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                                                                Sebastian Inlet, Beaches & Offshore

    Surf fishing has finally started to show some signs of a turn around.  Pompano are back on the catch list along with the arrival of some much missed sand fleas.   The fleas are spotty and not showing in huge numbers but there are a few there.   This has brought the pompano, whiting and blues through the surf and many anglers are finally starting to catch a few fish.  

Some of the pompano are small, so keep a ruler handy.  The legal size is 11” to the fork, keep measuring them and soon you will notice a little silvery shine in your bucket, as a few measure out to be legal size.  There is not a daily limit on the whiting, but the bluefish are 10 per person.  So grab a cup of coffee hit the beach with your surf gear and watch a beautiful sunrise.  Hopefully, you will be taking home some fresh fish for lunch!

     One big surprise at the Sebastian Inlet right now is how good the trout fishing is.  It has been several years since the trout have really moved into the inlet.  Many, many years ago it was a regular cycle, but over time the trout have just have not shown up in any good numbers.  It has just been a hand full fish here and there for just a few days.  

     The best way to fish for the trout in the cooler water is to slowly work shallow diving plugs along the rocks and close to the piers.  They are cold and sluggish due to the cold water. If you work the lure too fast they do not have the energy for an attack.  Live bait is also easy to use in the currents with a lightweight rod, just like snook fishing.

     The snook bite is slow so far a February kicks off.  Look for more action as the month goes on and the water starts to warm up.  The fishing around the jetties is been producing some good numbers of black drum, bluefish, pompano and whiting.  The black drum are sucking up the live clams and ranging an average of 5-8 lbs, with a few fish over 15lbs. If the water cleans up along the beaches the pompano will make a run by the jetties. The whiting have been on the south side and in great numbers with the occasional pompano mixed in.  Blues are everywhere and if you want to try your luck with them try casting silver spoons on outgoing tides.  They are a fun fight and are great on the smoker.

    Offshore has been good for king fishing when the seas allow.  Most of the kings are scattered from the Bethel ledges north up to the Port.

     The Cobia are starting to show up offshore Sebastian Inlet.  There has been a lot of leatherback sea turtles along the tide lines and out to 50ft. of water.  The Cobia have been in the shadows and below the turtles.  Pitch baits or buck tails are the way to go.  

     The manta rays should be starting to migrate through our local waters some time this month.   Look for the rays up on the surface after 9am or whenever the sun breaks high from the clouds, this will warm up the surface water and pull the rays up to feed.  High sun also helps to give you good spotting light to see the ripples causes by the feeding action on the surface.  If the rays are not showing, head out to the offshore reefs, do some bottom fishing or live baiting and keep an eye out for a free swimming cobia to come off the reef and take a look at your boat.  There have been good numbers of cobia caught both on rays and on the 60ft and 90ft reefs.  

     Another key element to finding some cobia offshore is to fish the bait pods that are on the surface.  Huge schools of pogies have been offshore about 8-10 miles out.  The cobia and manta rays have also been mixed in with the schools of bait.  The only recent down fall to all the huge bait pods on the surface, is that the cobia have not been interested in taking a bait, jig, plug or anything you throw at them.  There are stuffed like a turkey on Thanksgiving with pogies in their bellies.  The best way to get a hook up is to get several fish interested in your bait and let the element of competition work for you.  

     A good trick for finicky cobia when all else is fails is to pitch a live blue crab, an eel or just jump in and spear one!  Cobia are the one fish that will tear your boat apart when you bring them aboard.  Make sure when you go to gaff the fish, that you have a clean shot and the other crew members are ready to jump out of the way so you can stuff him in the fish box quickly.  For the smaller fish, say less than 20 lbs, it sure makes things much easier to have a nice size landing net on board to scoop them up.  It makes removing the hook and releasing the fish so much easier.  Also, you can rest assured that the boat will be safer two.

     Whiteys will be hosting its Annual Cobia Tournament starting March 1st.  So stop in some time this month and sign up.  Until then……