snapper around inshore this week, along with some good numbers of sheepshead.  

SURF/PIER-  Pompano action was a bit better this week, though most of the fish remain north of us still.  A better bite from the bluefish as well, but still better up to the north.  The Juno Beach Pier has had a fair number of Spanish Macs around, with a crappie jig being the lure of choice for them.  The big news from the surf this week has been the spinner sharks.  Lots of them around now, and a lot of fun on light tackle.  The sharks can be caught on topwaters early and late in the day, and are biting chunks of fresh bait at night very well.  Not the greatest looking forecast for the weekend

Beach Fishing With Paul Sperco Palm Beach/Martin County Area

It must be the weekend because the latest forecast is for wave heights to be building to 9 feet tomorrow and "subsiding"to 5 to 7 feet on Sunday. Unbelievable. The pompano bite this week fell off a bit from the previous weeks bite but showed signs of improvement yesterday at beaches like Beachwalk Pasley, Santa Lucea, and Stuart beach . The best action this week was in the afternoon and Yellow Crab and EZ Flea Fishbites are still the "go to' baits. Looking ahead to next week the winds are forecast to shift back to the southeast and hopefully make conditions fishable again. I wanted to thank the Nettles Island and Stuart Rod and Reel Fishing Clubs for the opportunity to do "mini" pompano seminars at their monthly meetings the last two nights. Not only do we have great surf fishing along the Treasure Coast, we have the best fishing clubs and organizations that promote our fantastic inshore, offshore, river, and surf fishing opportunities. There was a pretty big show of hands last night of anglers that were planning on attending George Poveromos Saltwater Sportsman Magazine National Seminar Series at Club Med right here in Port St Lucie on Saturday Feb 29. I strongly recommend that you get your tickets before it sells out. The new updated flyer is posted below with all of us that will presenting at Georges event. We will be covering everything from sailfish to pompano so plan on attending. Change some line, tie some rigs, clean your rods this weekend so you will be ready to get back on the beach next week. I will be at Bass Pro today and most likely tomorrow if you have any questions about gear, tackle, baits,or locations for your upcoming fishing trips. 

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From Whites Tackle - Ft Pierce / Stuart

Fishing in the IRL has remained solid, with clear water in most areas. Some larger Seatrout are being caught , mostly on soft plastics and weighted flies such as Clouser Minnows, mostly during falling tide. Redfish numbers have remained steady, again mostly falling for soft plastics along the shorelines. Big Snook continue to frustrate anglers, with good numbers around, but the clear water making them hard to fool. Snook fishing in the inlets continues to be good, with most daytime catches produced with live bait, and night time action coming from jigs and plugs. Surf fishing has been tough the last few days with dirty water, hopefully some calmer conditions will clean it up a bit. 

WE CAUGHT TONS OF TROUT & A 5 POUND POMPANO WADE FISHING

Sebastian Inlet Report

          Jetty Action has been G-R-E-A-T!

With the glorious weather this past weekend, anglers have been out on the North Jetty reporting all kinds of action and Tommy at Sebastian Inlet Bait & Tackle said things have been hopping! 

Snook are hitting live shrimp, your top water lures and on bucktail.  Anglers have been catching Redfish, Black Drum, Bluefish and Pompano.  Sheepshead can be found off the North Jetty, but also throughout the inlet system and they’re hitting on shrimp, clams and sandfleas.  Try the same bait for Black Drum.  For Pompano try bucktail jigs or live shrimp.

Check out this massive Redfish caught by our featured angler of the week - Zach C.  That’s a nice looking Red, Zach!  Fishing from the N. Jetty in mid-January there were lots of over slot Redfish and Black Drum being caught with live shrimp as the bait of choice. 

Black Drum and Sheepshead are still biting on shrimp, clams and sandfleas.  Black Drum mainly on the jetties and Sheepshead on the jetties, catwalks and through the inlet system.  There’s been some massive Redfish coming over the rails recently too, hitting on live shrimp, top water lures and bucktail, and we hear anglers are still catching Flounder to the West of the bridge. 

