Fishing in December — Sebastian, Florida

December at Sebastian Inlet is flounder month, with black drum, sheepshead, bluefish and redfish around the jetties and whiting and pompano in the surf, while snook close to harvest on December 15.

The Sebastian Inlet District has posted a December report for every Monday of 2025, and its report index gives each week with its year. Three older December reports on the District site state their own year: the December 27, 2021 and December 30, 2024 reports each call themselves the final fishing report of the year, and the December 19, 2022 report carries the year in its title. Together they show a month that turns on cold fronts, river runoff and two FWC dates.

Flounder can be kept at Sebastian Inlet again from December 1, when FWC's fall closure ends, and the District's reports show the bite building through the first half of the month.

FWC's flounder rules close the fish from October 15 through November 30, then allow five per person at a 14-inch minimum. The December 8, 2025 report said the season had reopened on December 1 and the cooler water had drawn the fish in, with all the fuss at the Sebastian Inlet south jetty. The guide saw several flounder of three to four pounds that weekend, heard from two anglers who had caught more than 10 in a week, and recorded a biggest fish of seven pounds. Finger mullet took the larger flounder, while live shrimp and thumper jigs accounted for fish of 14 to 16 inches.

Many December flounder at Sebastian Inlet are short. On December 15, 2025, the fish at the T-Dock ran 12 to 14 inches, and the guide reminded readers they must reach 14 inches to keep, while boaters west of the Sebastian Inlet Bridge were getting nice ones despite the dredging. By December 29, 2025, flounder of 12 to 15 inches were coming from the rocks around the steel west of the tide pool on live shrimp and mud minnows, and the guide described the surf near the jetty as a staging area for flounder before they enter the inlet.

The start varies by year at Sebastian Inlet. In December 2022 the guide wrote that flounder were usually the main topic at that time of year but were not yet, with most fish only 14 to 15 inches. In late December 2021, by contrast, anglers on the south side were catching flounder of 16 to 18 inches, and a few reported 15 fish in a couple of days on mud minnows.

Sebastian Inlet water usually runs from about 65 to 72 degrees in December, and each cold front pushes it lower while the wind churns the inlet.

The December 2025 reports trace a typical slide at Sebastian Inlet. The December 1, 2025 report called 70 to 72 degrees good for winter species, but a front that weekend brought winds sustained at 22 mph with gusts of 39 to 40 mph and seas to six feet, with waves bursting up through the north jetty grates. By December 15 the water had dropped to 65 to 68 degrees, cold and stained by runoff from the Sebastian River, and the forecast called for six to eight-foot seas. The December 22, 2025 report found dirty, weedy water everywhere, and even boaters fishing for flounder struck out.

The long-term NOAA numbers frame those readings for Sebastian Inlet. The Coastal Water Temperature Guide lists December averages of 70.3 degrees at Trident Pier in Port Canaveral, 75.6 degrees at the Canaveral buoy 20 nautical miles offshore, and 76.7 degrees at Lake Worth Pier to the south. NOAA publishes tide predictions for station 8722004, Sebastian Inlet bridge; on December 15, 2025, the black drum and redfish at the north jetty came on an incoming tide that fell in the very early hours of the morning.

Snook at Sebastian Inlet close to harvest on December 15 under FWC's Indian River Lagoon rules, and redfish, which school around the jetties in December, are catch-and-release only all year.

FWC's snook rules for the Indian River Lagoon region, which includes Sebastian, close the season from December 15 through January 31. Early December can still produce keepers: the December 8, 2025 report said many slot snook were caught at the Sebastian Inlet north jetty tip from Monday through Wednesday of the week before, until a weather change brought wind, waves and dirtier, cooler water. A week later the guide reported no snook at the north jetty, saying the water was too cold for them, and on December 29, 2025 two slot snook caught on live shrimp had to be released because the season was closed.

Redfish are the December fish that must always go back at Sebastian Inlet. The December 8, 2025 report described redfish of 28 to 30 inches on live shrimp at the north jetty tip, and on December 15 the guide wrote that big schools had been seen around the jetty. FWC's red drum rules make redfish catch-and-release only in the Indian River Lagoon region. In 2021, the December 27 report described big redfish on cut bait on both sides and tides, all too big to keep.

Beyond flounder, December at Sebastian Inlet brings black drum, sheepshead, bluefish and small Spanish mackerel to the jetties, and whiting, pompano and puppy drum to the beaches.

Black drum can be large in December. The December 27, 2021 report put black drum caught on the ocean side of the Sebastian Inlet north jetty at 15 to 25 pounds, though most were 15 to 20 inches, and noted the inlet was brimming with large roe mullet that could be caught by cast net. In 2025, an angler after the December 1 cold front reported a limit of bluefish on a silver spoon, the biggest 23 inches, and a 25-inch black drum on live shrimp fished on the bottom. FWC's bluefish rules allow three per person at a 12-inch fork length minimum on the Atlantic coast.

Sheepshead work the structure at Sebastian Inlet. In December 2022, with the north jetty still closed by storm damage, the south side catwalk had finally reopened, and one regular got his limit of sheepshead every time on live fiddler crabs and cut shrimp around the pilings. FWC's sheepshead rules set a 12-inch minimum and eight per person, open year-round. The same 2022 report explained that the guide calls undersized drum puppies, and on December 29, 2025 the north side surf produced decent whiting, small puppy drum and a few nice pompano on live sand fleas and shrimp.

Access changes from year to year at Sebastian Inlet. During the District's dredging project in December 2025, the December 8 report said park management opened the T-Dock only on weekends, and the guide blamed the noise for keeping snook and redfish away from the dock. In 2021, freshly painted yellow lines on the north jetty marked a safe walkway, installed by the park service so a stretcher could pass, with carts and coolers kept in the center.

Inside the Indian River Lagoon, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge north of Sebastian permits fishing in open water areas and lists redfish, snook, sea trout and flounder among its sportfish. FWC's spotted seatrout rules keep seatrout closed in the lagoon region through December 31; the December 30, 2024 report mentioned boaters drifting the mangroves catching flounder, small snook and spotted seatrout. For December jetty and surf fishing at Sebastian Inlet, fishing tackle on Digital Towns Market covers flounder rigs, spoons and jigs. Digital Towns Market is our marketplace. Last verified: October 10, 2026, on the FWC flounder, snook, red drum, sheepshead, bluefish and spotted seatrout pages.