CAPTAIN'S offshore fishing reports, Sebastian, Fl.
January
February
February
Inspite of the rough weather and cold fronts, we still managed to fish 2 to 3 days per week and found some decent weather days. Trolling some Sailfish, Dolphin and King Fish still showed up. Bottom fishing proved good numbers of Trigger Fish, Lane Snappers, Vermillion Snappers and a few nice Mangroves!!!! Looking foward to warmer weather and calmer seas!!
FISH ON GOTTA GO!
February
February
February
February Sebastian offshore fishing forecast.
If January’s cold water has done its job, it’s moved fish in close. We should see some good bottom fishing, I always look for the mutton snapper to show up in the 85’ and 90’ reefs. Along with lots of lane snapper And triggerfish. If the waters cold and clear, in the low 70s and u can see 30’ down your Ancore rope, live bait and fluorocarbon leader is well worth the time and money. We start the morning throwing the cast net for silver bait, thread fins, pilchards are my favorite. They’ll entice a bite on the bottom sometimes when nothing else works. If the waters a stirred up a dirty green, any cut bait works well. As the shark and Goliath population grows your going to learn to crank fast or your not gonna get your fish. There’s places we don’t even try to fish anymore because the Goliath grouper will get under the boat and eat every good fish you hook. The sharks are just as bad. Don’t get discouraged, sometimes it’s better to up the size of your leader an extra 20# and put the heat to them we call it stop them or pop them.. Hopefully they’ll open up a harvest on the sharks and get them under control so we’ll get where our sea bass populations can make a comeback. Think about it! Ever wonder where the sea bass went? Look for a few cobia to show up, I usually check the artificial reefs in the 65’ to 70’ area . Keep your eyes peeled to the water for floating debris, February is a good time to find triple tail hiding sometimes under something no bigger than a coconut. Even if your headed offshore it’s good to have a light spinner 15# mono line rigged and ready to pitch for that triple tail. If the water clears in close enough ,look for some big kings 40’ to 60’. I like the large thread fins or even better an 7” or 9” blue runner. Remember big fish big bait and a bigger hook too . On a 7” bait I’ll use a #4 or #5 wire up my hook from a #3 treble to a #4 and use two, one in the front and a trailer hook ¾ of the way to the tail, this can be slow trolled 2 to 3 knots on cover ground or drifted if your in a good area. For those going deep there should still be a few dolphin, Wahoo and black fin tuna or sailfish to be a caught. Look for color and temp changes 120’ to 240’. I try to include as many details as I can, but If there’s something you feel would be helpful to you, please drop me an email @ captwildey@bellsouth.net . I’ll try to put it in my next report. Please if your on the water, be safe, be courteous and remember, some of us our just trying to make a living out there,but we’re all out there to have fun.”Fish On Gotta Go” Captain Terry
* Call us today at 772 538-1072 to book your Sebastian fishing charter aboard the Big Easy!
MARCH
February
April/May
- March Sebastian offshore fishing forecast.
Sebastian Offshore: March 2024
Old saying goes, “March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb”. However sometimes
it’s the last week in March and we’re still looking for that lamb. For those of you fishing
- offshore Sebastian inlet the fishing should be worth the wait. Due to the terrible weather
we seen in January and February I’m counting on a good weather March to make up for it.
Look for good catches of mangrove snapper, trigger fish and hopefully still some cobia still
lingering. Last year in the 85-to-90-foot range, fishing was great, when we could find clean
water. The winds of March can sometimes leave us with a decent ocean but dirty water
conditions. Good to be prepared to run to 160 feet or deeper to find clean water. Chicken
rigs with squid will produce catches of Amberjack, vermilion snapper, trigger fish and
porgy’s. It’s a great way to salvage the day and put some dinner on the table.
Offshore trolling should be slow but there’s always a chance of a black fin tuna and
occasional dolphin or wahoo. I like to troll some ballyhoo from spot to spot while I’m
looking for a mark of fish for bottom fishing . There’s the chance of picking up a fish as well
as giving the rest of the crew something to do other than stare at you, starring at the
bottom machine.
I’ve found the water to be stirred up after long periods of March winds to where fish don’t
mark or bite right away when you get to a spot. If that’s the case, you might give it some
time. Stay to make it pay. If the water is dirty the fish will be back in the ledges and take
some coaching to come out and bite.
The fishing near shore is usually tough due to lack of calmer water keeping it stirred up.
With the crazy changing weather patterns though you never know will we get a couple
weeks of decent March weather or just a couple days. If it’s the latter, I take advantage of
this time to prepare for April fishing. I go through everything from safety equipment, bilge
pumps, engine maintenance, tackle, also a good time to respool reels and restock your
spare parts inventory. Sometimes having an extra fuel filter or set of spark plugs can
salvage your fishing day as well as your reputation. If there’s a calm day in March I’ll be out
there in the blue water. Look for big easy fishing charters. We’ll be we’re ever the fish are
biting.
“Fish On Gotta Go!”
FORECAST BY: Capt. Terry Wildey
Big Easy Fishing Charters
Phone: (772) 538 - 1072
Email: captwildey@bellsouth.net
www.bigeasyfishingcharters.com
April/May
April/May
I’m combining April and May because 55 days of spectacular fishing left very little time to do fishing reports...please except my apology. The Dolphin run started in full swing and was fairly steady going into May. Along with the Mangrove Snapper bite of 20 to 25 fish a day, 10 to 12 lb class with opportunities to catch 15 lb plus fish, but seldom turned on 25 to 30 lb leaders on spinning tackle. With Grouper season opening up May 1st, a lot of days were split trolling for Dolphin in the morning, and dropping to the bottom for Grouper in the afternoons.
FISH ON!!! GOTTA GO !!
JUNE
In June Mangrove Snapper fishing was pretty much a sure thing. A lot of days seeing up to 20 fish 10 to 12 lbs, with several fish pushing 15lbs. We also had an occasional surface bite of Kingfish, Dolphin, and Cobia on live baits. Once again June turned out to be my favorite month of the year!!
FISH ON! GOTTA GO!
JULY
We started off July with a thermal cline that turned our bottom water temperature to about 60 degrees. This pretty much shut down our Mangrove Snapper and Grouper fishing on the bottom. The thermal cline pushed large numbers of Amberjack into our 90 ft reefs. We were sometimes limiting out within 30 to 45 mins, with Amberjack, some of them weighing in at 60 lbs. This combined with a surface bite of Kingfish and a few Dolphin and an occasional Cobia, left our anglers with sore arms and a box full of fish!! In the last days of July we've already seen the bottom warming up and expect the Mangrove Snapper and Grouper fishing to pick back up in August.
AUGUST
This month still produced good numbers of Amberjack, Mangrove Snapper and Kingfish. On the surface bite we had an occasional Cobia and Dolphin.
All in all, the month of August was great!
SEPTEMBER
A great month for our summer Kingfish run. Always a good time for Cobia as well as a mixed bag of bottom fish.
OCTOBER
October is a great time for delicious Triggerfish, along with some Kings and a few Snapper
November
November shows us some awesome Cobia fishing along with some big Mangrove Snapper that get fires up on the week prior to the full moon.
december
december
Decembers cooling waters will spice up the Snapper bite. With good catches of Lane Snapper and Mangrove Snapper.