Week of April 8: More turbid, chilly water, but a few blues and Spanish mackerel caught
Today's forecast calls for partly cloudy skies, a high of 75 degrees, East winds of 16 mph, and two to three-foot seas.
It's time for "Snookman" Wayne Landry's weekly fishing report. He's here to manage your expectations....
“Good morning, all you Sebastian Inlet fishing fanatics. Happy ‘Solar Monday’ to you all! Unfortunately, this is going to be another short report, as it was a slow weekend at the fishing hole, largely due to the chilly and sandy/silted water. Temperatures remain at 71 degrees along the east coast from Canaveral to Wabasso, where it should be in the 75-76 degree range for this time of year. There is also an absence of any bait fish.
Last week began with a good pompano bite on the north side. Monday and Tuesday, anglers were catching quite a few from the north jetty and the beaches just north of the jetty — sand fleas were the bait of choice. On Wednesday, fishing went downhill, with not much being caught on either side. Some bluefish and Spanish mackerel were caught at the jetty tip on silver spoons and small white jigs on the tide changes, but that was pretty much it through the entire weekend. Sunday saw a couple nice snook caught on the early morning incoming tide on live shrimp and mojarras. South side has been a hit-or-miss due to dirtier water flowing out of the inlet, pushed by NNW-WNW winds. The winds churn the intercoastal waters, send it out of the inlet, then back in on the incoming tide. That scenario makes it tough for the water to clean up enough for the fish to want to bite.
Small bluefish and jack crevalle at the tip on the outgoing, and catfish were all that were being caught. The water over here was too dirty for the pompano. Incoming tide early, and late evening produced a few snook on live baits, but most were under the 28 inch minimum to be harvested. But there were a couple slots caught. The remaining inlet spots were slow, unless you were in a boat drifting the inlet channel catching big jacks and leftover monster bluefish.
Unfortunately, folks, that's all I have for this week, courtesy of the weird weather again. One day soon, normal Florida weather will return and hopefully the fishing will pick back up. Enjoy your day everyone! And be safe.” — Snookman.