Whiteys Outfitters Fishing Report Feb. 2009
Sebastian Inlet
With calm seas and cooler weather many anglers are enjoying some great winter fishing. What better way to enjoy winter weather than going fishing. Seas have been extremely calm for the last month, and hopefully will remain that was for February.
Surf fisherman are finding small schools of pompano in their favorite deep water holes off the beach. The pompano are good size and seem to biting early in the mornings. This will change through the month as the cold fronts come and go. The best recipe is small wave action coinciding with a high tide in the morning. Blue fish are running along the trough and taking a quick swipe at your rigs as you retrive them in the surf. Some sheephead, black drum and jacks are also along the beach through out the day. Sand fleas and live cut clams will be the ticket for sucesss. Keep a spoon handy for the blues and spanish mack's as the toothy bandits pass in front of you.
Snook season will open again Febuary 1st and most guys are ready to go get them. Most of the larger snook have been holding in the deeper chanels of the inlet and off the end of the piers. Large schools of big oversized redfish are still in and out of the inlet with the tides. Large silver spoons between 2 and 3 oz's are heavy enough to cast off the piers out into the schools of redfish. Also use live mullet, pinfish and shrimp while fishing at the inlet.
Good numbers of sheepshead and black drum have also set up shop in Sebastian. Sandfleas and fiddler crabs are a sure bet for the sheepshead who use their sheep like teeth to crush food in a shell. Clams and sandfleas dropped to the bottom of the inlet floor will bring in the black drum. Remember the old saying, elephants eat peanuts. Jr. Sanders of Vero, caught a black drum weighing over 46 lbs. on a small sandflea. That would be a surprise battle.
Offshore
For the offshore angler, kingfish schools have been lingering several miles out and on the 50-70ft. reefs. There has been some 15-25 lb. fish caught and even a few in the 35lb. range. King spoons and deep-lipped plugs trolled at about 5-6 knots have been the key to success. As usual, any sort of live baitfish slow trolled on the surface or on a downrigger will generate some fish.
Grouper and Snapper can be at it’s best this month, weather pending. Red snapper are schooling up in the shallow water along 70 and 90 ft. They are in large numbers and many fish are legal size. The legal limits are 20 inches for red snapper and 2 per person. Both the grouper and snapper are gathering in preparation for their spawn. A good number of nice gag and red grouper are out in 90 ft- 180 ft. Try anchoring on some of the shallow reefs and work the area just a little bit longer for a mangrove or mutton snapper bite. Several cobia have swam up to boats recently and more numbers of fish should be making their way through as the late winter migration starts. The bucktail tied up and ready to be cast at any moment or a live bait rig on standby will help you when the dark brown shadow just swims by the boat. Any sort of shiny live bait is your best bet for the bottom fish. Try to sabiki some sardines or pinfish off the shallow reefs and bouys. When all else fails you can always break out the frozen sardines or squid for bait. If you like to use chicken rigs, the sea bass and triggerfish have been thick on the bottom. Bait your hooks with squid for nonstop action.
Whitey's Bait & Tackle
321-724-1440
9030 S Highway A1a
Melbourne Beach, FL 32951
captstovall@whiteysonline.com
www.whiteysonline.com/
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