Just a friendly reminder to follow FWC’s best practice for catch and release when your fish is over/under slot to preserve our fisheries for generations to come.  Here are the FWC size and bag limits:

Snook
Size limit: Between 28”-32”
Bag limit: 1 per angler

Black Drum
Size limit: 14”-24”
Bag limit: 5 per angler
Sheepshead
Size limit: 12” minimum
Bag limit: 8 per angler

Redfish (Red Drum)
Size limit: 18”-27”
Bag limit: 2 per angler

Bluefish
Size limit: 12” minimum
Bag limit: 10 per angler

Pompano
Size limit: 10” minimum
Bag limit: 6 per angler

Beach Fishing With Paul Sperco Palm Beach/Martin County Area

It was a pretty tough weekend for local surf anglers due to the "fan" turning back on from the northeast and east directions and a rough surf. Saturday was the better day of the two as there were some pompano caught at Santa Lucea, Normandy, Little Mud Creek, Middle Cove, and Blue Heron beach accesses. Randy and I started at Beachwalk Pasley and after not getting a bite for an hour ,we went north based on some intel. As soon as we set up the rods bent over, I put 3 nice pompano in the cooler while Randy ended up landing 5 nice keepers along with a few of our late arriving bluefish. I was meeting Capt Justin Riegers Dad, David and younger brother David Jr., along with a bunch of Dave Jrs buddies to let them try there hands at reeling in pompano. As luck would have it the bite seemed to shut off as soon as they arrived and the only two bites we got were reeled in by Dave Jr and Dave Srs father in law and both of those pompano were undersized and had to be released. The biggest problem we had were the spinner sharks because they showed up in force and made getting a pompano to the beach an impossibility.I am sure most of you know Capt Justin from Just In Time Fishing charters that runs out of the Snook Nook . I have never taken five 13 to 14 year old boys to the beach on a surf trip but although the pompano did not cooperate they still had a great time . They were a fun bunch of polite, well mannered, and courteous young guys and would take that group back out in a minute. I hung in there for a liitle while after they left and they could not have been 5 minutes down A1A when some pompano showed up and bit for a short stretch and I was lucky enough to put 5 more in the cooler. After that bite stopped I headed back down to the south and threw them out at Beachwalk for an hour and never had a bite.Thats Pompano fishing!! Yellow Crab Fishbites continue to be the hottest bait on the beach as seven of my eight fish all bit on that scent and color. At last look Snook Nook stil has some of this bait on the shelf . Sunday was a blowout and looking at the webcam this morning it still looks pretty sporty at Jensen Beach.Starting tomorrow, Tuesday, the wind and waves are forecast to back off so we should be able to get back at it.After the full moon we will be seeing am high tides this week so pick your favorite beach and put some pompano on the table. For those of you that like to target bluefish , either casting spoons or plugs in the early morning or late afternoon, or fishing cut bait during the day, this past week we have seen the biggest numbers of the blues this winter season. 

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Best Flounder and Sheepshead Jigs on the market!!! "Reel Habit Jigs"

Capt. Joe's Bait & Tackle Ft Pierce

Live shrimp will be here about 9am. Lots going on the last few days. The jetty has been a good place to fish with good catches of snapper, black drum, a few pompano, lots of short snook, a few big redfish and a few bluefish. 

                           

Beach Fishing With Paul Sperco Palm Beach/Martin County Area

 I had the Grundens on this morning and after taking a look at a couple of beaches to the north ,I ended up on the south end of Hutchinson Island by the Bob Graham beach access area. . The water up by Middle Cove and Blue Heron were dirty but from Normandy Beach south the water really cleaned up. I talked to friends that fished at Tiger Shores, Santa Lucea, and Flethcher beaches and everyone managed to put some pompano in the cooler. I loved the clean green water color when I walked up over the dune line but it took awhile before the pompano showed. I always try to give the beach I am set up at a reasonable amount of time to produce before I pack up and go elsewhere if the water, surf condition, and other factors like bait and fish life are present. I was really considering making a move when I was lucky enough to put a pompano in the cooler. I was glad I stayed and 16 pompano later I was soaked but had a cooler full of fish. Frozen sandfleas tipped with Yellowcrab Fishbites was the hot combination today. After the tide peaked around 1230 the bite got more consistent and had the spinner sharks not made an appearance around two oclock my catch would have increased. I like to wait for a tide change if everything looks good because the first couple of hours on the incoming or outgoing change can really produce some great action. As far as tomorrow is concerned if the wind stays out of the Northwest and we dont get a straight Northerly direction, conditions should be fishable. The last couple of days the water has definitely been alot cleaner from Normandy south so if you are going to give it a shot before going to your Superbowl party give it a look on the south end of the island. Conditions really look good during the early part of the week so good luck and catch em up.

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