Say It's Not So--- The South Side Is Going To Be PACKED

Sebastian Inlet’s storm-battered north jetty will undergo significant repairs and improvements beginning in November.

The Sebastian Inlet District anticipates that construction of the first phase of the 2024/25 North Jetty Revetment Improvement Project will begin on November 4. Plans call for rehabilitating approximately 190 linear feet of revetment structure with four-foot diameter granite boulders and constructing a steel, sheet pile seawall with a concrete sidewalk deck along portions of the jetty damaged by storms.

The project could require up to eight months to complete. During this time, public access to the north jetty will be unavailable as this will be a fenced-off  "hard hat" construction site.  The planned jetty improvements are part of the District’s responsibility to maintain inlet infrastructure, navigation, and enhance public safety.

Also, the webcam will be unavailable until the project is complete. 

Note: Although the project is located within Sebastian Inlet State Park, the Sebastian Inlet District is the responsible entity.  

 

Sebastian Inlet Report with The Snookman

 

Good morning, Sebastian Inlet fishing fanatics. I hope everyone had a great weekend! Here we go with this week’s ‘what's biting at the inlet.’ This is your last week to get your ‘north jetty fishing mojo’ out of the way before the extended closure! And for you folks that have asked me, and those that are wondering about fishing the seawall and rock area between the bridge and jetty, per my conversation with the district, that ENTIRE area will be fenced off as a "hard hat/safety vest" construction zone, no public access whatsoever. It will be a NO TRESPASSING area for public safety. (Project details and FAQ are here.

Just wanted to keep you all posted and aware, and safe. Now, on to the fishing:

North jetty: There has been a rather good bite on the north side of the inlet, with several species caught. The north jetty has been the hotspot for snook. Live finger mullet fished in and just outside the surf break have been the ticket for nice slots being caught, and quite a few undersized snook caught, as well. Also, I saw a couple of big redfish caught as well. The main topic has been the jack crevalle, bluefish, and Spanish mackerel; they have been pretty much out of control. All shapes and sizes are being caught, with the Spanish mackerel being the sought after species. Some were in the jumbo class at three to four pounds! Live greenies and finger mullet being the ticket for bait. Several anglers were lucky enough to catch their limits with the mackerel. I received a report that on Sunday the black drum appeared with several nice fish caught on live shrimp on the incoming tide, along with quite a few slot snook as well. Along the seawall and rocks on the incoming tide there has been a decent bite on smaller snook on live baits, pigs and pins and shrimp. Most have been too small to keep. Also there have been a few mangrove snapper still around, and a couple of sheepshead and black margates. 

South side: Here, it has been slower due to the roughed up, dirty and weedy water, but on the incoming tide when it does clean up a tad, snook have been biting. Live baits and plastic swimbaits are doing well, with most fish being undersized, some make it in the slot range. Other species that make it interesting are redfish, blues and big jacks. Any bait will work for them. 

T-Dock Area: Fishing has been  hit-or-miss. Snook have been around on the incoming tide on live baits, also some redfish are mixed in with them to keep it interesting, as well as the large jacks chasing the mullet schools in the inlet. For those fishing greenies and tiny white jigs there have been some nice Spanish mackerel around, not a lot, but enough to keep you fishing. 

 Surf area, both sides: Th surf for the most part has been all washed out from the winds and waves, and the massive amounts of the sargassum weed the storms have blown in, so that's been a bust. 

That's all I have for this week. Expect high winds and big swells to arrive this week;  just like last week. If you go out on the jetties, please be careful as it can get pretty nasty out there. Have a great and safe week!” — Snookman.

Snook-Nook Fishing Report

 

Our annual Customer Appreciation Tent Sale is approaching and is scheduled for Saturday, December 14th from 8am – 6pm! This year will be extra special as we celebrate our 75th Anniversary! Make sure to save the date to cash in on the deals of the year! This year will feature more deals than ever, more tent space than ever including the debut of the ‘Closeout Cove’ tent where you will find savings of up to over 50% off, find savings store-wide, buy 2 get 1 free promos, buy 3 get 1 free promos, free braid promos and much much more! We will have more companies on hand than ever this year including; Penn, Shimano, Daiwa, Quantum, Tsunami, Van Staal, Fishbites, No Live Bait Needed, Thumper Shrimp, Yo-Zuri, Gulfstream Lures & more as the list continues to grow! This is the perfect opportunity to pick out Christmas gifts, get your first rod & reel combo or even outfit a boat with the opportunities to save hundreds! You will find savings from your favorite brands on rods, reels, combos, lures, tackle, tools, beach carts, coolers and more, there will definitely be something for everyone! 

