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Week of December 23: Flounder could be your holiday meal if you heed Snookman's advice

A person holding a large fish on a pier with the ocean in the background.
Augustine Chan sent us several photos of two bluefish he caught while fishing at the tip of the south jetty Friday morning . He says, "They were constantly moving around with their tail fins sticking out of the water. Sometimes they would sound only to resurface in another spot. I (along with a few other anglers) would scan for them and cast towards them with a two-ounce silver spoon only when I spotted them. I lost the first three hookups from a cutoff and two spit outs before landing two. I had to jump down to the rocks and used the waves washing over the rocks to help land them, since no one had a net. The first one weighed 12 pounds. The second weighed 12.5. They dropped out of sight once the tide started coming in.

Today's forecast calls for rain and clouds, a high of 73 degrees, NE winds of 8 mph, and two to three-foot seas. Expect stormy conditions throughout the week. 

It’s time for this week’s fishing report, courtesy of “Snookman” Wayne Landry:

“Good morning, Sebastian Inlet fishing junkies!  Here we go with another installment of ‘what's happening at the inlet’. Fishing has been a little slow but steady. During this time of year, when water temperatures have dropped, there are fish to be caught; you just need to put in some time at your favorite spot.

The north side has been hit-or-miss, due to the north jetty repair project leaving few places to fish: west of the tide pool, along the rocks and mangrove shoreline. Incoming tide is the best time to fish in this area, unless you wade in the water along the shoreline, to fish the outgoing tide, as there will be more area to cover. The talk at the inlet has been all about flounder fishing. It appears they want to play more than they did last year! The boaters drifting and anchoring along the shoreline back here are catching nice fish, up to 3 or 4 pounds, on live finger mullet. Folks back here are also catching pompano using  sandfleas and goofy jigs. Pompano that are running the shoreline to enter the Indian River Lagoon, along with black drum. 

The south side of the jetty, when it's not too wet, is producing black drum, sheepshead and a few pompano on shrimp, live or dead, and sandfleas, and some of the pompano are being caught on the goofy jigs when the water is cleaner and calmer. Outgoing tide is the better option. Incoming tide along the shoreline is producing black drum and sheepshead for those using live and dead shrimp, or sandfleas. The entire shoreline all the way back to the campground is also producing fish as well, with the main focus being the flounder.  I have heard and seen pictures of fish caught back here on live finger mullet and mud minnows. Most of the fish are in the three to four-pound range, with a few pushing the five to six-pound range — better than what we saw last year when few fish were keepers, and maybe some two-pounders.  I'm hoping that the bite continues to stay good!

On the T-dock, there have been a few Spanish mackerel  caught on small jigs, and pompano, too, on goofy jigs fished out towards the channel. Incoming tide has been the better tide for those bites. Flounder are possible here as well on live finger mullet fished close to the rocks and dock pilings. Remember folks, you don’t need to throw your mullet very far to catch flounder; most will be at your feet! Fish tight to the shoreline. 

That's it for this week. The weather is expected to calm down this week, but the seas should pick back up by the weekend.  Merry Christmas and a Happy Holiday Season to all of you. Now, get out there and catch fish.”                 — Snookman