December can be a month with a lot of action around Sebastian as well as in the lagoon from Melbourne down to Vero. On the nice weather days the lagoon and the inlet can be crowded with snow birds and the fishing can be great. It may not be all big snook and redfish, but if the weather holds out, the reds and snook bite will continue to be pretty good from boat and from the shoreline. If the fronts are strong, anglers will be targeting Pompano, Bluefish, Mackerel and Flounder in and around the inlet. If the seas are calm, the weather warms and the winds are down, the bait can come in nearshore and the action with sharks blues, jacks and pompano can be strong.
Anglers targeting Flounder usually start around the first front in November that really cools down the water. Fishing from shore or fishing by are both good options. Anglers fishing from shore will target the shoreline rocks with live finger mullet, mud minnows and small menhaden rigged on a short 12-18”, 20 pound fluorocarbon leader rigged on a 3/0-5/0 hook with an egg sinker just above the swivel. Anglers fishing from boats will anchor in areas where the rocks meet the sand with the same rigs. The key to catching the bigger fish is waiting till the tide is slowing and not missing the bite. If I am targeting Flounder I like to use a ½ ounce or ¾ ounce jigs with DOA paddletails or 4” jerkbaits on the bottom using either pro cure or strips of mullet or pinfish as an attractant. We catch a lot of flounder jigging but not as many bigger fish with that technique.
I like to jig the inlet for pompano, blues, jacks and mackerel in the month of December. Jigging is a technique that helps catch a lot of fish and keeps anglers busy. Targeting Pompano and Blues, I rig a ¼ ounce to 3/8 ounce jighead with a soft plastic from DOA or I use a Doc’s Goofy jig.
We also get the blacktip shark migration in December. We can target them with topwater poppers or live bait. The sharks explode on topwater poppers as they are feeding on the mackerel and bluefish along the beaches and can be a load of fun.
Capt. Glyn Austin
Going Coastal Charters
www.goingcoastalcharters.com
321-863-8085