Sebastian Inlet to Eau Gallie Cswy. – February 2021

Eric and his gang with a nice bull red!
Eric and his gang with a nice bull red!

January turned out to be a cool month with water temps ranging from 51 degrees to the mid 60s and the action hasn’t been great in the Lagoon and the inlet bite has been hit or miss for Redfish and Snook. However, the Flounder bite has been better this year than the past few years.
Doc’s Goofy jigs will normally 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 Gafftop Sailcats. We have also caught a few Pompano lately on the Rapala Twitchin Minnow as well fishing the bait pods we can find for 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 Paddletail or a DOA Paddle Tail with pro cure.

If the weather stays warms up, the snook and Redfish bite in the inlet will remain strong. Live bait is the key in the daytime and at night artificials will work well. Bucktail Jigs work well and the Rapala XRap 14 and the Long Cast 14 are great plugs to fish from the jettys and the rocks along the west side of the bridge. The Tarpon will continue to feed on outgoing tide through February during the strong cold fronts and the above lures will work as well as Hogy Eels and Paddletails and DOA Baitbusters.

If you can get out on the beach, you can jig for Pompano, Mackerel, Jacks and Bluefish. Following those species in February and March are Blacktip Sharks. You can have some great action Fishing live bait or even Topwater baits for Blacktips that are mixed in and feeding on the mackerel and Blues. Keep an eye out for Manta Rays and if you find them, the cobia should be tagging along. Most live baits and bucktails work well for the cobia.

The big jacks, sail cats and a few Tarpon are up in the Sebastian River as well as Turkey Creek in Palm Bay and Crane Creek in Melbourne. Snook are 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.