Fishing in April — Sebastian, Florida

April at Sebastian Inlet is a slow-warming month: snook bite at dawn and at night, sheepshead and black drum hang on, and baitfish and finger mullet return late in the month.

The Sebastian Inlet District weekly report for April reads as a waiting game in both recent years. The April 14, 2025 report said the water temperature was still playing a big role in the lack of fishing action and the lack of any baitfish in the water. A year later, the April 6, 2026 report opened by joking that April was continuing March's weather, with Sargassum weed blown in by east-southeast to south-southeast winds and surf of up to 8 to 10 feet predicted later that week.

The fish that do bite in April are snook, sheepshead, black drum, flounder, pompano, whiting, bluefish and jack crevalle. Gear for those Sebastian Inlet species, from jigs to spoons, is listed in the fishing tackle collection on Digital Towns Market. Digital Towns Market is our marketplace.

Sebastian Inlet anglers watch for water near 77 degrees in April, the temperature the District's guide says he likes to see.

Warm enough to start the change, late in the month. On April 21, 2025, the water was 73 degrees, which the guide called too cool for the hot action anglers wanted. On April 20, 2026, water had cleaned up nicely on both sides of Sebastian Inlet and was holding at or around 75 degrees, showing 77 that day, which the guide said is the temperature he likes to see. By April 27, 2026, it had warmed to a seasonal 77 degrees.

Bait follows the warmth. The April 20, 2026 report described mojarra on the south side, quite a few schools of finger mullet on both sides and some threadfin herring in the inlet, and the April 27 report noted nice schools of springtime finger mullet starting to show on the beachside, which the guide expected to pick up beach fishing for snook, reds and tarpon. NOAA's Coastal Water Temperature Guide lists an April average of 78.9 degrees at Trident Pier, north of Sebastian.

Snook are the main April target at Sebastian Inlet, caught mostly in the early morning and at night on live mojarra, shrimp and jigs.

Dawn and darkness are the windows. On April 14, 2025, several under-slot snook were caught on live mojarra at the Sebastian Inlet south jetty on the early morning incoming tide, and the T-dock and cleaning station had a decent snook and redfish bite on both tides, including a 31-inch slot snook on the first cast of a Sunday morning. In 2026, with dirty water and weed, the April 6 report said most snook had been caught at night on jigs during the outgoing tide.

By late April the north jetty took over. The April 27, 2026 report placed most of the action in the early morning hours at the end of the high tide and the beginning of the outgoing tide, with undersized and oversized snook on live mojarra and shrimp and a few keepers. Boats do well too: on April 21, 2025, boaters were catching a lot of big snook along the shorelines on both sides of Sebastian Inlet with live threadfins. FWC's Indian River Lagoon region rules keep snook open until the June 1 closure, with a 28 to 32-inch slot, and redfish caught alongside them must be released (FWC red drum rules). NOAA publishes tide predictions for station 8722004, Sebastian Inlet bridge.

Besides snook, April at Sebastian Inlet produces sheepshead, black drum, flounder, pompano, bluefish and jacks, but not yet Spanish mackerel.

Sheepshead and black drum stay on the rocks. On April 20, 2026, black drum, sheepshead and redfish were caught at the Sebastian Inlet north jetty tip on the outgoing tide, most drum small but some in the 20 to 28-inch range, and the sheepshead were keepers. On April 13, 2026, a week of lousy conditions, about the only fish the guide saw caught were small sheepshead.

Flounder and pompano work the beach side. The April 14, 2025 report featured a 15-inch flounder caught on live shrimp in the surf pocket on the beachside of the Sebastian Inlet south jetty, and on April 27, 2026 a couple of big pompano were caught on live sandfleas from the beachside of the north jetty. Bluefish and jacks remain at the tip, but the April 20, 2026 report found no Spanish mackerel yet in the channel. On April 27, 2026, the outgoing tide at the Sebastian Inlet north jetty tip was still all about blues, jacks and ladyfish on almost anything fished, and a couple of bonnethead sharks were caught from the beachside.

The lagoon offers shelter on windy April days. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge permits fishing in open water in the Indian River Lagoon north of Sebastian and lists launches in the city of Sebastian, at Wabasso Causeway and at Sebastian Inlet State Park.

Jetty access at Sebastian Inlet changes in April, with annual inspections and, in 2026, the reopening of the south jetty.

Mostly, with planned exceptions. The April 20, 2026 report reminded anglers that the north and south jetties would be closed on Tuesday, April 21, and Wednesday, April 22, for routine annual structural inspections by the Sebastian Inlet District. The headline of the April 27, 2026 report announced that the south jetty had reopened to the public, with park officials reopening it that morning after a period of closure.

Weather decides the rest of April at Sebastian Inlet. The April 20, 2026 forecast called for northeast winds of 19 to 21 mph and three to four-foot seas, and the April 27 forecast for northeast winds of 17 mph with one to two-foot seas and a high of 80 degrees. On April 6, 2026, the rock wall between the bait shop and the bridge was unfishable because of waves and brisk winds, and the guide expected surf of up to 8 to 10 feet later that week.