[dropcap]S[/dropcap]eptember has always held a special place for fishermen in the Sebastian area. The mullet run breathes new life into all aspects of fishing, from offshore to backwater. Shorter days and tropical rains will begin to cool the waters of the lagoon allowing trout and reds to spend more time in the shallows feeding. The fall migration of prey and predators alike will give anglers more options and opportunities.
Sebastian Inlet will be the focus of Sebastian area anglers with the start of snook season September 1st. Live bait anglers anchored off the north jetty are sure to have success as long as their supply of croakers and pigfish lasts. Nighttime anglers at Sebastian Inlet throwing buck-tails, bombers and swim-baits will always take their share of snook. Live bait angler drifting the channel under the A1A bridge after dark are often times limited-out on snook in the first few drifts. Along with the snook, big redfish usually follow the migrating mullet down the beaches and take up residence in the inlet through the fall. Spanish mackerel, jacks, bluefish and tarpon also give inlet fishermen a passing shot as they follow the bait down the beach in the early fall.
The Sebastian River will spark back to life as the finger mullet enter the estuary. Snook and tarpon are both available throughout the river in September. A live finger mullet pitched to a rolling tarpon often results in a dramatic strike in the fall of the year. Flies, small plugs and jigs will also get the attention of tarpon. Snook will seek cover during the day and getting a D.O.A. shrimp under docks and overhangs is a good way to pursue them once the sun is high. At dawn and dusk, snook stage at ambush points where patience and a live mullet can pay off big.
The Indian River Lagoon has seen significant regrowth of its grass beds this year and flats fishing has steadily improved. Topwater plugs, gold spoons and D.O.A jerkbaits are excellent choices for covering large areas of shallow water grass flats in the early fall, and will draw strike from any predator keying on finger mullet. Snook will also take advantage of higher lagoon water levels at this time of year and tuck up under mangroves and other shoreline cover that are just too shallow to hide a large predator for most of the rest of the year. D.O.A. shrimp, and jerkbaits worked in and around these areas are a good way to take lagoon snook. The lagoon snook seem to be a bit more aggressive than those in the Sebastian River so the results may be worth the few lures you lose in the mangroves.
I have always enjoyed fishing the late summer season in Sebastian. A tropical storm in September or a cold front in early October and it’s like you’re fishing a whole new place.