Sebastian Snook Chaos

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Written by Administrator Tuesday, 22 December 2009 20:53

 

As a child I was lucky enough to have a father that transformed his business trips to Vero Beach into long weekends that featured great fishing and fun camping at the Sebastian Inlet State Park. When I started visiting the Sebastian Inlet, I was young, but not young enough to ignore the massive numbers of men and women flocking to the jetties that flank this historic inlet. While I was busy trout fishing with my father and brothers out of a small jon boat, I couldn’t help but wonder why my father never took us to the real epicenter of all the action. We would repeatedly ask my father to take us to the kill zone, but he always had the same answer. “We will fish there one day, but right now, let’s focus on the areas that aren’t fished so heavily. I never understood his unwillingness to take us to the jetties, but I never could forget the trophies we saw there.

Fast forward 25 years and I found myself living on Florida’s Treasure Coast. I began fishing the flats of Fort Pierce and after a couple of years , I became friends with the cast and characters of White’s Tackle. Founded in 1925, White’s Tackle is the oldest tackle shop in the area. It’s staff is knowledgeable, friendly, and most importantly…. They love to fish. Two of their employees Kadri Benton and Lam Nygen, are what I call Feather Fisherman. Feather Fisherman are a dedicated group of anglers that master the art of throwing what were originally called “bucktail jigs”. One Thursday afternoon, Kadri asked me if I wanted to head to the Sebastian Inlet to target Snook. I asked him what I needed, and he spouted off a simple list:

 

1. Shimano 8000 or equivalent. fishing reel.
2. Heavy fast faction 15-20 lb. fishing rod.
3. Feathers (1.5 ounce and 2.0 Ounce)
   (Use 2.0 Ounce with fast moving current)
   (Bring at least 2 dozen!)
4. Bridge Net
5. Head Lamp
6. Pliers
7. Braid Cutting Device
8. 60 pound Flouro Carbon Leader
9. #3 Swivel (optional)
10. A backpack to carry jigs, gear, and water

I wasn’t outfitted with the right rod and reel so I quickly purchased a Shimano Stradic 4000 and a Shimano Trevala 8’ Spinning rod. I had Kadri spool it up for me, and asked him to bring it with him to the inlet later that night so I could use it for what I was hoping to be a battle intense evening. We showed up at 7:30 and I witnessed anglers lined up and down the jetti. All of them were outfitted with head lamps, scissors, bridge nets, and an assortment of jigs in just about every color imaginable.

I made my way down the jetti and we slipped into a spot along the guardrail on the north side. I couldn’t help but notice that no one was talking, and the roar of the waves beneath our feet was overwhelming. I began to fish and asked a gentlemen next to me why no one else wasfishing yet. He replied “ It aint worth it son, wait another 15 mins for the tide and the fishing to go off” I will admit, I turned my head and rolled my eyes thinking that 15 mins of waiting is worthless. I was going to try to prove this old timer wrong and catch the first Snook of the night.

 

Twenty mins passed, and I began to see and hear an assortment of drama. I saw anglers hooked up running from west to east quickly passing their rods and reels up and over other anglers in an effort to avoid certain tackle entanglement and failure. Just as I looked at my watch, I was slammed by a strike I will never forget. I was slowly reeling my Red Tail Hawk in and it was met with a strike that almost ripped the rod out of my hand. As I began to do battle I found myself running east down the catwalk handing my rod over and under any angler in my way. I was constantly trying to be courteous, but found out that courteous doesn’t cut it at the Sebastian Jetti. Being loud, and demanding anglers to get out of your way is a necessity, and quite frankly the only way to successfully get your catch up and over the rail. As I was fighting my way down the jetti, I began to realize this is why my father never allowed me to partake in this mayhem. It was insane. I found myself using my scissors to cut away other peoples jigs, lures, and live bait rigs. About 15 minutes later I found myself at the end of the catwalk with a clear view of the ocean. I had managed to win this tug of war and was happy to see a nice over slot Snook splashing at the base of the catwalk. I looked up to see my friends Kadri and Lam with a bridge net. Kadri began dropping it below my setup in an effort to pull my Snook up and over the rails. As he brought the Snook up and over, he quickly turned and gave me a high five, and to my surprise, there was a host of other anglers high fiving me as well. Some of which were the exact anglers that had to watch me cut their lines as I was hooked up running down the jetti.

 

That night we ended up with our limit on Snook as well as a Bull Red and numerous Jacks, and ladyfish. I couldn’t figure out if I hated or loved this method of fishing. That evening of fishing was chaotic, and tense, but strangely fun. In fact I experienced adrenaline rushes that evening that were present the first time I billfishing, and gator hunting. It was quite exciting! I will ask inform anyone reading this article to consider a few things before headed out to the Sebastian Inlet. This is the hottest Snook fishing in the state, so be prepared for some tense moments. The Sebastian Inlet cooks up the prefect recipe for tense and even argumentative situations. The fishing is stellar, and the crowds are thick. There are people from all walks of life with different experience levels, so be prepared to fish with some really talented anglers as well as some complete newbies! Be patient and have fun! I learned a lot from my friends, and would like to pass on a little information to those who are interested in participating in this amazing fishery. Here are some things that you will need to have and or know before you experience the Sebastian inlet jetti fishing scene.

Getting you started.
A list of helpful links.

Sebastian Inlet Web Site-

Sebastian Inlet Web Cameras-

Sebastian Inlet Fishing Report-

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