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Week of March 7: Windy, but warmer water drawing redfish, bluefish, black drum, and sheepshead

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When in doubt, measure  a snook  by determining the straight-line distance from the most forward point of the head with the mouth closed to the farthest tip of the tail with the tail squeezed together, while the fish is lying on its side.

Today’s forecast calls for partly cloudy skies with a high of 77 degrees, southeast winds at 15 mph, and 3 to 5-foot seas. Tuesday through Thursday expect afternoon showers, highs in the low to mid-80s  and south-southeast winds ranging from 13 to 16 mph.

Our fishing guide, “Snookman” Wayne Landry reports that Sebastian Inlet has been rough and blown out over the weekend due to east-southeast winds blowing at 20 to 30 mph. More of the same is expected throughout the coming week (see forecast, above). But Snookman says there are fish to be caught because the winds have brought back the warmer water, (74 degrees now) which is good. 

“Fishing at the North jetty, is going to be hit-or-miss, depending on the water clarity and seas,” Snookman says. “Over the weekend, we caught some nice black drum in the 5 to 8-pound range on live shrimp on the incoming tide, along with several nice sheepshead, too. Big redfish are present as well and were caught on live shrimp and live threadfins. There was an early morning snook bite, too, on live shrimp on the incoming tide and redfish as well. Most fish are being caught at the tip of the jetty on the outgoing tide. Both tides are starting to produce fish of all species. The bluefish are still around for those tossing silver spoons and jigs and cut bait — most are in the 14 to 16-inch range — and I had a report of a couple being taken in the 8 to 10-pound range. It is that time of the year for those big ones to show up, if they do stop by.

Snookman also received a report of a couple of nice Cubera snappers being caught last week when the water was warmer. On Thursday, he saw anglers catching pompano on dead shrimp at the tip of the jetty. The fish were in the two to three-pound range. He also saw a few nice sheepshead being caught on both tides along the rocky shoreline on small pieces of dead shrimp. 

At the South Jetty, Wayne says fishing has been a washout due to the high seas and wicked southeast winds, which make for rough water. “Before the winds picked up last week, Thursday, I saw a few nice flounder caught in the surf on small grub jigs and live bait. The fish I saw were around two pounds each. Also, the pompano were around, but not in any numbers.” 

Not much is happening at the T-Dock area except for some sheepshead around the dock pilings and rock shoreline. “Back here, the nighttime bucktail fishing for snook has been pretty good, with the majority of the fish being over slot, but some keepers are being caught.”

Five-to-seven-foot seas has blown out surf fishing on the north and south sides of the inlet, Wayne says.

“It’s supposed to be a really nice week ahead, temp wise, but is still going to be a bit windy with rain coming for Wednesday through Friday as another front churns across the state. Grab your gear and enjoy what Florida parks and beaches have to offer,” Wayne says. “Have a great week everyone.”