Space Coast fishing: Gale warnings? Winds will keep most anglers at the dock
Northeasterly winds will dominate the weekend weather forecast so I doubt there will be an opportunity to fish offshore, along the beaches, around the inlets or the western shoreline of the lagoon. In fact, marine weather will be rough enough to cause Sebastian Inlet State Park officials to close the north jetty, likely.
Welcome to November.
It's probably the windiest month of the year, so expect to lose a few good fishing days. With any luck, the winds will subside next week and some pompano, Spanish mackerel and bluefish will be in the trough along the beaches.
But the weekend will begin with gale force warnings — gale force!
Another thing to keep in mind is the closures that are upon us. Flounder, closed since Oct. 15, will remain closed through Nov. 30. Spotted seatrout are closed as of Nov. 1 through Dec. 31 from Volusia to Palm Beach counties. Hogfish closed in Atlantic waters Nov. 1 also. Harvest will re-open May 1, 2024.
Florida fishing regulations and fishing season opening and closing dates:
Spotted seatrout: Harvest closes November 1 through December 31, 2023 in Volusia, Brevard, Indian River, St. Lucie, Martin and Palm Beach counties. Harvest reopens Jan. 1, 2024.
Hogfish: Harvest closed from Nov. 1, 2023 to April 30, 2024. Season re-opens for harvest May 1, 2024.
Flounder: Harvest closed Oct. 15 to Nov. 30, 2023. Size limit: 14 inches. Bag limit: 5 fish per person.
Gag grouper: Harvest closed for both recreational and commercial sectors on Oct. 23, 2023. Re-opens May 1, 2024.
Snook: Harvest opened Sept. 1. One fish bag limit, 28-32 inches, snook stamp required. Harvest closes Dec. 15.
Blueline tilefish: Harvest closed Sept. 1 in Atlantic state and federal waters. Season re-opens for harvest May 1, 2024.
Golden tilefish: Harvest closed July 17. Harvest opens Jan. 1, 2024.
Lobster: Regular season opened Aug. 6-March 31, 2024. No egg bearers, 3-inch minimum carapace length. Lobster stamp required.
Alligator: Hunt season opened Aug. 15-Nov. 1. Permits required.
Grouper: Harvest opened May 1. Includes gag grouper, red grouper, black grouper, scamp, yellowfin grouper, yellowmouth, coney, graysby, red hind and rock hind. Harvest closes Jan. 1.
Cobia: New bag and size limits for state waters. Bag limit: Two fish per vessel. Size limit: 36 inches fork length.
Redfish: Harvest of redfish has been banned in the Indian River Lagoon and Mosquito Lagoon since Sept. 1, 2022. FWC will reevaluate in the future.
Dolphin: Bag limit is 5 fish per day per angler. Vessel limit is 30 fish per day. Captain and crew may not be included in limit. These fishing regulations began on May 1, 2022, for state waters.
Bass: Bass at Headwaters Lake will soon become all catch-and-release.
For complete fishing regulations in Florida go to MyFWC.com.
Citizen catches wanted
ORCA in Vero Beach is sponsoring a contest to encourage recreational anglers to donate catches to science. There is a raffle going on for catches donated from Oct. 1 to Nov. 30. Snook, flounder and pompano get three raffle entries each. Spanish mackerel and bluefish are among the catches that receive two raffle entries. Coast Del Mar Tailfin sunglasses are first prize. A Z Man fishing lure package is second prize. A DOA Lure fishing package is third prize. Instruction on catches and more information can be found at TeamORCA.org.
Mosquito Lagoon
Redfish is the target of choice in this region. When the winds calm down, sight fishing will resume. Use live shrimp freelined or under a popping cork, or jerk baits and artificial shrimp by DOA or Vudu. Speckled trout, snook, black drum and jacks are being caught, too. Water levels are high, and winds will have the lagoon stirred up for a few days.
Offshore
Before the winds, anglers were finding dolphin and blackfin tuna by trolling ballyhoo in 120 to 180 feet of water along current edges. Find the current edges by looking for slight temperature changes in the water. After the blow, look for good snapper fishing in 70-100 feet. Mangrove snapper and lane snapper will be biting, along with triggerfish and sharpnose sharks.
Surf
Beaches will likely experience some erosion and high water well up to the dune line. Salt spray will also be bad along A1A. Even a '57 Buick won't be enough weight to hold bottom Friday or Saturday. Look for action to resume on pompano, whiting, croaker, bluefish and Spanish mackerel as winds drop out.
Sebastian Inlet
First, the wind and waves will be tremendous the next few days and park rangers may choose to close access to north jetty for safety purposes. Second, recently there has again been trouble with anglers not following posted rules on north jetty. Park staff may keep gates locked if the behavior continues — it has happened before. Fishing there is a privilege, not a right. When conditions allow, there should be decent fishing for bluefish and Spanish mackerel as the water cleans up.
Indian River Lagoon
Fish points, mangrove shorelines and the end of docks to get bites from snook, speckled trout, redfish, black drum, catch and release flounder and sheepshead. Use a freelined live shrimp to get bites or add a shrimp to a naked jig head for a little extra weight to provide better control on a cast. Winds will make lagoon fishing difficult through the weekend. Thousand Islands and the east shoreline may provide a little relief from the wind.
Freshwater
Bass fishing has been at its best along the edges. Fish will set up for spawning around full moon and new moon phases. Use topwater frogs and 9-inch worms to flip and pitch to get reaction strikes.
Ed Killer is an outdoors writer in the USA Today Florida network. Email him your fishing reports and photos to ed.killer@tcpalm.com.
This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Gale warnings, rip currents to make fishing tough on Space Coast
