To the angler who loves to fish the beaches, shores, jetties, bridges and piers of Florida.
Thursday, September 12, 2024
Tuesday, September 10, 2024
Sebastian Inlet Report with The Snookman
"Good morning, all my Sebastian Inlet anglers and sightseers. I hope you had a great weekend and dodged the rain showers. I need to start this report off with dismay and concern about the condition of the north jetty. People seem to forget that fishing on this jetty is a privilege, not a right. Park management can revoke this privilege if you violate the rules and impact the jetty, marine resources, or the safety of your fellow anglers. It is, and has been an ongoing problem on the jetty. Now that the fishing action is picking up and drawing more anglers, litter has increased exponentially. People are stuffing junk into the monofilament recycling tubes despite their being marked for monofilament only; and there has been a blatant disregard for our marine resources: bait fish caught in the cast nets are dumped out and left on the jetty to die. Take what you need and please return the rest to the water alive and unharmed! The rules are posted by the beach warning flags. Please read them. The volume of trash discarded all over the jetty needs to stop as well. Use the available trash cans or carry your trash home with you. This isn’t my first post about this problem. Park management can lock the north jetty gates if the team decides they have had enough; they will close and lock the gates and NOBODY will be able to fish! If everyone does their part to help keep the jetty clean and presentable, we won't get to that point. If you see someone littering or breaking the rules, say something, or call the north ranger station @ 321-984-4852, and they will send someone out to resolve the issue. Thanks everyone for your help and support! Now on to the good stuff!
The fishing at the inlet over the weekend has been on fire for a change! Lots of fish of all species were being caught throughout the entire inlet, and plenty of baitfish as well to keep them excited. So here we go with the action spots.
North jetty: Over here there has been good action on both tides, with the incoming being the better tide as the water has been cleaner, and there is more room to fish the inside; whereas the outgoing everyone stacks up at the tip. Live shrimp on the incoming has been the bait of choice for the snook and reds. Several nice catch-and-release redfish were caught over the weekend, but the hot action was on the snook! Lots of really nice slot snook were caught over the weekend as of Friday, with Saturday being the hot day for them. In the time I was at the jetty, I witnessed about 12 to 15 slot fish landed, averaging 29 to 31 inches in size, with quite a few overs and unders returned to the water. Sunday was a tad slower, but still there were quite a few slot fish taken home. Other species I saw caught over the weekend were black drum, lots and lots of Spanish mackerel on live greenies, and nice mangrove snappers around the rocks at the tip and around the pilings. Lookdowns on live greenies at the tip. They’re also catching some nice bluefish, and they are early. The ones I saw were in the 2 to 3-pound range, on cut bait on the beachside. On the outgoing tide at the tip, they were catching some big snook on live mullet, too big to keep, along with quite a few catch and release redfish too. But the focus was on the cubera snappers. Ever since the schools of mullet have been around the tip of the jetty, they decided they wanted to play! Several fish were caught over the weekend on live mullet fished around the rocks at the tip, with one big one that I know of that a friend of mine caught, the fish was 30 inches long! Monster cubera! Another species hanging around to play have been the big jack crevalles, they will eat anything you throw out, from live bait, cut bait to artificials.
South jetty: The action has been hot here, especially snook. Incoming tide has been the best time to fish for them from the tip all the way back to the bridge. Live baits of any kind will bring a bite, but the croakers have been the bait of choice. Lot of small fish under the limit, quite a few over slot, but there were quite a few slot fish taken home. Redfish have been mixed in with them for that added fun factor, along with the big jack crevalle. For those fishing the incoming along the shoreline for mangrove snapper, the bite is still going on with dead or live greenies, and shrimp. Most fish I saw were 10.5 to 11 inches, with some pushing the 12 inch size. On the outgoing tide at the tip the action is all about the jacks, blue runners, black margates, some mangrove snapper, and I even saw a couple of nice pompano in one angler’s bucket!
T-dock: Back here the action is a bit slower, not too much going on as there aren't very many people fishing back here. But those that are here are catching small mangroves around the dock pilings on greenies, either live or dead. Also, there are lots of annoying puffers around to keep the kids entertained. The snook action has been slow, again not very many guys fishing back here due to the action being so good out on the jetties.
Surf area, both sides: The north side has been all about the mullet running down the shoreline in the surf. Big snook, redfish, tarpon have been dominating, along with big jack crevalle — not to mention it's time for the blacktip and spinner sharks to show up with the bigger schools of mullet. The south side surf has been pretty muddied up from the SSE winds, and the leftover NE swell we had last week making things ugly. The only thing I saw and heard about were the kitty fish, puffers and bonnet head sharks. If the water does clean up, and we are getting into the fall season, and the water cools down a bit, the pompano just might show up, as I saw two nice ones caught on the south jetty over the weekend.
