Today’s (December 15) weather forecast calls for cloudy skies, NE winds blowing at up to 18 mph, and six to eight-foot seas. Prepare to get splashed if you are fishing from the jetties.

Our fishing guide, “Snookman” Wayne Landry describes the “cold weather” fishing scene here in sunny Florida:

“Good morning, Sebastian Inlet fishing/sightseeing fans! I trust everyone had a great weekend. You couldn't ask for any better weather that we had! The only bad thing about it is that the fish took a vacation. Cold and stained up water from Sebastian River made things a bit tough for fishing. The water temperature dropped to 65 to 68 degrees over the weekend. Good for the cold water fish — drum, sheepshead, pompano, flounder — but the water quality was impacted by the freshwater runoff. Here we go with what I have for this week. 

North jetty: Over here most of the action has been on the outgoing tide at the tip. Anything you fished, live or dead, or artificial was attracting lots of jack crevalle and bluefish, and those pesky catfish. On the incoming tide, which was very early in the wee hours of the morning,  black drum and redfish were caught on live shrimp — no snook. The water is too cold for them. And remember, SNOOK SEASON IS CLOSED NOW! Won't open back up until February 1st. And also, on the reds they are catching and seeing, big schools of them have been seen around the jetty, in our area of the Indian River Lagoon from New Symrna Beach down to The Palm Beaches, you CANNOT KEEP ANY OF THEM, they are catch-and-release only! It is listed on FWC's website. Other species I saw caught on the outing tide were lookdowns caught on small jigs, and a few nice sheepshead on dead shrimp and live fiddler crabs between the pilings and over the rock pile. On Sunday, I saw a couple of nice pompano and whiting caught up towards the surf area. Cut shrimp. 

 South jetty:  Here, the fishing was dismal on Sunday, with only a handful of blues and jacks caught at the tip on the outgoing tide. And of course, catfish! On the incoming tide, which was VERY early, or very late in the day along the jetty, there were a few small snook and reds being caught on live baits and flair jigs. The flounder action has slowed down quite a bit, but the guys are out fishing them. I didn't see or hear about any in the last few days, except for the guys in the boats west of the bridge, where they were getting some nice ones in the boats despite the ongoing dredging. 

T-Dock: Back here also has been slow, with only a few sheepshead caught around the dock pilings and the adjacent shoreline. There were a few flounder caught back here, but they have been on the smaller side, 12 to 14 inches, and they have to be at least 14 inches to be kept. jacks and small bluefish have been hitting silver spoons in the channel area. No snook or reds back here. 

 Surf Area, both sides: The action was in the surf, especially the north side which has been pretty good with the calmer and cleaner water. There were quite a few whiting caught, along with pompano, small black drum, and bluefish. Cut baits like shrimp, and live sandfleas are the baits of choice for everything, even the blues. South side a bit slower, mainly because when the tide comes out with the stained up water, if flows southward, so it isn't as clean. They are still though catching some pompano and whiting and drum on the fleas and shrimp, only bad thing is that the catfish are more abundant on the south area. 

Well folks, that's it in a nutshell.  Monday and Tuesday will be rough, with winds of 20 to 30 out of the NNE, and seas building back up to the 6 to 7 ft range again, which will most likely make the water silty and muddy. Conditions should calm down by Thursday into the weekend. After all, we are getting into our winter season. I wish everyone a great week! Stay well, and safe.” — Snookman.