Tarpon at Sebastian — Sebastian, Florida

Tarpon (Megalops atlanticus) show up at Sebastian Inlet and on the beaches beside it mainly from late spring into early fall, and almost always in the company of mullet. The Sebastian Inlet District describes tarpon as fish that migrate mostly along the beaches, hitting the schooling mullet, and notes that unlike many other predators that pass through the inlet, they also use the Indian River Lagoon as a nursery.

The best public record of tarpon at the inlet is the District's weekly fishing report, published on Mondays. Across 2025 and 2026 those reports mention tarpon from late April through early September, placing them in the surf on both sides of Sebastian Inlet, on the tide rip at the jetty tips and inside the inlet when mullet move through on the incoming tide. No report in that span records tarpon during the cold months, which matches the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission's description of the species as a summer fish over most of the state.

District reports describe a spring start. In the week of April 27, 2026, the report noted nice schools of springtime finger mullet starting to show along the beachside at Sebastian Inlet, which it said would make the beach fishing for snook, reds and tarpon pick up. A week earlier, the April 20, 2026 report made the same link, saying that with finger mullet on the beaches and the water warming, snook, reds and tarpon would be showing up. In the week of May 19, 2025, mullet were coming down the beaches near the inlet and the report said snook and tarpon might be around the schools.

Summer reports move the fish into the inlet. In the week of July 14, 2025, schools of mullet coming into Sebastian Inlet on the incoming tide were attracting big jack crevalle and tarpon. In the week of August 4, 2025, the District relayed reports of snook and tarpon in the surf following the schools of mullet and croakers. Late August storms can interrupt the pattern: the August 25, 2025 report said waves from Erin had made surf fishing largely a bust, while pointing to the approaching fall mullet run, when snook, tarpon, redfish and sharks would be possible.

The fall mullet run is the peak. The District's report for the week of September 8, 2025 declared that the fall mullet run had begun, with thousands of mullet around Sebastian Inlet and the beaches, and described the mullet schools on the north side sparking the interest of snook, tarpon, big jacks, redfish and sharks. In the week of September 1, 2025, an angler at the north jetty hooked a big tarpon that got away, and in the week of August 31, 2026, snook and tarpon were hooked on the tide rip at the end of the jetty on live mullet, croakers and pinfish.

FWC's species profile describes tarpon as dark blue-green to greenish-black on the back and bright silver on the sides, with very large scales, an upturned mouth and a last dorsal ray drawn out into a long filament. They grow to 8 feet and 300 pounds, mature slowly at 7 to 13 years of age, and gulp air at the surface. The Florida state record, 243 pounds, came from near Key West, far south of Sebastian.

Tarpon reproduction explains the link between the beaches off Sebastian Inlet and the lagoon behind it. FWC states that adults spawn offshore between May and September, that a female may lay more than 12 million eggs, and that the young pass through a ribbon-like larval stage. Juveniles tolerate a wide range of salinity and are commonly found in fresh water. The Sebastian Inlet District's 2023 series, drawing on a marine biologist with 50 years of marine research, states that tarpon use the lagoon as a nursery.

FWC's profile also accounts for the seasonal gap in Sebastian Inlet reports. Tarpon are found throughout Florida's coastal waters in the summer months, but as coastal water temperatures drop in winter over much of the state, they concentrate in South Florida. That pattern fits the District reports from Sebastian, which mention tarpon from late April through early September and not in the winter months.

Tarpon rules are statewide, so the same FWC regulations apply at Sebastian Inlet as anywhere in Florida waters. FWC describes tarpon as a catch-and-release only fishery. There is no minimum size, but tarpon over 40 inches must remain in the water unless the angler is pursuing a Florida state or world record with a tarpon tag, and one tag per person per year may be purchased for that purpose. Vessel, transport and shipment are limited to one fish. Gear is hook and line only; snagging, snatch hooking, spearing and multiple hooks with natural bait are prohibited. The special gear rules FWC sets for Boca Grande Pass on the Gulf coast do not apply at Sebastian.

FWC's best practices speak directly to the kind of fishing seen at Sebastian Inlet, where anglers fish from jetties and shorelines. The agency recommends avoiding tarpon fishing from bridges or piers, noting that because only tarpon under 40 inches may be taken out of the water, a large tarpon hooked from a structure would have to be cut free with line trailing behind it, which reduces its chance of survival. FWC also advises keeping a tarpon's gills in the water, supporting smaller fish horizontally with wet hands, and cutting the line close to the hook if a shark appears during the fight, a situation the Sebastian Inlet District reports describe, since sharks gather around the same mullet schools.