Fishing licenses and regulations — Sebastian, Florida

Fishing at Sebastian Inlet or in the Indian River Lagoon at Sebastian requires a Florida saltwater fishing license unless an FWC exemption applies, and snook also require a $10 permit.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission issues the license, and FWC's rule is broad: a Florida saltwater license is required to take or attempt to take saltwater fish, crabs, clams, marine plants or other saltwater organisms, and to land saltwater species in Florida regardless of where they were caught. That covers the Sebastian Inlet jetties, the surf at Sebastian Inlet State Park, the riverfront at Sebastian and boats on the Indian River Lagoon.

Species rules come on top of the license. Sebastian is inside FWC's Indian River Lagoon management region, which runs from New Smyrna Beach to the Martin-Palm Beach county line, and that region sets the local seasons and limits for snook, redfish and spotted seatrout. Last verified: October 10, 2026, on the FWC website.

Florida residents fishing from shore at Sebastian can use the no-cost shoreline license, while boat anglers and visitors buy a paid FWC saltwater license.

FWC lists these saltwater license prices as of October 2026: resident annual $17.00, resident five-year $79.00, nonresident annual $47.00, nonresident 3-day $17.00 and nonresident 7-day $30.00 (FWC). The resident saltwater shoreline license costs nothing. It is valid for fishing from the shoreline or a structure affixed to shore, such as the Sebastian Inlet jetties or the riverfront along the Indian River Lagoon, but not from a vessel or a shoreline reached by vessel.

Several free permits matter at Sebastian Inlet. The shore-based shark fishing permit, required since July 1, 2019 for anglers 16 and older taking sharks from shore, including jetties, bridges and piers, costs $0.00 after an online course. The State Reef Fish Angler designation, also $0.00, is required for anglers 16 and older fishing for certain reef fish from a private vessel. The snook permit costs $10.00 a year, or $50.00 for five years for residents, and is required in addition to a saltwater license, including for shoreline fishing.

Sebastian anglers under 16, Florida residents 65 or older, and people fishing from a licensed pier or charter are exempt from the saltwater license.

FWC's exemption list includes youth under 16 years of age and Florida resident seniors 65 or older with proof of age or residency, such as a Florida driver's license, or with the optional no-cost Resident 65+ Hunt/Fish Certificate. Those exemptions also cover the snook permit requirement. With a 2023 median age of 57.6 in Sebastian (U.S. Census Bureau), a large share of local anglers fall under the senior exemption.

For visitors to Sebastian Inlet, other exemptions apply to anglers on a for-hire vessel with a valid charter license, on a vessel whose operator holds a recreational saltwater vessel license, on a pier with a valid saltwater pier license, and on FWC's free saltwater fishing days. The shore-based shark permit has no exemptions, even for anglers who are exempt from the license, according to FWC.

Sebastian sits inside FWC's Indian River Lagoon region, where redfish are catch-and-release only and snook and seatrout have their own seasons.

Snook in the Indian River Lagoon region are closed December 15 through January 31 and June 1 through August 31, with a slot of 28 to 32 inches total length and one fish per person per day; legal gear is hook and line only (FWC snook rules). The Sebastian Inlet District repeats the dates for jetty anglers: the December 8, 2025 report reminded readers that snook season closes on December 15 and reopens on February 1.

Redfish in the Indian River Lagoon region are catch-and-release only (FWC red drum rules). FWC adopted regional redfish management in 2022, after setting the statewide 18 to 27-inch slot and one-fish bag in 1989. At Sebastian Inlet the rule shows up in every report: on September 28, 2026, anglers at the north jetty caught several good-sized redfish that all had to be released, and on October 5, 2026 redfish caught along the wall by the bait shop were still catch-and-release only.

Spotted seatrout in the Indian River Lagoon region are closed November 1 through December 31 and open January 1 through October 31, with a 15 to 19-inch slot, no fish larger than 19 inches, and two fish per person per day (FWC seatrout rules). Species with no specific rule, such as jack crevalle and whiting, fall under FWC's default limit of two fish or 100 pounds per person per day, whichever is more.

The Sebastian Inlet jetties add their own rules: harvested fish go in a container, walkways stay clear, and unwanted net-caught fish go back alive.

Cast netting draws the most enforcement attention. The September 28, 2026 report quoted Florida Statute 379.2421(4): anyone who catches fish with a net, seine or other device and decides not to keep them must immediately return them to the water alive. The report added that signs throughout Sebastian Inlet State Park instruct cast-netters to return unwanted baitfish promptly, and listed the FWC hotline, 888-404-3922, for reporting violations.

Harvested fish have to be stored. The January 20, 2026 report quoted a Sebastian Inlet jetty rule that all marine life kept for harvest must be put in a container such as a cooler, bucket or bag and not left on the jetty. The District's fishing etiquette page adds that jetty walkways must remain completely open, with tackle, gear and chairs inside the designated yellow lines, and that anglers yield to boats in the inlet's navigation channel.

Inside Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge north of Sebastian, fishing is allowed in open water but not in the posted buffer around Pelican Island.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Pelican Island fishing page says fishing is permitted in the open water areas of the refuge, and bank and wade fishing is permitted on the lagoon side of Bird's and Pete's Impoundment Trails. Refuge waters are open year-round except the posted buffer around Pelican Island proper, which is closed year-round, and fishing is prohibited in the interior of impoundments, lakes and ponds. Manatee slow speed zones are posted along Spratt Creek. The Service lists boat launching facilities in the city of Sebastian, at Wabasso Causeway and at Sebastian Inlet State Park.