Sebastian River
The Sebastian River will be at a peak this May. Tarpon size and numbers will increase with warming waters. Snook will stage throughout the river before making their pilgrimage to Sebastian Inlet for the summer. Many fly fishermen take advantage of the Sebastian River this time of year. Bring your entire fly selection, as these juvenile tarpon can be as frustrating as they are numerous. Light tackle anglers can target snook and tarpon with live mullet or a variety of artificial lures. Some of the best lure choices for the Sebastian River are; D.O.A. Shrimp and TerrorEyz, MirrOlure Catch 2000 Jr. and MirrOdine, Rapala X-Rap®, and a variety of topwater plugs. Mornings and evenings are always best, but the beginning of major and minor solunar periods definitely correlate to tarpon feeding periods.
Indian River Lagoon
Sea grass beds in the Sebastian area are showing some signs of recovery so far this spring. How much of the necessary habitat will come back this growing season and how far behind the seatrout and redfish will be are the big questions. Anywhere rooted grass can be found some fish are sure to be around. D.O.A. jerkbaits and topwater plugs are a good way to probe grassy areas for trout, reds and snook in the late spring. If water temps stay around 80, predators should stay active all day. Tarpon and bull sharks will often begin to show up in the open basins of the lagoon in May. Live mullet will draw strikes from both.
Sebastian Inlet
The inlet has traditionally been a nighttime fishery in May. Snook and reds are caught with regularity by fishermen throwing plugs and bucktail jigs from the shoreline and by boaters drifting live baits under the A1A Bridge. Bull redfish, jack crevalle, Spanish mackerel, and the last of the bluefish will make up most of the daytime action at the inlet until the redfish and snook take the stage in June.
Near Shore Atlantic
When the winds calm and the near shore waters clear, anything can happen just off the Sebastian Area beaches. Kingfish, cobia, bonito, jacks, sharks, tarpon, permit, Spanish mackerel, sailfish and dolphin are all known to shadow the bait pods that are usually numerous within a few miles of Sebastian Inlet. Slow trolling live threadfins, mullet or pogies around bait pods and bottom structure keeps my clients happy and my smoker full all summer. Running the beach looking for rolling tarpon, breaking bonito and Spanish macs is also a great tactic for finding some light tackle action. Live greenies, plugs and jigs are all good choices to throw at breaking and rolling fish.
For more Sebastian Area fishing info check out the frequently updated videos on my website homepage at www.WelcomeToSebastian.com.
Tight lines!