We had a good start to the mullet run, but Hurricane Ian threw us a curve ball as it was getting into full swing in October. As we move into November, the mullet should still be pretty thick and the fishing for snook, redfish and trout should stay good through mid- to the end of November in the Indian River Lagoon and on the nearshore beaches from Melbourne Beach to Sebastian Inlet, with the trout bite getting better as the temps cool down.
Fishing the Inlet from a boat and off the jetty should be pretty good for much of November as long as the bait stays consistent and we don’t get too many cold fronts. Plenty of snook, reds and jacks, as well as a few tarpon and sharks, should be hitting live baits during the day and eating lures at night. Anglers at the Inlet will still be able to fish the rocks west of the jetty as well as the catwalks and west of the catwalks along the rocks. Bucktails, Rapala X-Raps and Hogy Eels should give anglers throwing artificials plenty of action.
Novemeber is also the time anglers start catching the big flounder in the Inlet west of the bridge as well as in the lagoon. Live bait anglers looking for big flounder in the Inlet will have the best success with live finger mullet and mud minnows soaked on the bottom. I prefer to jig ½ ounce or ¾ ounce jigs with D.O.A. 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 also like to fish the mangrove shorelines with D.O.A. C.A.L. jigs or 4” jerkbaits rigged on VMC ¼ ounce jigheads.
Mackerel, bluefish and jacks will start piling up along the beaches all along the Space Coast, with the blacktip shark migration soon behind. There will be plenty of action with artificial baits as well as live baits, and if you haven’t caught a blacktip shark on topwater, you don’t know what you’re missing!
Pompano are showing up and should be good through the month of November in the Inlet as well as along the flats from Melbourne Beach down to Sebastian as long as the water cleans up from the hurricane. Goofy jigs, MirrOlure Lil John or D.O.A. jerkbaits will work well when targeting pompano, and you’ll even will get some on hard baits as well.
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.