Today’s (June 1) forecast calls for mostly cloudy skies, a chance of a thunderstorm in the afternoon, a high of 89 degrees, WNW winds of 10 mph, and one to two-foot seas.

 Our fishing guide, “Snookman” Wayne Landry, says we need the warmer water to return for the fishing to improve. But he notes that the temperature will climb and the clarity has already begun to improve:

“Good morning, Sebastian Inlet aficionados. I hope everyone enjoyed the beautiful weekend weather. First, a reminder: SNOOK SEASON IS CLOSED UNTIL SEPTEMBER 1. Only catch-and-release is permitted. The snook are in their ‘spawning mode’ with the arrival of warmer water.  The water temperature last week was up to 83-84 degrees, but has since dropped to 80 for the last couple of days. This change has shut down the bite we had early last week; the temperature drop has ushered in a nasty green ‘snot weed’ algae. It is everywhere in the inlet, making it tough to fish as it clogs your line and makes a mess. Plus, it spooks the fish when it is on the bottom just waving back and forth in the current. Anyway, I was down at the inlet all last week and both weekend days, and the fishing was slow, with only a few fish being caught, mostly on the north side where the water was cleaner.  The south side was still muddied up on both tides, and the snot weed was worse due to the shallower water. So here we go with the not so hot action spots.

North jetty:  Over here, there has been a showing of  tiny glass minnows, and pilchards all around the jetty and the rocks at the tip and the beach area, which is a good sign as it will attract the Spanish mackerel. As they move further into the inlet, they will attract the mangrove snappers to start their summer bite. All good. There has still been quite a few nice schools of finger mullet still coming down the beach. The bite on the jetty has been at the tip on both tides, with the early incoming being the better tide to fish, and the late evening. There are big schools of snook in the inlet doing their spawning thing, and sometimes will bite. Most of the fish I saw caught the past week were all over slot, with only a couple being keepers: 28 inch minimum, 32 maximum, tail pinched for both. Live croakers have been the hot bait if you can find them. Also, live shrimp accounted for a few along with live finger mullet. Also making a decent showing last week were schools of redfish feeding on tiny crabs coming out of the river on the outgoing tide. Jigs, swim baits and top water chuggers have been the baits to use. Most of the fish have been in the 30 to 36- inch range. Redfish are closed, and only catch-and-release are permitted. Another species I was told about are the permit which show up around the inlet in the summer when the water warms up. They also feed on the shrimp and crabs flowing out of the inlet. Those fish have been ranging in the 30 to 37-inch range, lot of fun to catch! The mangrove snapper are starting to show up as well, several undersized fish have been caught, but I did see a couple of nice 12-inch fish caught earlier last week on live shrimp on the inlet side of the jetty during the incoming tide. Another mention are the cubera snappers that reside at the tip of the jetty; a few of them have been caught over the last week as well — live mullet and croakers were the bait for them. Then you also have the normal cast of characters: catfish, blue runners, ladyfish, small jacks, and on Sunday one angler was catching shovel-nosed sharks. They were on the beach side of the jetty. 

South jetty: Over here, dirty water and the nasty snot weed that has taken over the bottom on this side has kept the anglers away. But they’re still catching  fish in that mess. Spot tail pins, black margates,  sand perch and of course, kitty fish! Outgoing tide at the tip. The incoming tide has produced a few decent redfish, and snook when the season was open, but again, the weeds played a big factor in keeping the bite pretty slow. 

T-dock area: Back here the action has been slow; not very many folks back here fishing. The ones fishing were not the regulars. Small mangrove snappers were caught along with  spot tail pins and the ever-present puffers! Cut shrimp fished around the rock shoreline and dock pilings was where it was happening. 

 Surf area, both sides: South side has been a dirty, weedy mess, and nobody was fishing it. The north side was a bit cleaner and deeper when you got away from the jetty north, whiting, a few pompano, croakers and small black drum hanging around has been the cast of characters. Sharks are also cruising up and down the beach looking for a meal, I watched a 12-foot great hammerhead shark chasing a smaller shark on the beachside of the north jetty on Sunday. The smaller shark that about four feet long, but it was just too quick and maneuverable, and the hammerhead didn't catch it! But it was neat to watch!  

Well, my friends, that's all for this week! The water is warming up, baitfish are showing up, and the water is cleaning up — it was crystal clear on the north jetty Sunday morning beachside. You could see all the snook and others swimming around. Expect a pretty good week weatherwise, so grab your gear and enjoy the inlet or the beach!” — Cheers. Snookman.