As always with a purchase of $100, you will receive a limited edition Snook Nook event shirt and with every $100 spent you will receive a raffle ticket toe enter to win well over $10,000 in prizes ranging from inshore and offshore charters, rods, reels, rod & reel combos, tackle packages, gift cards and more! Hands down our best lineup of raffle prizes to date! The first 75 people in line will also receive a special gift and have the opportunity to enter into a separate raffle with the grand prize of a $750 Snook Nook gift card amongst other prizes. Stay tuned for more details and announcements as we get closer to the big day. Follow along with us on Facebook or Instagram @thesnooknook for the latest updates. Looking forward to seeing everyone there! 

Inshore Fishing Report 

Our fall mullet run is coming to an end here on the Treasure Coast as we are seeing fewer and fewer schools of them. We will begin to transfer into our fall and early winter bite as the water temperatures begin to cool down a bit which can be really good for the fishing. The fish will tend to feed a little bit more and you will get more opportunities at getting on a bite throughout the day with the cooler temperatures. Those looking to target Snook and Tarpon will still have their opportunities and we will begin to see more of our fall/winter species moving our way with each cool front such as Black Drum, Redfish, Sheepshead, Triple Tail, Croaker, Pompano, Spanish Mackerel and Bluefish.

Snook fishing has been on the slower side over the past two weeks, granted we do have to look at a few factors that have been causing that. Even though we were not directly affected by Hurricane Milton, we still did get a lot of rain and that rain from inland eventually made its way to us. The amount of freshwater inshore has slowed the Snook bite down, but the fish still do need to feed so you will find your opportunities if you put your time in. The freshwater is finally starting to make its way out so we should be back to normal here soon. The early morning bite before the sun gets high as well as at night have seemed to provide the best opportunities for Snook. If you are out early before the sun rises fishing the dock lights or out late at the causeway fishing the shadow lines, don’t be afraid to tie on your favorite artificial shrimp and give it a few casts. The Snook fishing at the Jensen Causeway has been pretty good at night and in the evenings as the water quality has been really good up our way. Thumper Shrimp and Vudu Shrimp have been some of the go to choices lately. Slow rolling paddle tails and fishing jigs will work as well. As we begin to get greeted with some cooler temperatures, the Snook will begin to be more inclined to go after baits with a slower presentation such as a shrimp. On the warm days and as the sun gets a bit higher on the cooler days, they will still be willing to feed on live bait with no hesitation such as Pilchards, Pinfish, Croaker, Mullet, etc. A good majority of the Snook have moved away from the inlet and can be found throughout both the Indian and St. Lucie River around structures such as docks, bridges, sea walls and mangroves. There have also been Snook caught by those fishing the flats north of the power plant and the numbers of fish in that area will continue to increase. Snook season is still open all month if you are looking to harvest a slot size fish between 28-32”, the season closes on December 15th.

If you’re looking to hook into a Tarpon, there have been some north of the Jensen Causeway around Nettles Island, around the Roosevelt Bridge with a few fish still showing up around the Jensen Causeway. Live mullet or crabs will get the job done for you on them! The night time fishing at the Roosevelt has provided the most opportunities. 

A lot of anglers look forward to this time of year for our Sheepshead and Black Drum fishing. The Black Drum bite is starting to pick up around the bridges and at the power lines that go across the river from the power plant, you can find them on docks as well. You can fish live shrimp, pieces of shrimp or chunks of crab on a jighead or knocker rig to target them. The Sheepshead will typically be found in some of the same areas that you will find the Black Drum. Look for structure with heavy barnacle growth on them and you will typically find some Sheepshead crunching on those barnacles. The same baits and presentations will work for Sheepshead, but Fiddler Crabs are one of the best baits you can throw at them and we will try to have a steady supply of them throughout the season, but it does get difficult to get them when it gets colder as they are caught in northern Florida as well as Georgia. Fishing the channel markers is also a great strategy to catch Sheepshead, Black Drum, Triple Tail, Croakers and more. Bouncing from channel marker to channel marker with a shrimp on a jig head can lead you to a variety of fish to put in the cooler and can be fun for everyone on board. Some channel markers also have debris that has gotten stuck around them such as lost crab traps that make for excellent structure to fish. While you’re checking out the channel markers, don’t be afraid to look at the crab trap buoys to see if you can spot some Triple Tail floating in the current.

Some Spanish Mackerel have begun showing up around the Jensen Causeway already, anglers have been catching them on small pilchards, shrimp and spoons. We can expect to see more showing up with more cold fronts and you will be able to find them inshore around the bridges and in the inlet. We typically get into our better numbers of Spanish Mackerel towards the end of the month and into December as you will see anglers heading to Pecks Lake to fish the schools of Mackerel there. A few Pompano have been picked off by those jigging on Jensen Causeway east side relief bridge. They have been picking at them for a few weeks now and that bite should only pick up as more Pompano begin to migrate down our way. There have also been some Trout and Redfish caught north of the power plant by those fishing the flats. If you haven’t gone up that way in a while, it’s definitely worth the trip to look as there has been a good amount of grass that has come back on the east side of the river. 

