Today’s forecast: Anticipate partly cloudy skies, a high of 78 degrees, north-northeast winds of 15 mph, and two to three-foot seas.

Our fishing guide, “Snookman” Wayne Landry, shares his insights about fishing conditions at the inlet:

“Hello, all my fishing folks. Once again, all I can say is the fishing at the inlet as a whole is really slow, again. The water temperatures and winds keep fluctuating so much that the fish can't seem to get into the summer ‘groove’ that they should be in by now. That makes it tough to get anything to bite on a consistent basis, as conditions keep changing from day to day. You just have to be there at the right time and with the right bait when they decide to eat. 

North jetty: The water on this side has been nice and clean but the brown slimy algae on the bottom is making for tough fishing as it is getting all over everything. The algae always appears when water temperatures suddenly change from cool to warm. I was down four days working last week and two days fishing on the incoming tide, Thursday, and Friday and NOTHING, not even a bite! There were lots of snook schooling up and moving around, but the huge goliath groupers were ‘herding’ them around and the snook didn't want to play at all, all week. I saw one large redfish hooked up all week only to be eaten off the top of the water by a goliath of about 400 pounds. I did notice a few schools of the Atlantic spadefish swimming around the jetty on the incoming tide, which is common for this time of the year. They can be caught on small pieces of cut shrimp. The only other species I saw being caught were the bluefish and jack crevalles on the outgoing tide at the tip on spoons and cut bait. 

South jetty: The water over here has been pretty dirty and still a bit weeded up for the most part. Only blues, small jacks and some black margates are being caught on the tip on the outgoing tide. Snook fishing has lulled too on the incoming tide. 

T-Dock area: Fishing is slow back here, with only some puffers and small spot-tail pinfish being caught on cut baits. No snook.

Surf area (both sides): Surf fishing has been a hit-or-miss deal. If you find clean water, whiting and maybe a pompano are possible. The south side has been dirtied up and the north side area is full of sand in the surf, so you will have to throw out far to reach deeper water. 

Offshore: Being as the seas laid down for a couple of days last week and boaters were able to get out, the fishing was fairly good! Three of my friends went out bottom fishing Thursday and Friday and fished anywhere between 90 to 200 feet and did pretty well. They caught red snapper up to 15 to 20 pounds, large triggerfish, vermillion snappers, two gag groupers, and several amberjacks weighing between 40 and 50 pounds. On Sunday, they fished inshore and caught five cobias with two being keepers, 34 inches and 36 inches, respectively. Live grunts, pilchards and pinfish and cut baits were used. Elsewhere out there, folks were catching grouper in 100 to 200 feet of water using live grunts, pilchards and cut sardines. Fish were averaging 12 to 25 pounds. Also, some sailfish were around in the 200-foot ledges being caught with trolled feathers, naked and with ballyhoo, and live goggle eyes on kites. Fish were 30 to 40 pounds. Also, some mahi were caught trolling green and yellow shirts with ballyhoo. Most fish were eight to 12 pounds. I received  a report that cobia were being caught in the 70 to 90-foot range along reefs and ledges. Fish were ranging from 20 to 25 pounds, with many being too small (just shy of the 33-inch minimum. Pinfish, greenies and jigs will entice a bite from them.

Just another quick reminder: The North jetty will be closed May 18 and 19 for some underwater cleanup. 

It’s going to be breezy and windy all week, but you can still get out and enjoy the milder temperatures while you can at the beach. Grab a cooler and enjoy the outdoors! Cheers, Snookman.”