Today's forecast calls for partly sunny skies, a high of 78 degrees, East winds at 9 mph, and zero to one-foot seas. 

 ”Good morning, Sebastian Inlet fans. I hope everyone enjoyed the fantastic weekend! It sure was nice out. So here we go; lets ‘spring’ into the report. Fishing at the inlet has still been hit-or-miss, but more on the ‘hit’ side, with all sorts of action happening when the fish decide to bite — and the bite has gotten more reliable for those putting in time. The water has cleaned up greatly, the seas have remained largely calm, and most importantly, the water temperature has risen to a more acceptable warmth for the fish to want to play. Over the past two days, temperatures have been hovering at around 70 degrees. If it creeps to 72, things will improve even more. There is bait around in the inlet, which is another bonus. I have seen mojarra in the back, threadfins around the tips of the jetties and the tide rip south side, and the big black mullet/roe mullet are in the inlet. The key ingredients are there; we just need the water to warm more. Here’s the meat of my report:

North side, in the back: Back here, anglers are reporting spotted seatrout, a few flounder and small snook caught on live shrimp during the incoming tide. Also, a few black drum and pompano have been caught back here. Live or dead shrimp are the baits being used. 

South Jetty: Here, most of the action is at the tip during the outgoing tide — many small bluefish, jack crevalle, blue runners all on spoons and jigs, and cut baits. Pompano have been around on sand fleas, but not a big number of them. The talk of the south jetty has been the black drum; quite a few have been caught on sand fleas and shrimp, either live or dead. There have also been large schools of the ‘big uglies’, aka drum over 30 pounds. They’re showing up around the jetty in the early morning tides. Several of the fish were caught last week during the early morning outgoing tide on flair hawks! Yes, these huge fish will eat a jig! Some were caught on dead shrimp as well. Those I saw caught were averaging in the 25 to 70-pound range. Big breeder fish! These fish of that size are generally NOT good eating. The flesh is very gamey, tough, and the fish flesh is usually full of round worms that render it distasteful. It is suggested that you please return these big breeders to the water to make more! There have also been smaller (15 to 24- inches), edible drums caught. They’re the perfect size for eating. One day last week the big blues made a pass by again, with only a couple being caught on large silver spoons. On the incoming tide there were a few small snook caught, and redfish as well. Thumper jigs did the trick for them. Along the shoreline from the bridge back to the T-dock it has been slow: sheepshead and drum are being caught on the incoming, but not like the numbers being caught on the jetty. 

T-Dock area: Back here it has been a hit-and-miss, too, with the incoming being the better tide with the cleaner water. Black drum, whiting and sand perch are being caught on dead shrimp. Also, a few snook caught on live mojarra and the thumper jigs, but not too many as the water is still a bit cool for them to ‘wake up’. The nighttime snook bite, from what I hear, has been decent — outgoing tide on flair hawk jigs. 

Surf, both sides: The surf just north of the north jetty has been producing a good number of  pompano, black drum and whiting. Cut shrimp and sand fleas are the best. A few of the pompano I saw were in the three-pound range! Healthy fish. Over on the south side surf, right by the jetty in the pocket there have been small flounder still being caught on live mud minnows. I was told that the majority of the flounder are too small to keep, but a few were big enough to go home. Also, the bonnethead and Atlantic sharp nose sharks are still a problem, and the puffers. A little farther down the beach at the day use area, in the state park, the pompano, whiting and black drum fishing has been good since the water has calmed and cleaned up. It has been relatively busy down there for the last week. Live sand fleas is the key bait of choice for everything. And from what I have seen, it really doesn't matter which tide, but the rising tide is usually better as the beach water gets deeper. 

That's all I have for this week, but it’s an improvement. As I wrote last week, I believe we will see better fishing and conditions. This week, expect spring-like conditions again, but with winds picking back up a bit at the end of the week. It's time to get out, enjoy the fun in the sun, catch dinner, or just hang loose at the beach. Have a wonderful week!” — Snookman.