Pompano, black drum biting for Space Coast anglers
I think Dean Martin sang it best: "It's June in January; Because I'm in love. It always is spring in my heart; With you in my arms. The night is cold; The trees are bare. But I can feel the scent of roses in the air; It's June in January, But only because I'm in love with you."
It sort of does feel like June this week. Unseasonably warm. Sunny and bright. The only clinker is how the sun goes down about two hours too soon each day.
Snook fishing is about as good as it is June. And just like the summer month, snook cannot be harvested right now, until Feb. 1. So because the fish are warmed think like how they would behave when it's warm outside. They are active early and feeding on whatever they can find.
In freshwater, fish the edges for spawning bass and structure for specks. In the lagoons, look for speckled trout in shallow water early, then going deeper as the day gets later and the sun gets higher in the sky. On the beaches, fish the middle to end of the incoming tides and then the first hour of the outgoing.
The only three things that will feel like it's still winter are the dolphin, sailfish, blackfin tuna migration offshore; There aren't really any tarpon around; Pompano are still heading south if you find them on the beach.
So think like it's summer even though it's not. Your fishing patterns should line up accordingly.
Closures & regulations changes in effect: Anglers are reminded about these fishery harvest closures currently underway and ones about to begin and end.
Grouper: Harvest closed from Jan. 1, 2023, through April 30, 2023. Includes gag grouper, red grouper, black grouper, scamp, yellowfin grouper, yellowmouth, coney, graysby, red hind & rock hind. Harvest reopens May 1, 2023.
Spotted seatrout: Harvest open as of Jan. 1 in Volusia, Brevard, Indian River, St. Lucie, Martin & Palm Beach counties. Harvest closes November and December 2023.
Snook: Harvest closed from Dec. 15 through Jan. 31, 2023. Harvest reopens Feb. 1, 2023.
Flounder: Harvest reopened Dec. 1.
Hogfish: Harvest closed from Nov. 1, 2022 to April 30, 2023. Harvest reopens May 1, 2023.
Redfish: Harvest of redfish is banned in the Indian River Lagoon and Mosquito Lagoon beginning Sept. 1. FWC will re-evaluate later in the year.
Alligator: Hunt season open Aug. 15-Nov. 1. Permits required.
Lobster: 48-hour sport season (mini-season) open July 26-27, 2023. Regular season opens Aug. 6.
Dolphin: New fishing regulations began May 1, 2022 for state waters. Bag limit is now five fish per day per angler; Vessel limit is now 30 fish per day. Captain and crew may not be included in limit.
Tilefish: Harvest is open as of Jan. 1.
Bass: Bass at Headwaters Lake will soon become all catch-and-release.
For complete fishing regulations in Florida go to MyFWC.com.
Mosquito Lagoon
The black drum bite in this area and in the Indian River Lagoon near Titusville has been excellent. For bait, use live shrimp, fiddler crabs or split blue crabs. The fish have been schooling and a few guides have been on them, so if approaching a school and there are other boats nearby, be courteous. Redfish, snook and speckled trout are biting, too. Fish the sand bars around the islands and fish the shorelines.
Offshore
Some anglers have been lucky enough to find a few cobia on the reefs or just wandering around in 30-50 feet of water. No one is reporting manta rays yet, but keep an eye out for them. If they show up, many times there are cobia with them and they can be caught with 1-2 ounce chartreuse jigs. Sailfish, dolphin and blackfin tuna are also being caught along the Gulf Stream's western current edges.
Surf
At beaches where anglers can get to the water, there has been a decent pompano bite. Use Fishbites in the EZ Flea or yellow crab color and scent for best results. Tide cycles have been low so longer casts up to 100 yards are necessary to get to the fish. Whiting, bluefish, jacks and Spanish mackerel have been in the mix as well.
Sebastian Inlet
According to Wayne "Snookman" Landry who produces the fishing report for the Sebastian Inlet District website, the north jetty is still closed. The catwalk on the north side is mostly closed but a few sheepshead are being caught. The south jetty and south side catwalk offer the most productive fishing for anglers. Spanish mackerel, bluefish and jacks can be caught in the upper part of the water column. Snook and redfish, both catch & release only, can be caught by fishing the bottom with large jigs or live croaker. Flounder are around and taking live mud minnows.
Indian River Lagoon
With the warm-up, anglers are finding better action from catch & release snook on the flats, around causeways, near seawalls, under bridges and around mangroves. Flounder can be caught in places where you have the combination of moving water, sandy bottom and either a rocky jetty or shoreline or seawall or bridge piling nearby. Speckled trout fishing is good along the shorelines in the morning as they hunt for small baitfish. Then they move into 3-4 feet of water by 9 a.m.
Freshwater
The speck bite is really good right now in some area waters. Some of the lakes in the Upper St. Johns River system are producing large ones which are taking live minnows. Small jigs are also working. Bass will be spawning with this full moon so expect to catch them coming off the beds with spinnerbaits, worms and topwater frogs.
Ed Killer is florida today's outdoors writer. Follow him on social media or email your photos and reports to him at ed.killer@tcpalm.com.
This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Fishing is good thanks to post holidays warm-up; Look for pompano, drum