Beach Fishing With Paul Sperco Palm Beach/Martin County Area

 

I do not think that anyone who fishes the beach on the east coast of Florida is going to be sad to see the month of October end . Milton, a 7 to 10 day hard easterly and north easterly wind event , and overall just crappy conditions made this month one to forget . The end of daylight saving time traditionally kicks off our winter season on the beach and the good news is it sounds as if there were definitely some pompano caught last weekend up in the St Augustine and Jacksonville area . Fishbites Shoreline Surf Fishing Tournament is being held this weekend at the Melbourne location and their Jensen Beach tournament is on November 16 . You can still sign up for this weekends event by going to The Fishbites Shoreline Showdown Surf Fishing Tournament website and register . The November 16th Tournament is being hosted by the Snook Nook in Jensen Beach . These are the last two legs of this series with the Championship being held in St Augustine on December 7 in St Augustine . If anyone is in need of bait to have for these venues , I have two suggestions for you . The Snook Nook is fully stocked with every Fishbites bait this is made and there is not another tackle store in the area with their selection . The other point is the sandflea population has never been healthier in the 14 years I have lived here , so grab a rake and get some bait . I took a trip up today and found them at numerous beaches up and down South Hutchinson Island . The bags of fleas that are in the picture attached to this post were the result of about an hour and a half this morning at only 2 beach accesses . I never went further than Herman’s Bay to the north and I talked to a friend of mine that got a bunch at Santa Lucea to the south . A sandflea tipped with a piece of a Fishbites bait can be deadly . It hasn’t seemed to matter when you hit the beach looking for the sandfleas, they have been staying up all day . All we need now is this weeks wind event to end and we should bend some rods . Good luck and catch em up.

From Todd @ Juno Bait Crew-Juno Beach

 INSHORE-  It's windy inshore and fishing in a 20mph wind is hard, but the snook are biting.  The mullet schools have really started to thin out, but the snook are taking advantage of the ones hanging around.  Early morning and late afternoon look for snook to be laying along seawalls and under boat docks waiting for mullet to be swept to them with the tide.  Loud noisy topwater lures are a great choice in this situation.  Try to present the lure as a disoriented or injured mullet coming down the seawall with the tide.   Remember also a 20mph wind can create it's on current on top, so use the wind to your advantage when possible.   At night the snook have been stalking bridge shadow lines.  A flair hawk jig or bigger body swimbait is a great way to go in this situation.  The snook have also started to eat the shrimp jig, but hare still jumping on the bigger baits as well.  

SURF/PIER- The surf report is like the Halloween offshore report...fishing and weather so bad it's downright SCARY!!!  Not much to write about as fishing has been very tough.  A few days the weather wasn't as bad produced a fair whiting/croaker bite on the pier, along with a few ribbonfish.  Overall fishing remains very tough.  But when the weather breaks watch out...the fishing is going to be on fire!!!

Snook-Nook Fishing Report

 Inshore Fishing Report 

Our annual fall mullet run has brought along some great fishing inshore over the past few weeks. Snook, Tarpon, Jacks, Sharks and a variety of predators have been putting on a show feeding on the schools of bait. We have had very strong numbers of mullet schools pushing through our area and we should continue to see some schools continuing to push our way as we get into October as there have still been steady reports of schools north of us. Mullet schools have been prevalent throughout the day, but it seems the best of the action has been at night and early in the morning with the bite slowing down a bit as the sun gets higher. For those that are targeting Snook, the low light conditions will play to your advantage as the Snook will use the shadow lines from dock lights and bridges to ambush the mullet or whatever bait is pushing through. Making your bait stand out in the school is key to getting the bite when the bait is prevalent, many anglers will prefer artificials such as paddle tails, jerk baits and top waters depending on the situation that you are fishing. Don’t be afraid to use bigger profiles as well as surface baits that make commotion on the surface to make your presentation stand out. Fishing your lure on the edge of the bait pods can result in more bites as well. Some of the most popular artificials we have been selling this month have included; NLBNs, JYG Pro SWYMs, Hogy Pro Tail Paddle Tails, Yozuri Crystal Minnows, Fingerlings, Top Knocks & Hydro Pencils, Rapala Xraps & Skitterwalks. If you do prefer fishing a live mullet, adding a small cork to slow the bait down or trimming the tail fins will give your bait a more injured presentation making an easier snack for the fish. For those Snook fishing inshore during the day, there has still been action. Locating schools of bait in areas such as canals, on seawalls, along mangrove lines or near any ambush point or structure will be keys to your success. This is one of the best times of year to fish the sea walls even if you aren’t seeing any bait around. Larger mullet in the 6-10” range are one of the best bait choices if you’re hunting for big Snook. You will want to keep that mullet tight to the seawall for the Snook as when the bait comes off the wall a few feet you will start running into more Jacks.

