Through early February, our weather on the Space Coast was very windy and cool, but the fishing was pretty good. The water temps should increase in March and the fishing should improve in the lagoon, and the inlet should remain decent with live bait used in the daytime and artificials will work well for fishing at night. Should be decent numbers of redfish in the inlet on the incoming tide, with live bait working the best, and snook bite will be best on the outgoing tide during the daytime.
Inshore fishing should be good as well as our spring mullet run heats up. When the schools of mullet fill inside the lagoon and the creeks from Sebastian to Palm Bay and Melbourne, snook, redfish, jacks and trout will be hot on their heels. March can be one of the best months to get gator trout from 26 to over 30 inches in length. While live bait is the best bet, I also like to fish a Rapala Skitter Walk topwater and Rapala Twitchin’ Minnow suspending baits early in the morning around the bait pods, and go deeper with the D.O.A. C.A.L. jerk bait or Paddle Tail bait as the sun comes up. Live bait will also work well fishing the bait pods as the predatory fish are normally below the bait pods.
Warmer weather will also bring the bait inside along the beaches and the sharks, tarpon and big jack crevalle will be right with them. We have had small schools of tarpon along the beaches from Sebastian to Melbourne a few times in the last few months and the fish are feeding well. There will be plenty of blacktip and spinner sharks, bluefish and mackerel on the beaches if the weather allows you to get out and fish the ocean. Fish big topwater plugs for the jacks and sharks, and scale down the plugs for the bluefish. For the tarpon as well as big jacks, fish the Rapala Long Cast 14 and the D.O.A. Bait Buster for good success.
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.