Cape Canaveral to Sebastian Inlet
Beth Sinclair
January 20, 2007
Melbourne - Saltwater Fishing Report
Surf Fishing Report for East Central Florida by Fish Brevard
Unusually warm weather is being blamed for the lack of pompano along our area beaches. With the coolest weather to date this winter being back in November, and temperatures typically soaring into the mid-80s, pompano just aren't foraging in the surf like they usually would be this time of year.
In addition to the warm trend, blustery winds, often from the south, are keeping surf conditions rather churned up and murkey, further hindering the pompano bite. On days when the surf is fishable, anglers are finding fairly decent numbers of whiting and a plethora of small sharks. One angler even reported catching a releasing a small thresher shark along Melbourne Beach, an odd catch for this area. The few pompano being caught are generally small and must be released.
When we have our next significant cold front that will cool down both our surf temperatures as well as the water in the Indian River Lagoon, anglers might start seeing more pompano moving out of the intracoastal waterway into the open ocean. This is when our area inlets and adjacent beaches can be the most productive.
Your best bet right now on the beach is to use live sandfleas or fresh cut clam in the cleanest water you can find to have any chance at all at finding pompano. Whiting, black drum and sheepshead are also good possibilities and generally tend to prefer the cleaner water.
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