Sebastian Inlet Report

 

Cubera snapper, jack crevalles, Spanish marckerel are on the menu

Our trusty fishing guide, “Snookman” Wayne Landry, lays it all out for us: “Good morning all you fishing aficionados; here is the scoop: The beginning of last week was all about the Spanish mackerel and mangrove snappers. The bite was good, the bait fish were there until Thursday, but fell off due to the water getting tainted again with weeds from the S-SE winds. Plus, the water cooled down a bit. Today it is showing 79 to 81 degrees, down from the 81 to 84 it was; that, in itself, will make a difference in the bite. 

North jetty:  Cubera snapper up to 24 inches are still being caught at the tip on the outgoing tide on live sand perch. There are also some nice mangrove snapper still being caught on both tides along the rocks and between the pilings on small live mojarras, greenies and cut baits. Also, over the weekend I saw the Spanish mackerel return again as the water cleared some.   Many small baitfish helped draw the mackerel in, too. The Spanish are being caught on small live greenies small crappie jigs. Most of the mackerel are between 15 and 18 inches, and the mangroves between 10 and 12 inches.  Many are catching jack crevalles. There are plenty and they will eat anything you toss at them. On the incoming clean water,  lookdowns can be caught on light tackle (4 to 6-pound line on small crappie jigs, with white being the best color for them). These fish are very thin, not much to them, but if you can get a nice catch of about 8 to 10, they are VERY tasty! 

South jetty: Over here, the water has been weeded up on both tides, but there are fish being caught. You just have to constantly remove weeds AND the ‘snot weed’ from your line. Small snook are biting live mojarras on the incoming along the rocks, and at the tip on the outgoing. Also, small mangroves are being caught on the same baits. Jack crevalles, blue runners and black margates are the other species being caught at the tip on the outgoing tide. 

T-Dock area: Back here, the water is a tad cleaner, and fewer weeds. Small snappers of all varieties are being caught on cut baits. Mangrove, mutton, lane and schoolmasters are being caught. Check your local laws on size and bag limits, as you can't keep any more than 10 snappers in aggregate. I checked that out with one of my local FWC contacts, and it is listed on the FWC website about the snappers. Also, look for large jack crevalles roaming around back there, chasing the mullet that are still coming in the inlet. 

Surf area, both sides: Surf fishing is going to be dependent on the weeds present.  In addition to the weeds, S-SE winds have silted the water along the coast. If you find clean water, just north of the inlet or south, you may hit whiting, croakers, and quite possible pompano. Live sandfleas and cut shrimp will do the trick. Also, keep an eye out for baitfish in the surf - if you find any there is a possibility of hooking up with snook, tarpon and jack crevalles. Also, Spanish mackerel are following glass minnow schools. 

From Todd,Eddy & Jeff @ Juno Bait -Juno Beach

 

INSHORE-  Catch and release snook fishing remains good inshore.  The Inlet bite remains very good in both Jupiter and Palm Beach Inlet.  During the day it's hard to beat live croaker and sandperch.  At night the snook are biting Flair Hawk jigs and bigger swimbaits good as well.  Last part of the incoming and the first part of the outgoing tide seem to be the best bet for the snook; but that can change daily with the conditions.  The night bridge bite also remains very good for the snook.  Mangrove snapper action was good this week inshore.  Live shrimp and small live pilchards remain the baits of choice for the snapper.  

SURF/PIER-  Tough week on the beach with choppy conditions and lots of seaweed.  If you can battle through the weeds the snook fishing has been pretty good.  Live croakers or sandperch are a top bait choice for the big snook, while pilchards will work well for the smaller snook.  At night a Flair Hawk or 5" NLBN Swimbait are great lure choices; during the day the 3" NLBN has been a solid choice.  The Juno Beach Pier has been producing a few blue runners and a small scattering of Spanish Mackerel as well.  Small live pilchards are a good choice for both.  Croaker and sandperch bite fell off pretty bad this week.  A few tarpon and jacks cruising the beach as well.  