So, there you go, folks. Another great report for all, and it will only get better from here as the water cools down and cleans back up. It was showing 86 along our coast this morning. Get your gear, bait, water, snacks and catch dinner or a memory. Remember, take a big bag of patience along with you because it will get crowded at times! Have fun and be safe.” — Snookman
Beach Fishing With Paul Sperco Palm Beach/Martin County Area
From Todd @ Juno Bait Crew-Juno Beach
INSHORE- Snook fishing remains good inshore. A few trickles of finger mullet have shown up, though the biggest push of them isn't here just yet. The early season pods are some of the best to fish, as the snook and tarpon have not completely gorged themselves yet on the easy meals. During the day the snook will stack up around ambush points (seawalls, boat docks, etc) and let the current bring the mullet schools to them. A night the snook will gravitate towards the bridges, again letting the current bring the bait to them. Snook, and to a lesser extent tarpon, are super lazy and would prefer to exert as little energy as possible to chase down a meal...in other words, the current is your friend! Live mullet are a top bait choice during the day. Lowlight periods a topwater (Yo-Zuri Hydro Pencil or Topknock pencil) is a killer choice for the snook. At night (especially around current in deeper water) a flair hawk style jig is a great way to go for the snook.
SURF/PIER- Mullet reports drastically have tapered off after our first little push of fish. A few small pods around, but the big numbers are still up the coast a bit. Snook fishing remains good along the beach and at the Juno Beach Pier. Still a good amount of smaller baits around and the snook are keyed in pretty good on them, and live shrimp as well. In addition to the snook, a good number of Spanish Mackerel have shown up at the pier to chomp up the small baits. The Macs will no doubt bite best early in the morning and then again late in the afternoon. Anytime you have a good number of Spanish Macs around you can no doubt have a big kingfish around as well. Starting to hear a few more pompano reports on the beach. Conditions look good for the pomps to bite headed into the weekend.
Sunday, September 1, 2024
Snook-Nook Fishing Report
The Snook fishing has remained steady as of late. There are still some fish in and around the inlet, but a lot of the Snook have begun to move away from the inlet and work their way back inshore. Fishing the causeways as well as docks and seawalls in both the St. Lucie and Indian River are good places to look for them. Fishing the seawalls with larger live mullet or top water plugs can be a blast this time of year! Fishing at night in the shadow lines at the causeways and in dock lights will present plenty of opportunities as the Snook will wait for the mullet to come into the light and ambush them. If you want to fish north of the power plant, you’ll be able to find Snook on the flats as well as up in the mangroves. Casting top waters in the morning before the sun gets high and transitioning over to soft plastics after that will be one of your most effective strategies if you’re heading up there. You may even run into some trout or redfish as well.
Snook won’t be the only target for anglers during the mullet run, plenty of people will be out chasing Tarpon. There have been a lot of Tarpon around already and we should begin seeing even more of them as more schools of mullet push into our area. You can look to find Tarpon north of the power plant around Little Mud and Bear Point, around the causeways, in the crossroads, in the inlet, up in the North Fork as well as out on the beaches. You should be able to see them rolling or airing out on mullet. The larger live mullet will be one of your best baits to use, if you are seeing a good flush of crabs on an outgoing tide, you can switch over to crabs. You can either free line the crab or mullet or fish it with a float. There have been plenty of the big triple digit fish around so be ready for a battle! Along with the Snook and Tarpon there have been plenty of big jacks around cruising the channels and seawalls hunting down schools of mullet.
Aside from all the mullet run excitement, Black Drum, Sheepshead, Mangrove Snapper, Triple Tail, Bonefish and Pompano have been caught. Black Drum have been caught at the Roosevelt Bridge on shrimp, chunks of crab as well as fiddler crabs. We had a pretty good Black Drum bite there last year too with some bigger fish caught. Sheepshead and Mangrove Snappers have been caught around structure such as channel markers, docks and the bridges. There have been some Triple Tail caught north of the Jensen Causeway on channel markers and crab trap buoys. Bonefish have been caught on the Sailfish flats on jigs, fly and pieces of shrimp. The east side relief bridge at the Jensen Causeway has been holding some Pompano that anglers have been catching on jigs.
Surf Fishing Report
Our summertime Whiting and Croaker fishing has slowed down a good bit. There are still a few to be caught in the first trough on pieces of shrimp and Fishbites, you will want to focus on fishing the incoming tide if you’re on the hunt for them. We’ve had some Pompano actually showing up on the beaches which is typically uncommon this time of year. They have been caught by those fishing the long rods 70-90yds off the beach in the deeper troughs. Capt. Paul Sperco has been catching them on the Pink/Flesh Crab Fishbites. Like the Whiting and Croakers, you will also want to focus on the incoming tide if you’re looking to catch a few. Bonefish, Palometta and a good amount of short Pompano have been caught as well from the surf. We have also had a good amount of Sandfleas on the beach too for those looking to load up for the winter.
The beach can turn into a National Geographic like scene during the mullet run and it is truly a sight to see. Tarpon, Snook, Sharks, Jacks and a variety of other predators will be feeding on schools of mullet as they work their way down the beaches. It is always wise to check the beach before hauling all your equipment because a half a mile of distance can be the difference from a lifeless beach to that National Geographic feeding frenzy. If you are able to locate the schools of mullet you will typically find the fish. Live mullet, NLBN paddle tails and straight tails, Hogy swimbaits, Rapala X-Raps, Yozuri Crystal Minnows and spoons are all some of the top choices for those looking to get in on the surf mullet run action.
Beach Fishing With Paul Sperco Palm Beach/Martin County Area
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.
