Hope everyone had a fantastic week the weather was marvelous! This week is going to start off a bit breezy at the inlet, but only for Monday and Tuesday with NNE winds 15-25 and possible gust to around 30, and settle back down by Wednesday, so it will be a bit of a chore to fish the north side with the wind swell. I'm hoping that the NNE will bring in some cleaner water like it usually does, and start the pompano and Spanish mackerel back up again. We'll see.
Fishing at the inlet for has remained slow, hit-or-miss, as always, due to water conditions fluctuating between cool and warm, and clean to silty: This keeps the fish in a state of confusion as to what they should be doing. The water temperature is still 74 to 75 degrees but should be 77 degrees by now. But the NNE winds keep the cooler water around. Onto the fishing as I saw it last week and through the weekend. Last week started off with a decent pompano bite on live shrimp and fish bites on Monday and Tuesday, but by Wednesday the water dirtied up and it went away — same for the Spanish mackerel; Monday and Tuesday saw a nice bite on small white jigs and small greenies, but by Wednesday, that too went away. The rest of the week was pretty slow with only some small bluefish and jack crevalle caught on artificial and cut bait at the tip on the outgoing tide. Not much to say about the incoming tide, except for a few snook hooked on live baits or lost to the groupers, who will eat anything they can catch, especially snook struggling to escape! Over the weekend, I saw quite a few schools of finger mullet all around the north jetty and back inside the inlet. That's a good sign. We need baitfish to attract the predators. Remember, folks, when cast netting baitfish, please only keep what you need, and return the rest to the water unharmed and as quickly as possible! Our resources are NOT forever, plus it is one of the posted jetty fishing rules. Thank you. Here’s a breakdown by area:
North jetty: Fishing was slow on Saturday, but some fish were caught. Early morning incoming tide, there were a couple slot snook caught on live baits, mojarras and live shrimp. Also, a couple catch-and-release redfish, inlet side of the jetty. Ocean side of the jetty on Saturday early and throughout the day, anglers caught a few pompano and whiting on fresh cut dead shrimp, not a lot, but enough to keep an angler interested. Bluefish and jack crevalles kept things interesting throughout the day on the outgoing tide at the tip. Silver spoons and live baits were doing the trick for them. The monster blues are gone, but the ones they were catching were pretty nice, in the 15 to 18-inch range. On Sunday, the water clarity improved and so did the bite. Early incoming tide on the inlet side there were several slot sized snook caught, along with again, a couple nice catch and release redfish, all on live baits, shrimp and mojarras. Ocean side throughout the day they caught some really nice pompano, whiting, and I even saw a few nice black drum caught, more towards the tip of the jetty. Live and dead shrimp were the baits of choice. Outgoing tide was all about the blues and jacks on silver spoons, jigs and cut baits. Plenty of action there for those species. At the tip on the outgoing tide, a couple of the guys were catching a few Spanish mackerel and lookdowns on the tiny white jigs. Along the rock shoreline just west of the gate to the jetty, on Sunday I saw a couple fishing in the area, and they caught a couple blues, a few sand perch, one sheepshead about 14 inches long, a black margate AND a couple mangrove snappers about 11 inches!
South jetty: On this side the, the action was slower, due again to the dirtier water from the roughed-up surf and intercoastal runoff flowing out the inlet on the outgoing tide. At the tip, it's the same cast of characters — black margates, blue runners, catfish, and maybe a pompano or two if some clean water is present. On the surf side of the jetty close to shore in the pocket, I heard of some small flounder still being caught on small live baits and small plastic swim baits. Most are too small to keep, but every once in a while, there’s a keeper. The incoming tide in the late afternoon has produced snook and redfish catches, live baits of shrimp and mojarras are doing the trick on them. Most of the snook have been too small to keep, but some are slots to be kept. Not much else except for the blues and jacks in the channel area on the incoming for those tossing silver spoons and jigs. No mangroves yet on this side.
T-Dock Area: Still slow here. Blame dirtier water and absence of small baitfish that are usually around to attract any predators. No bait, no fish. The incoming tide, if the water is a bit clean, you just might get lucky and find a snook or two hanging around on live baits, but it has been slow. For those tossing silver spoons of jigs to the channel area, there is always the possibility for a jack or two, and maybe some blues.
Surf Area, south side: Cloudy water here. Not much except for a lot of catfish, stingrays and bonnet head sharks being caught. If you find clean water, you might find a few whiting and pompano fishing cut shrimp or sand fleas.
Surf Area, north side: The water has been a lot cleaner than the south, also it is deeper on this side. The pompano bite has been rather good for the last few days with plenty of fish being caught, along with some really nice whiting. Fish the outside trough with sand fleas, fish bites of fresh dead, or small live shrimp. Bluefish and some Spanish mackerel also are possible in the surf for those fishing silver spoons and small jigs and such. Also, with the finger mullet starting to run down the beaches, be on the lookout for possible snook and tarpon action busting up the schools of bait! If seasonal conditions were here — and they are not — there would be small schools of tarpon roaming the surf along the coast. Just something to keep in mind.
That's all I have for this week! Not too bad, but not what it should be for April. Soon enough, we’ll see warm, clean water show up and STAY! Have a great week. Grab your gear, lunch, drinks and sunblock, and go fishing!” — Snookman.
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