Lots of excitement since last report....
Capt. Sal Tardella
March 29, 2012
Sebastian - Saltwater Fishing Report
On Monday, March 19, I did some scouting with my local buddy, Rick Pino, concentrating on the Inlet, with an outgoing tide. We were rigged with live pinfish and also Gulp Alive! shrimp with ½ oz. Cotsee jigheads–catching large jack crevelles (biggest ones between 10-12 pounds) and some bluefish (4-7 pounds, quite large for this area) and large ladyfish up to 36".
As the tide began to rip out towards the ocean the fishing action slowed down a bit, but the real adventure began. We saw two very young women (with no life jackets) either fall or jump from a small boat in the turbulent Inlet, and because of the ripping tide they were losing control and being swept toward the ocean. Other boaters were nearby, but they weren't able to bring in their anchors fast enough to respond to the panicking women. Because we'd been drifting we were able to quickly get to the flailing swimmers within moments of seeing their distress. The breakwater was especially rough, and we had to do our best to avoid it during the rescue. We lifted both women into our boat (without the luxury of a boarding ladder) and were then met at the mouth of the Inlet by the boat from which the girls had jumped.
Just about two years ago Rick and I also saved the life of a drowning man whose boat had capsized and tossed him into the water–and helped his wife and son get aboard another fisherman's vessel in the Sebastian Inlet, which can be treacherous and must be respected by boaters.
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On Thursday and Friday, March 22/23 we had as our one passenger 79-year-old Floyd Dormire of Richmond, VA, a retired newspaperman, who really enjoys fishing but doesn't get the opportunity to get out very much back home. Over the two days Floyd caught many large jacks, several blues, and ladyfish in the Sebastian Inlet, but after two busy hours in the Inlet on Friday morning we moved into the Indian River to get away from the heavy boat traffic, and, using live shrimp, he caught his first sea trout, coming in at 19," followed by more trout, catfish, and ladyfish. All of the fish were released after taking a photo or two.
On March 26 with Rick Pino of Sebastian, his father-in-law, Ed Jones of Verona VA, and Ed's brother, Richard Jones. Since the winds were fairly high all day, we stayed in the Indian River for the whole trip. Using live shrimp for bait, the boys caught 30 fish of varying species (including sea trout, jack crevelles, bluefish, catfish, ladyfish, and a permit) as well as a surprise bonus in the form of a nice King Mackerel, which is a rare catch in the River. All the fish were released.
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