Sand Perch and Grunts — Sebastian, Florida

Sand perch at Sebastian Inlet are caught mostly at the tip of the south jetty on the outgoing tide and around the T-dock pilings and cleaning table, on small pieces of cut shrimp.

The Sebastian Inlet District's weekly report index lists dated reports from December 30, 2024 to October 5, 2026, and a dozen of them name sand perch. They run from March to November and cluster in late spring and early summer, when the bottom bite at the jetty tips and the T-dock carries the fishing while snook season is closed.

The south side is the classic spot. The June 9, 2025 report said the only action on the south side of Sebastian Inlet was at the tip of the south jetty and the beach pocket on the outgoing tide, where anglers were catching really nice sand perch along with decent whiting and plenty of puffers, on cut shrimp.

The T-dock is the easy spot. The June 8, 2026 report described a bunch of sand perch caught around the cleaning table at the Sebastian Inlet T-dock on small hooks baited with little pieces of shrimp, with light weight fished on the bottom at the shoreline.

Messy water does not stop them. The June 1, 2026 report said dirty water and the nasty snot weed covering the bottom on the south side had kept most anglers away from the Sebastian Inlet south jetty, yet spot tail pins, black margates and sand perch were still being caught in that mess.

At Sebastian Inlet, the fish anglers call sand perch is the silver mojarra, according to the district's guide, not the sea bass that FWC lists under the name sand perch.

The June 9, 2025 report made the point directly, describing the south jetty catch as really nice sand perch, or silver mojarra, which it called their real name. The same report quoted an angler at the south jetty tip catching big mojarras and sand perch on small pieces of shrimp and sandfleas on the outbound tide, treating the two names as one fish.

Mojarras are an inlet specialty. In Part 5 of the district's fish series, Dr. Grant Gilmore is quoted that Sebastian Inlet has the largest population of mojarras in the United States and is the only place where all eleven species found in Florida occur. He says the mojarra migrates in and out of the inlet and is good snook bait, and that each species has its own preferences for food, current, sand bottom or seagrass.

The official sand perch is a different animal. The FWC sand perch profile describes Diplectrum formosum, a sea bass also known as squirrelfish and sand sea bass, with dark brown bars, orange and blue stripes and many blue lines on the head, growing up to 12 inches in coastal waters including bays, seagrass beds and shallow banks. A slender, striped fish with spines radiating from two clusters on the cheek is that sea bass; a deep, silvery fish with a protrusible mouth is the mojarra the Sebastian Inlet reports mean.

Grunts at Sebastian Inlet include resident reef fish in the jetty rocks, Sailor's Choice grunts that use the Indian River Lagoon as a nursery, and pigfish, which FWC also lists as a grunt.

Most of them stay out of sight. In Part Two of the district's series, Gilmore groups grunts with blennies, damselfish and snappers as resident reef fish that live their entire lives in the jetties and rock structures of Sebastian Inlet. He calls the group a rich and diverse fauna that anglers often overlook because these fish do not necessarily take the bait.

Others pass through. Part One places Sailor's Choice grunts with sheepshead and porgies among the fish that spawn and mate in the ocean but use the estuary's nursery behind Sebastian Inlet for protection and feeding. Part 5 then lists grunts again among the small fish that feed the top predators.

Some do bite. The May 4, 2026 report said small snapper were around the Sebastian Inlet T-dock pilings for anglers fishing cut shrimp, along with grunts and pesky puffers. FWC's pigfish profile notes that the pigfish, the live bait snook anglers use at the inlet each fall, is also known as a grunt.

FWC profiles describe two other common grunts. The white grunt grows up to 18 inches, lives from coastal to offshore waters with juveniles found inshore, and makes a grunting noise by grinding its pharyngeal teeth. The tomtate reaches 10 inches, has a mouth lined with bright orange, and FWC says it is easily caught on small hooks baited with squid or cut bait, the same rigs used for sand perch at the Sebastian Inlet jetties.

Sand perch and most grunts caught at Sebastian Inlet fall under FWC's default limit for unregulated species, two fish or 100 pounds per person per day, whichever is more.

The June 8, 2026 report said the sand perch at the Sebastian Inlet T-dock have no size limit but do carry a per person bag limit of a hundred pounds per day, as an unregulated species. FWC's unregulated species page sets that default: two fish or 100 pounds per person per day, whichever is more, and it uses the white grunt as its example of a small fish where the limit is 100 pounds no matter how many fish that takes.

Unregulated does not mean anything goes. FWC says standard recreational gear requirements still apply and that taking more than the default bag counts as commercial quantities requiring a saltwater products license. The FWC license page also requires a Florida fishing license to land saltwater species, which covers a cooler of sand perch from the Sebastian Inlet State Park jetties.

The small hooks, light sinkers and bottom rigs used for sand perch at the Sebastian Inlet T-dock are listed in the fishing collection on Digital Towns Market. Digital Towns Market is our marketplace.

Sand perch appear in Sebastian Inlet District reports from March through November, with the most mentions in June and July, and none in the dated December, January or February reports.

Spring brings the first good fish. The March 3, 2025 report listed black margates, small jack crevalle, blue runners and hand sized sand perch at the tip of the jetty on the outgoing tide, on cut shrimp. A week later, the March 10, 2025 report had sand perch with small snook, redfish, black drum and sheepshead at the Sebastian Inlet tip.

Summer is the peak. The June 2, 2025 report said the outgoing tide at the tip was producing black margates, lookdowns, nice sand perch and a few whiting and pompano, and the July 14, 2025 report still found some sand perch on cut shrimp at the tip of the Sebastian Inlet jetty in mid July.

A few hang on into fall. In the November 10, 2025 report, anglers fishing cut shrimp at Sebastian Inlet were catching sand perch, whiting and mackerel on the outgoing tide at the tip.