Sebastian Inlet tackle guide — Sebastian, Florida

At Sebastian Inlet, silver spoons and small jigs take the bluefish, Spanish mackerel and jacks, goofy jigs take pompano, and shrimp jigs, flair jigs and live bait take snook and redfish, according to Sebastian Inlet District reports.

The Sebastian Inlet District has published its fishing report every Monday for years, and its dated report index lists each week from December 30, 2024 through October 5, 2026. Read together, those reports amount to a tackle record for one inlet: which lure caught which fish, on which tide, from the north jetty, the south jetty, the T-dock or the surf pocket.

Three patterns repeat. Fast fish that chase bait in the channel at Sebastian Inlet, meaning bluefish, Spanish mackerel and jack crevalle, fall to metal: silver spoons, small white jigs and gotcha plugs. Pompano, taken along the jetty tips and beaches, fall to small goofy jigs and sand fleas. Snook and redfish, the inlet's headline fish, come on live bait and on soft or flair jigs worked near the rocks, most often at night.

Line and leader matter most for the shy fish. The August 11, 2025 report advised fishing mangrove snapper at Sebastian Inlet on a Carolina rig or split-shot rig with a short leader of 30 lb or less, because the snapper are leader-shy at times.

Each Sebastian Inlet species has a reported go-to setup, from big silver spoons for winter bluefish to Carolina rigs for summer mangrove snapper, and the table below lists the setups by species and season.

Winter bluefish run large at Sebastian Inlet. The December 30, 2024 report described bluefish of 10 to 12 pounds at the tip and on the beach side for anglers fishing large silver spoons, jigs and cut bait on the outgoing tide.

Spanish mackerel take smaller metal. The January 12, 2026 report said lots of Spanish mackerel were coming over the rails of the Sebastian Inlet north jetty on live pilchards, small white jigs, silver spoons and gotcha lures. In the August 18, 2025 report, Spanish mackerel at the T-dock took small jigs and live greenies fished under a float rig.

Pompano are a jig fishery at the tips. In the March 30, 2026 report, the pompano bite at the Sebastian Inlet jetty tip was really good on goofy jigs and live sand fleas, with several limits caught and most fish 14 to 16 inches. The November 24, 2025 report had pompano at the tip on goofy jigs on the outgoing tide.

Flounder split by size. The December 8, 2025 report said finger mullet were the bait of choice for the bigger Sebastian Inlet flounder, with live shrimp and thumper jigs accounting for the smaller fish.

Snook and redfish at Sebastian Inlet are fished with artificial shrimp jigs, bucktails and swim baits or with live bait, on hook and line only, which is the one gear FWC allows for snook.

The May 11, 2026 report listed redfish and snook caught at the Sebastian Inlet tip on live shrimp, small croakers and artificial shrimp jigs, naming thumpers, lucky shrimp and DOAs. After dark the lures change. The June 18, 2026 report said the night snook bite was decent on bucktails and swim baits.

The March 30, 2026 report noted that snook and reds had been mostly missing at Sebastian Inlet except for some caught at night jig fishing, and in the same report a floated split shot rig with dead shrimp produced a black drum and a sheepshead.

The rule side is short. FWC snook regulations set allowable gear as hook and line only, with a slot of not less than 28 or more than 32 inches total length, one fish per person per day, and a snook permit plus a recreational fishing license required. Timing for snook at night, including season closures in the Indian River Lagoon region, is covered on a separate page.

During the fall mullet run at Sebastian Inlet, anglers fish live mullet, big swim baits or medium jigs in and around the bait schools, because the predators are keyed on mullet.

The September 8, 2025 report advised fishing live mullet, big swim baits or medium sized jigs to draw a bite when the run is on, and said big spoons and jigs tossed to the channel area could produce. The same report said lookdowns were taken at the Sebastian Inlet tip on tiny white jigs on both tides.

Summer jacks follow the same logic. The July 20, 2026 report described monster jack crevalle busting mullet schools near the Sebastian Inlet bait shop in the late afternoon, and said freelined mullet, topwater poppers and 5 to 6 inch swim baits were getting bit.

Float rigs suit the mackerel that shadow the bait. In the October 20, 2025 report, a couple of decent Spanish mackerel at Sebastian Inlet were caught on small jigs fished on a float rig, while live finger mullet, spoons and jigs took jack crevalle, ladyfish and small chopper bluefish.

At Sebastian Inlet, snook may be taken only on hook and line, spearfishing is banned in the state park, and boats fishing reef fish with natural bait carry non-stainless steel hooks, a dehooking device and a descending device.

Florida State Parks says spear fishing is prohibited at Sebastian Inlet State Park, and that both jetties extend into the Atlantic Ocean and are ADA accessible. Information on fishing regulations is posted at both entrance stations.

Reef fish gear rules depend on latitude. FWC requires, on board a vessel in Atlantic state waters when fishing with natural baits, non-stainless steel, non-offset circle hooks north of 28 degrees north latitude and non-stainless steel hooks south of it, plus a dehooking device and, since April 1, 2023, a descending device or venting tool rigged and ready. The inlet falls on the southern side of that line: NOAA NDBC places station SIPF1 on the Sebastian Inlet State Park north jetty at 27.862 N.

Jetty etiquette is enforced by the park and the district. The June 29, 2026 Sebastian Inlet District report said jetty anglers at the tip were tangling lines with boat anglers on the outgoing tide, that there is no need to let out hundreds of feet of line, and that boats have the right of way. The October 20, 2025 report said the area between the railing and the painted yellow lines on the north jetty is a pedestrian walkway and emergency access that must stay clear of fishing equipment.

Spoons, jigs, rigs and line for the inlet are listed in the fishing tackle collection on Digital Towns Market, and pliers and knives for cutting rigs and leaders on the Sebastian Inlet jetties in the knives and everyday carry collection. Digital Towns Market is our marketplace.