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Beach Fishing With Paul Sperco Palm Beach/Martin County Area

Planning on hitting the local beaches this weekend.I got a message from my friends that run the Marathon Lady earlier in the week about the nighttime mangrove bite in the Keys . This bite usually fires up right after the full moon in July but Capt Jonathan told me it was already on . It’s been pretty frustrating trying to find a weed free beach up our way so I called my friend Marty Barlow and we took the ride down early Wednesday morning. The Marathon Lady runs two trips during the summer , 830 to 1230 during the day , and 630 to midnight in the evening . The morning trip produced some pretty good fishing for yellowtail snappers from 12 to 15 inches and Marty and I each limited out . This is light tackle fishing as our setups were 3500 Penn Spinfisher reels on 7 foot Penn Batallion rods . Those yellowtail definitely put a bend in the rod when they pick up the chunks of ballyhoo or squid strips . The evening trip started out slow but the action usually starts around 9 o’clock or so when the darkness sets in and the mangroves just seem to fire up . That’s exactly what happened and the action got chaotic . We had our limit of mangroves in an hour and these snapper ran from 14 to 20 inches on the average . This bite will actually get better after the full moon and last year they had great fishing right into August . The Marathon Lady is a first class operation and if anyone wants any information about making a trip down to experience this great fishery feel free to contact me . I hope to find some surf action this weekend and hopefully I can post a positive report in the next couple of days .

From Todd,Eddy & Jeff @ Juno Bait -Juno Beach

 INSHORE-  Catch and release snook fishing remains the main game in town right now.  Lots of snook in the inlet and in the Loxahatchee River.  The coming full moon will have the snook ready to spawn, so look for them to bite really good this weekend ahead of the moon.  Topwater bite on the snook in the river has been great first thing in the morning, especially on moving water.  Snook bite has also been good at night around the bridges.  A few tarpon and jacks will no doubt be mixed in with the snook.  Mangrove snapper have been biting well inshore.  The mangroves will typically bite best at night on moving water.  Small live pilchards or small chunks of sardines are a great bait choice for the mangroves.  

SURF/PIER-  Seaweed, slime grass, and silty water has made the surf fishing slow this week.  If you get lucky and find a clean section of water/beach the snook are definitely around and biting.  The Juno Beach Pier is dealing with the same conditions but fishing remains a bit better overall than the surf.  Catch and release snook fishing remains the main game in town.  Live croakers and sand perch are great baits for the big bites.  Pilchards and sardines on the flatline will work good when the snook are up on top feeding.  A good number of bonita and a few kingfish cruising through. A GT Ice Cream or diamond jig is a solid choice for both.  A few Spanish Mackerel and blue runners around.  

Sebastian Inlet Report

 Lagoon mixing with the saltwater. Fish avoid this water, especially when the temperature changes and creates what I call snot weed, It  is slimy and coats your rigs and bait while fishing. But at least it is disappearing. Last week, fishing was slow but picked up over the weekend.

North jetty: After a slow week, the water began clearing up over the weekend and some of the smaller baitfish and mullet returned along the beach. Sunday and Monday there were nice Spanish mackerel caught on both sides of the jetty, on small crappie jigs and gotcha lures. Blue runners and smaller jack crevalles were biting - on either tide - didn't matter. 

The mangrove snapper have shown up again with some nice 11 to 12-inch fish being caught on cut baits and small greenies cast netted along the jetty. Incoming tide is better for them as they are being caught at the tip along the rocks, and inside between the pilings. I talked to one angler last Friday who was fishing for permit around the tip on the early outgoing tide with live crabs floated out in the rip, and he said he had hooked three but lost two to the rocks and the third to a Goliath grouper. He said the fish were about 10 to 15 pounds. Sheepshead are still around the pilings on the incoming tides with live fiddler crabs. 

South Jetty: Dirty water and the weeds and the snot weeds have made fishing tough. It stems from SE winds up to 15 mph we have been seeing all week. Not too much being caught, except for a few black margates, blue runners and the pesky catfish. The water is awful.

T-Dock: Slow here. About the only fish being caught are undersized snappers of different varieties: mutton, lane, mangrove and schoolmaster — all on cut baits. It’s weedy back here, too. 

Surf area: The North side the water is a lot cleaner and on the high tides, early, you might find  whiting and croakers biting on cut baits. If you run into mullet or any other baitfish on the beach, snook, redfish, tarpon and large jack crevalles are possible. They like to run the bait schools along the beach this time of year when it isn't too rough. The  South side water is too dirty and weeded up to fish it.