Week of January 21: Small bluefish and whiting may be the only reward for braving this wintry weather
Today’s (Tuesday) forecast calls for showers, a high of 65 degrees, NNE winds at 13 mph and one to two-foot seas. We’re guessing that the inlet won’t be crowded today.
Our fishing guide, "Snookman" Wayne Landry says the bite at the inlet is as slow as molasses in winter:
“Good morning, Sebastian Inlet friends. I hope everyone had a great long weekend! This is going to be a quick report: there isn't much happening at the inlet except for all the migratory birds, and there are lots of them!
While visiting over the weekend, I noticed that the south side of the park was kind of dirty. Not much was happening on either tide. All I saw were a couple of anglers cleaning small bluefish and whiting, 12 to 14 inches long. The fish were caught on the T-Dock at the end of the incoming tide, on cut baits and shrimp. The only other species I saw caught were the pesky puffers — they are everywhere, and eating everything! A couple guys were trying for Spanish mackerel, but no luck.
Out on the jetty, and along the inside shoreline was pretty slow, too. I saw a few puffers on the jetty, and a couple of small 12 to 14-inch bluefish. No drum, no sheepshead, pompano or whiting this time. I chatted with one of my friends targeting flounder the last few days on the beach ide pocket. He said he hasn't caught or hooked any over the weekend. And he usually does catch fish. With the seas and winds picking back up again, combined with the cold 61 to 62-degree water, this week is going to be a challenge for fishing. The north side beach area before this weather moved in was producing nice pompano, black drum and whiting. One of my friends and a couple of his friends had a nice catch in their cooler on the last of the high tide, first of the falling tide. Live shrimp and sand fleas were the baits of choice. But that was on Saturday when the seas were calm, and the wind was light offshore. It's all gone now!
That's all I have for now and I wish it were better, but it is still winter. We are in a strange weather pattern, and conditions change daily. Expect this week to be cool, windy and wet. Have a great and safe week.” — Snookman.