East Coast Fishing Charters 2023 End of the Year Fishing Report

Sunday, January 7, 2024

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The Fall 2023 snook season has come to an end! We have had a very good Fall fishery this year, especially in the months of September and November. The best snook fishing was located in Sebastian Inlet! The majority of the keepers that we’re catching are on live bait as usual! Using live bait definitely helped us to get keepers in the box!
The mullet run was a lot of fun this year too! I guess, what’s not to like? Schools of mullet everywhere being blasted by big snook, tarpon, sharks, and every other predator fish that wants to take a shot at one! Many people from all over the country come to the central east coast of Florida to witness our annual mullet run. If you’ve never experienced or seen it in action, I highly recommend it!
As usual, snook season ended December 15. After which, I try to focus on other types of fish that are in season like pompano, black drum, sheepshead, and any other fish we could throw in the box! The Pompano have been schooled up on the flats around the Melbourne Beach area. Pompano are a pretty easy fish to find. We use a site fishing tactic of simply cruising around some known spots with the motor on and waiting for one to jump or skip out of the water! Then, we turn the motor off and start throwing special jigs in the area where we spotted them. Pompano put up a great fight on the light tackle fishing gear and also make great table fair!
As we move into the winter, I like to do more bottom fishing on some of the nearshore reefs and artificial structures. On the shallow reefs, there are always a variety of different fish to catch. We usually start off with the bigger reef fish like cobia, snapper, and grouper, but also the smaller fish can be just as fun. One of the favorites with my customers is the saltwater sheepshead! They usually show up in big numbers so the fishing can be very steady. They are a white flaky fish that are great to eat!
Finally, this wraps up our Fall fishing report! Stay posted with us on Instagram @eastcoastfishingcharters, for some of our recent catch! Thanks for everybody that booked a trip with East Coast Fishing Charters! Have a happy new year, and looking forward to 2024!