Fishing in May — Sebastian, Florida

May is the final month of snook harvest at Sebastian Inlet, and the reports describe big snook, released redfish, sheepshead and the last black drum before summer.

The Sebastian Inlet District weekly fishing report covers May 2025 and May 2026 week by week, and both months were uneven. The May 12, 2025 report called the fishing Deadsville, blaming dirty water that was still too cool at 76 degrees, brisk south-southeast winds, weed and a lack of bait. In 2026 the water warmed faster, and the reports from May 4 to May 18 describe snook, redfish, black drum, sheepshead, pompano and whiting at the jetties before wind and sargassum shut things down at the end of the month.

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Snook at Sebastian Inlet in May run large, often 34 to 38 inches, and bite best at daybreak or late evening over the north jetty rock pile.

They run big. On May 18, 2026, most snook at the north jetty were oversized, in the 34 to 38-inch range, with a couple of slot fish, caught on live shrimp and croakers in the early morning and late evening during the incoming tide; that week's Angler of the Week photo showed a 38-inch snook. On Friday of that week, schools of snook were visible at the north tip before the wind muddied the water. Goliath groupers at the tip over the rock pile were eating quite a few of the hooked snook and reds.

The 2026 reports trace the pattern. On May 4, snook, redfish and a couple of black drum were caught on live shrimp at the tip during the incoming tide, most over the rock pile, with several slot fish going home. On May 11, most of the action came on the early morning outgoing tide at the tip on live shrimp, small croakers and artificial shrimp jigs, with snook mostly oversized and a few nice slot fish. The slot is 28 to 32 inches under FWC's Indian River Lagoon rules. NOAA publishes tide predictions for station 8722004, Sebastian Inlet bridge.

Bait preferences shift through the month at Sebastian Inlet. On May 4, 2026, the snook ignored mojarra and took live shrimp, and anglers fishing finger mullet at the tip on the outgoing tide caught snook that were mostly too big to keep. When daytime fishing is poor, the night shift takes over: during the windy, weedy week before May 25, 2026, the guide heard of snook and reds caught at night on flairs and swim baits on either tide.

Sebastian Inlet water typically reaches the low 80s in May, and the reports show cooler or dirtier water stalling the bite.

Usually in the low 80s by mid month. The May 11, 2026 report put the water at 82 degrees, up from 78 earlier that week, and on May 18 it read 81 degrees. In 2025 the warming lagged: the May 12, 2025 report said the temperature should have been in the low 80s by then but was still 76. NOAA's Coastal Water Temperature Guide lists a May average of 80.2 degrees at Trident Pier, north of Sebastian.

Bait follows the temperature at Sebastian Inlet. In May 2025 there were only a few mullet around, short of the expected springtime run, and the mojarra had disappeared. In May 2026 quite a few finger mullet schools remained on both sides of the inlet, though the mojarra on the south side vanished again by May 18. The May 25, 2026 report blamed 15 to 25 mph southeast winds and immense clots of sargassum weed for dismal fishing everywhere.

Besides snook, May at Sebastian Inlet produces redfish to release, sheepshead in the pilings, pompano and whiting on the beach side, and blues and jacks at the tip.

Redfish turn up big but must go back. The May 11, 2026 report described catch-and-release redfish in the 27 to 30-inch range at the Sebastian Inlet north jetty tip, and FWC's Indian River Lagoon region rules make all redfish catch-and-release. The May 25, 2026 Angler of the Week was a 28-inch red drum caught at the north jetty on live finger mullet.

Black drum are on their way out. Early in the week of May 11, 2026, anglers caught a few decent black drum on dead shrimp, but the guide wrote that the water was warm enough that they would leave until the fall. Sheepshead continued biting around the pilings on either tide on live fiddler crabs and sandfleas. On the ocean side of the Sebastian Inlet north jetty, small and keeper pompano and whiting were caught on live sandfleas on May 4, 2026, and the outgoing tide at the tip was all about blues, jacks and ladyfish.

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, listing redfish, snook, sea trout and flounder among its sportfish, with boat launches in the city of Sebastian, at Wabasso Causeway and at Sebastian Inlet State Park.

Snook harvest at Sebastian closes at the end of May 31 and stays closed through August 31 under FWC's Indian River Lagoon rules.

The May 25, 2026 report spelled it out for Sebastian Inlet anglers: snook season closes Sunday, May 31 at midnight and reopens on September 1. FWC's Indian River Lagoon region rules list the closed season as June 1 through August 31, with a second closure from December 15 through January 31.

May 2025 also brought construction news at Sebastian Inlet. The May 12, 2025 report said the dredge pipes at the T-dock had been removed, south side sand pumping was complete and that area was open again for cast netting, though the T-dock stayed closed for the dredging project. The north jetty repair project was moving ahead, with completion targeted for July 2025.