There have been a lot of Tarpon around inshore with a lot of them being in the triple digit class! Look to find them up by the power plant, around the bridges, in the crossroads, in the inlet as well as up in the North Fork. Fishing larger live mullet, floating crabs around the bridges or using mullet heads on the bottom for some of the lazier fish are all effective options for those looking to use natural bait. Those targeting them with artificials have had success throwing larger swimbaits and straight tails such as the 8” NLBNs and larger Hogy Protails. The purple or black colors have been some of the hottest models for those Tarpon fishing. 

For those who want to catch a Redfish, we see them quite often around the Stuart Causeway in October. They can be caught with shrimp on a jig head, cut mullet and live Croakers. You may run into some Black Drum as well fishing shrimp on a jig head around the bridges this time of year as our Black Drum fishing starts to heat up. Those fishing the flats to the north have had success catching Snook, Trout, Redfish and Tarpon. Pitching lures like DOA Cals or Thumper Shrimp into the pockets of the mangroves is an effective strategy. You can also fan cast out on the flat with either top water plugs before the sun gets high or cover water with a DOA CAL. If you are heading to the north, stone crab season opens up in October and that means everyone will be putting out their traps. All those crab trap buoys are great areas to look for Triple Tail. We typically see better numbers of Triple Tail caught after stone crab season opens up. You can free line a shrimp or fish one on a jig head and pitch it to them if you see one. As we begin to get some cool fronts and north winds which we usually start seeing in late October, we will begin to start seeing some of our migratory fall/winter fish making an appearance such as Sheepshead, Black Drum, Croakers, Spanish Mackerel, Pompano and Bluefish. October always brings us a nice variety of opportunities inshore with the mullet run and early signs of some of our migratory fall/winter fish!

Surf Fishing Report

Those who were looking for the mullet run action from the beach definitely had some shots at action! A lot of anglers were able to take advantage of some great Tarpon fishing from the beach both on artificials and live bait. There have been Snook, Jacks, Sharks and a variety of other predators feeding on the schools as well. We’ve had some Pompano action over the past few weeks from the beach with some keepers hitting the sand. Last month there were a lot of shorts caught and this month the short fish have all been pretty close to being keepers. It is still pretty early for the Pompano so the fishing will only improve as we get into the fall. If you are fishing multiple rods, it is a good idea to stagger your casting distances to locate where the fish are feeding. EZ Flea, Electric Chicken Crab and Pink/Flesh FishBites have been producing bites along with sand fleas. These fish are coming from the north so don’t be afraid to hit some of the beaches to the north even up towards Vero if you’re looking for some Pompano action. There has been some good Permit fishing from the beach too and they can be caught the same way as Pompano. While it is tough to specifically target them, they have definitely been around. The beaches around the power plant will typically give you a better shot at hooking one, but they can be caught all over Hutchinson Island.  There have also been some Whiting and Croakers mixed in for our surf anglers too

From Todd @ Juno Bait Crew-Juno Beach

 INSHORE-  Snook fishing was very good ahead of the storm.  The snook have been feeding on mullet during the day.  Seawalls, boat docks, and other prime ambush points will be the best places to target the snook.  At night the snook have been hanging around the bridges in good numbers.  Flair Hawk Jigs and bigger body swimbaits are the best bet lure wise for the snook.  Both incoming and outgoing tide should produce bites (It's unlikely that we will have a crystal clear incoming tide this week).  This is the time of year you expect to see a few redfish mixed in with the snook as well.  It's by no means a huge number of reds, but if you're going to catch one in Palm Beach County it is likely to be in the middle two weeks of October.  

SURF/PIER-  The Juno Beach Pier will remain closed through at least Friday with very heavy surf forecasted (See below).  If the forecast holds and the surf falls over the next few days, we could see the Juno Beach Pier really fire off.  The hope will be that the snapper push back in with the swell.  Early in the week the pompano made the first good showing of the season at the pier.  Most of the pomps were short; but a few keepers did come over the rail.  The pompano were biting Doc's Goofy Jigs, JYG Pro Micro Jigs, and Fishbites well.  Expect a nice push of pompano after this north swell.  Bluefish have started to show up as well.  Spanish Mackerel action has been a bit spotty, but still some around.  The bluefin showing up has not chased all the snook off the beach; but it won't take ling for that to happen.  The beach did have a lot of mullet (mostly scattered and not in big pods) as Hurricane Milton pushed offshore, with some big tarpon around.  As the swell comes down we should see some more mullet pushing down the beach.