- All the eastern mullet swim
- Almost everything that flies eats mullet
There is no doubt. The running mullet has been turned to full on.
Sebastian Inlet seemed to be ground zero for the mullet migration. Canaveral Beach, Jetty Park, Cocoa Beach Pier, Patrick Space Force Beaches, Melbourne Beach, Spessard Holland, Bonsteel, all of these beaches have large schools of mullet swimming south and being bombarded by predators. Sharks, pelicans, osprey, snook, tarpon, jacks, redfish, basically anything that swims or flies.
Some appear in the Indian River Lagoon as well, but not as densely as the schools found on the shores. Will the ground swell this weekend and the winds make it more difficult to see mullet? Very likely. But prepare your fishing gear. Now is the time to get into action.
Florida fishing regulations and hunting season opening and closing times:
- blunder: Harvest is closed from October 15th to November 30th. Maximum size: 14 inches. Bag limit: 5 fish per person.
- Spotted seats: Harvest season closes in November and December in Volusia, Brevard, Indian River, St. Lucie, Martin and Palm Beach counties. Harvest reopens on January 1st.
- Snook: Harvest season reopens on September 1. One 28-32 inch fish bag required, snook seal required.
- Blue tile thickness: Harvest closes on September 1 in federal and state waters of the Atlantic Ocean. Harvest will reopen on May 1, 2024.
- Gold tile thickness: Harvest closed on July 17. Harvest will reopen on January 1.
- Crocodile: Hunting season runs from August 15 to November. 1. Required permits.
- crab: Regular season runs from August 6 to March 31, 2024. Bag limit: 6. Lobster stamp required.
- Porpoise: Harvest is closed from November 1 to April 30.
- Grouper: Harvest opened on May 1st. It includes grouper, red grouper, black grouper, grouper, yellow grouper, yellowmouth, coyote, gray grouper, red grouper, and rocky grouper. Harvest closes on January 1.
- Cobia: New bag and volume limits for state waters. Bag limit: two fish per vessel. Maximum Size: Fork length 36 inches.
- red fish: Redfish fishing has been prohibited in the Indian River Lagoon and Mosquito Lagoon since September 1, 2022. The FWC will reevaluate in the future.
- Dolphin: The bag limit is 5 fish per day per angler. The vessel limit is 30 fish per day. Captain and crew may not be included in the limit. These fishing regulations began May 1, 2022 for state waters.
- deep voice: Bass at Headwaters Lake will soon become catch and release.
For complete Florida fishing regulations, go to MyFWC.com.
Mosquito lake
Tarpon, snook, trout, redfish, black drum and jacks are prime targets in this area. Mullet helps anglers participate in the action. Fish the edges of schools of bait or along the shores of islands with live mullet or topwater plugs in the form of mullet or shrimp to get bites.
Navy
There was good fishing for mangrove perch, snapper and triggerfish in 100 feet of water out of Port Canaveral. Marine weather forecasts over the weekend will force boats to remain in port until early next week, but when the seas calm, expect reef fishing to return to normal. Trollers will be able to find action from mahi mahi and blackfin tuna.
browse
Instead of a fishing report, this will be a surfing report. Many online forecasting sites are calling for peak overhead on Friday afternoon, but Friday morning should be good through Saturday. Hurricane Lee’s waves will reach this part of the Florida coast Thursday through Saturday, and possibly Sunday. Fishing will resume next week.
Sebastian’s entrance
Snook have been all about here since they are one of the few fishermen who can take them home or to the dinner table. Catching a slot-sized fish is a little tricky, but running mullet makes for an exciting time around the inlet. A house is located north of the dock, near the end of the docks, south of the inlet along the beach and inside the inlet to T Dock. Use a live mullet bait or mullet action bait, or a live croaker to catch snook.
Indian River Lake
Fish points, places where the wind stirs the water, anywhere schools of mullet congregate to get bites from jacks, ladybugs, tarpon, snook, trout, redfish and black drum. The Thousand Islands were a gathering place for mullet and predatory animals. The mullet will move toward Sebastian Inlet over the next few days. Look for good action at the end of piers along both shorelines.
fresh water
Bass fishing has been best along the edges of the vegetation. It’s where the bass were bedded. Use crankbaits and 9-inch worms to get bites from the fish. Fish move the water with fixed fishing methods to catch catfish.
Ed Keller is an outdoors writer for the USA Today Network Florida. Email him your fish story at ed.killer@tcpalm.com.