Sebastian Inlet fishing report 2-20

[Fishing Report]

02-18-11 FRIDAY: BLACK DRUM, BLUES, SHEEPSHEAD ANDPOMPANO

It's another fabulous day at the inlet, winds are blowing out of the Southeast at 4 mph this morning and there is a light chop on the water. We have a wonderful weekend in the forecast, try to get out and do a little fishing!

Fishing was slow yesterday but what a great day to be at the inlet. In the morning hours Diane Buyce of Melbourne landed the only Black Drum off the north jetty using shrimp, a few small and keeper Blues were landed on silver spoons and a couple of short Pompano came over the rails. That was about it for the north side. The south side had a little better action but overall, it was slow as well. Good sized Blues in the early morning hours, a couple of nice Pompano, a couple of Sheepshead and Whiting were landed by a few fishing the south jetty. Those anglers fishing the late afternoon incoming tide have had better luck than those fishing the outgoing tide.

Some real nice Reds have been hitting in the late afternoon and evening hours. Need proof? Check out our first two photos sent in by Bill Coe. Bill and his friends took advantage of some great weather Tuesday night and ended up pulling in 21 oversized Reds and 1 keeper, what a night! The men netted pinfish at the boat ramp for bait and as you can see in the photos, didn't have to go far to land the beautiful Reds. The oversized Reds were between 35" - 40" and weighed between 30 -35 lbs. Great fishing guys!

Photo # 1 features Bill Coe (L) and Brian West with two of the big Reds that were released unharmed right after the photo.

Photo # 2 is of Stuart Brown with another big Red landed and released later in the evening.

Photo # 3 features a gang of inlet regulars and snow bird Charlie Booth (L) of Davisburg, MI. Charlie, Chuck Fischer, Mike Ricciardi and Tony Swiderski all landed their Black Drum on Tuesday morning on shrimp and clam combos. Photo courtesy of Mike Ricciardi. What a crew, thanks Mike!

Photo # 4 is of Tony Swiderski of Sebastian with a real pretty 26" Black Drum he landed on Monday.

The tide pool restoration project is moving along quickly and we could see it reopened to the public in just a couple of weeks. It's going to be really nice!

Have a great weekend and send in your photos and updates!




02-17-11 THURSDAY: BLACK DRUM, BLUES, POMPANO

It's going to be another beautiful day at the inlet; it looks like spring has sprung! Winds are blowing out of the Southwest at 4 mph this morning but there is a small chop on the water and small craft should exercise caution.

Yesterday morning was slow on the north jetty according to Mike Ricciardi who has been out there every morning this week so far. It's been on again and off again this week. The Black Drum bite slowed and only two came over the rails on the incoming tide. Several hook ups were lost at the tip of the north jetty due to wave action and spit hooks. A couple of short Pompano were caught and returned to the water and as usual, Blues appeared. Several Sheepshead were caught off the catwalk on sand fleas. Rich Blum, part time resident of Vero Beach was one of the lucky "lotto" winners yesterday and is featured in our first photo. All of today's photos are courtesy of Mike Ricciardi, thanks Mike!

Photo # 2 is of Michel Fontaine of Ashville, NC with an oversized red landed last Wednesday.

Photo # 3 features Mike Ricciardi with an oversized Red caught and released last Wednesday.

Photo # 4 is of Tony Swiderski of Sebastian with a C/R Red landed on Monday.

If you are looking for something to do this weekend, the Sebastian Inlet State Park is presenting the band "Night People" at their concert series on Saturday night from 7:00 - 9:00 p.m. We should have great weather, so get out and enjoy it! The concert is free but Park admissions apply.

Send us your photos and updates!







02-16-11 WEDNESDAY: BLACK DRUM, BLUES, SPANISH MACKEREL, SHEEPSHEAD AND REDS

The fog is burning off and it's going to be a glorious day at the inlet. Winds are blowing out of the East at 6 mph and the water is calm.


Yesterday morning between 9:00 and 10:00 on the outgoing tide, the Black Drum bite turned on according to Mike Ricciardi of Vero Beach. Mike reported that 10 Drum came over the rails in the 22" - 27" range for anglers using shrimp and clam combos. A few small Blues and small Spanish Mackerel came over the rails on Gotcha lures. Our first two photos today are courtesy of Mike, thanks Mike!

The late afternoon brought another strong Black Drum bite along with small Macks in the 11" - 13" range. Macks must be 12" to the fork of the tail. Sheepshead, Flounder and Reds also made an appearance after 6:00 p.m.

Our third photo today is of Jon Tahla of Melbourne. Jon and his friend Jerrod Rhoades were fishing the south jetty Sunday night and got into some nice oversized Reds using mud minnows and live shrimp. Jon landed his largest to date at 32" and one at 30". Jerrod landed one that was 30". Jon was also targeting Sharks and had a good bite but it bit the Blue in half and missed the hook. The men went home empty handed but had some nice fish-tails!


Photo four is of Jerrod Rhoades with his 30" Red.

Send us your photos and updates!