Looking forward to lighter winds, less rain and consistent weather in February. Weather patterns have been different with the El Niño we have been having. With the water temps in the mid/high 40 degree mark, the fish will be very sluggish and hard to get to eat anything. Live bait will definitely be the key to catching good numbers of fish. While the fishing wasn’t red hot after the fronts, as the water warms into the 60-degree range the fishing will get good. Trout, snook, flounder, bluefish, jacks and redfish will feed in the lagoon on soft plastic baits.
If its pompano you are after, there should be plenty of them around if the water isn’t too cold. Doc’s Goofy jigs will work well in the inlet and along the beaches and flats of the lagoon from Sebastian to Melbourne for pompano, and bycatch will be jacks, bluefish, trout and Spanish mackerel as well as a few big gafftopsail cats. You can also fish for pompano around the bait pods while targeting trout and snook.
If you are fishing Sebastian Inlet and the pompano action is slow, you can try jigging the shallow parts of the inlet for flounder using a ½ ounce jighead with a Storm 360 or D.O.A. paddle tail with pro-cure. Flounder action should be pretty good with the cooler weather patterns and cold water as long as the water isn’t flowing out of the Sebastian River and the water is very dirty.
Anglers in Sebastian Inlet can target snook and redfish where the bite should remain strong as long as the temperatures stay consistent. After the fronts roll through and the winds are howling, the bite can be very good in the evenings at the tide switch using a bucktail jig. It’s a great time to fish from the jetties because its difficult to fish from a boat in the rough inlet with low visibility. Live bait will be the key in the daytime and, at night, artificials work great. Rapala’s X-Rap 14 and Long Cast 14 are great plugs to fish from the jetties as well as from the rocks along the west side of the bridge. The tarpon will continue to feed on outgoing tides through February during the strong cold fronts and the above lures will work to catch them, as well as Hogy eels and paddle tails and D.O.A. Baitbusters.
The big jacks and some trout will move up in the Sebastian River, as well as Turkey Creek in Palm Bay and Crane Creek in Melbourne, as long as the rains slow down. The snook will be around the docks, and tarpon are far back in the creeks. Live bait is best, but the fish will eat soft plastics and some topwater on warmer days.
Bundle up and stay warm as there should be plenty of action throughout the month of February for anglers looking to get out of the house on the nice days.
Capt. Glyn Austin
Going Coastal Charters
www.goingcoastalcharters.com
321-863-8085
Capt. Glyn Austin is a lifelong Brevard County Resident and full time inshore/nearshore fishing guide. Glyn runs a 23’ Shoalwater tunnel boat which is comfortable for up to 4 anglers and will let us get shallower than most flats boats for inshore fishing and offers a smooth dry ride when fishing the Inlet and nearshore waters of Brevard County.