St. Sebastian River fishing — Sebastian, Florida

The St. Sebastian River holds tarpon, snook, bass and mullet, because its water is brackish and supports both freshwater and saltwater species (Florida State Parks).

The salt reaches a long way up the St. Sebastian River. The U.S. Geological Survey classifies its station on the South Prong St Sebastian River near Sebastian as a tidal stream, with a drainage area of 35 square miles above the gauge (USGS). That tidal reach is why a snook and a largemouth bass can come from the same stretch of the St. Sebastian River west of U.S. 1.

Snook are the fish most often reported from the river. In a report dated Dec 21, 2022, Sebastian Daily wrote that anglers were catching snook and snapper at the Sebastian Inlet, St. Sebastian River, and the Indian River Lagoon, and described a Melbourne angler who fishes the river often and took a snook there on live finger mullet (Sebastian Daily).

Public fishing on the St. Sebastian River centers on two Indian River County parks on Roseland Road, Dale Wimbrow Park and Donald MacDonald Park, and on St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park upstream (Indian River County).

Dale Wimbrow Park sits at 11805 Roseland Road, along the river near Sebastian and Roseland. Indian River County lists the park at 37.19 acres, open daily 7:30am to sunset, with fishing access, 8 boat trailer parking spaces and a boat launch 7 feet deep at the end of the ramp. The county also calls the Dale Wimbrow Park ramp a launch point for kayaks.

A short way along Roseland Road, Donald MacDonald Park and Campground at 12315 Roseland Road lies on the Saint Sebastian River with 26 primitive campsites and 5 sites with electricity (Indian River County). It has an observation boardwalk, a boat launch and 13 boat trailer parking spaces. The county states that the Donald MacDonald boat ramp is closed at sunset, and primitive sites cost $25 per night and electric sites $35.

Upstream, St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park at 1000 Buffer Preserve Drive in Fellsmere lists canoeing, boating and fishing as popular activities on the St. Sebastian River (Florida State Parks). The preserve has no launch of its own, since all launching facilities are located outside the preserve, but two canoe landings let paddlers step from the river onto its trails. Fishing is permitted in the preserve ponds, along the shoreline of the C-54 canal and in the river itself. The preserve is open 8 a.m. to sunset, with no fee required for day use.

On the brackish St. Sebastian River the license follows the fish, not the water: FWC says license requirements follow the species of fish, regardless of where they are caught (FWC).

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission explains that in estuarine areas where salt and fresh water mix, as they do in the tidal St. Sebastian River, an angler needs a freshwater, saltwater or combination license matched to the species being targeted. Its own example fits the St. Sebastian River closely: an angler with only a freshwater license fishing for bass or bream in a river who hooks a red drum must release the red drum immediately.

Mullet are the stated exception. FWC allows mullet to be taken from fresh water with only a freshwater fishing license, even though mullet are normally treated as a saltwater species. Florida State Parks repeats the general point for St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park, asking anglers on the preserve ponds, the C-54 canal and the river to abide by state fishing rules and licensing.

The St. Sebastian River falls in the FWC Indian River Lagoon Region for snook, which is closed December 15 through January 31 and June 1 through August 31 (FWC).

When snook season is open on the St. Sebastian River, FWC sets a slot of not less than 28 inches or more than 32 inches total length and a bag limit of one fish per person per day for the Indian River Lagoon Region. The region runs from New Smyrna Beach south to the Martin and Palm Beach county line, so the same snook rule covers the river, the lagoon off Sebastian and Sebastian Inlet.

Tarpon in the St. Sebastian River are protected statewide as a catch-and-release only fishery (FWC). FWC requires that tarpon over 40 inches remain in the water unless an angler is pursuing a state or world record with a tarpon tag, and allows one tarpon tag per person per year.

Boats on the river move slowly all year. Florida's manatee protection rule for Indian River County sets a year-round slow speed zone on all navigable waters of the St. Sebastian River, including San Sebastian Bay and the South Fork, west and southwest of the US 1 Bridge and north of the S.R. 512 Bridge (Rule 68C-22.007). The same rule records the river's other names: Sebastian River, San Sebastian River and Sebastian Creek.

Heavy freshwater flow out of the St. Sebastian River and the C-54 canal muddies Sebastian Inlet and slows the bite there, according to repeated Sebastian Inlet District fishing reports (Sebastian Inlet District).

The district's report for the week of August 9 said all the fresh water dumping out of Sebastian River had the baitfish moving out of the inlet along with the predators. In the week of October 5, the C-54 Canal spillway had been opened after heavy rain, and fresh water draining into the Intracoastal Waterway sent black water out of Sebastian Inlet late on the outgoing tide (week of October 5).

Fall reports return to the same theme. The week of November 3 report described water that was dirty and tannin-stained from the freshwater runoff flowing into the ocean from the Sebastian River and C54 canal (week of November 3). The week of November 12 report blamed rain runoff and tannic acid from the C-54 canal draining into the Sebastian River for poor clarity on the outgoing tide (week of November 12), and the week of September 20 report said north jetty fishing dropped off as storm runoff came from the mainland via the Sebastian River (week of September 20).

The City of Sebastian explains the scale of that flow. The city lies along nearly 9 miles of the lower eastern and southern banks of the St. Sebastian River, which it calls a major tributary of the Indian River Lagoon, and it reports that the grass beds immediately south of the river mouth have become more fragmented over time (City of Sebastian).