SEBASTIAN — By now, residents of Indian River County have found their coats in the back of the closet, but they might want to dig out a fishing pole as well. While it’s too cold to do much swimming, it’s the perfect time to fish. Just ask the northerners who are beginning to make the drive or flight south to fish at Sebastian Inlet or the Stick Marsh.
Local bait and tackle shops are enjoying the influx of anglers like Brad Ganey, of Orlando, who took a day off to get away to Sebastian to fish for the first time.
“Yesterday, I caught a 26-inch snook on a bait jig going through the horn,” Ganey said. “I had another that was a little smaller that I threw back. The mullet bait were everywhere.”
Ganey said the Sebastian Inlet was crowded, but he was able to find a good spot where the current was pretty calm most of the day.
“I caught eight trout in a row – it was a dream,” he said. “One of the trout was 14 inches. I used handpicked shrimp.”
Carol Latour, the owner of Reel’em In Bait & Tackle in Sebastian, listened as an excited Ganey showed cellphone photos of his catches and bought his bait for a second day of fishing.
“I like those stories, especially if they bought their bait here,’’ said Latour, a native of Massachusetts, who has owned the business for the past nine years. “I don’t fish, but I love to hear that stuff.”
Few are as fortunate as Ganey.
“If you’re from up North and haven’t fished here before, I recommend that you get with a good inshore teacher,” said Kelly Alonso, who owns Native Tackle Supply in Sebastian with her husband, Robert.
“You want a guide who will teach and instruct versus a head boat that just puts you in the water and sticks a rod in your hand. You want someone who tells you what baits to use, where to fish and at what time,” she said. “It might be a little more expensive, but you can get a couple of guys together. It will be a whole lot better, and it will educate you.”
Ecological problems have led to the demise of seagrass in area waters, which has made fishing more difficult in the brackish water.
“The seagrass is depleted, but there are signs that it is coming back,” Alonso said. “It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see that you can’t go to the normal spots. I tell people that the main objective in the lagoon and the river is to fish docks, oyster beds, structures, the Spoil Islands and mangroves.”
Fish stories abound in the Sebastian River Area, and Alonso couldn’t help but pass along the one about Capt. Gus Brugger, who runs Pattern Setter Charters of Capt. Hiram’s, and the world-record trout he caught not too long ago.
“The guides can teach you – that’s their livelihood,” she said.
Al Notarnicola, also known as “Pompano Al,” works a day or two week for Latour at Reel’em In Bait & Tackle when he’s not fishing.
Notarnicola owned a restaurant in Newburgh, N.Y., before moving to Barefoot Bay six years ago. He has worked at the shop since February.
“Shrimp always works well, especially in the brackish water of Sebastian River,” Notarnicola said. “I’ve been going with top-water plugs in the morning for one or one-and-a-half hours. Shrimp is still the best, but finger mullet is good for flounder.”
Gulp bait is good, he said, but it stinks terribly.
“Now that there’s no seagrass, you’ve got to think. You’ve got to change things every day. And, move the bait slow as well,” Notarnicola said. “I like to fish the flats at the Inlet for flounder, big snook, redfish and tripletail. Ladyfish are fun to catch, but you can only use them for bait. They’re no good to eat.”
Finger mullet also have been an effective bait when fishing for snook.
“It’s a natural bait and that’s what the snook are after,” Notarnicola said. “The fish follow the bait and, if you find the bait, you’ll find the fish. We’re seeing the biggest flounder since I’ve been here.”
Whole mullet is chunked up to entice bottom fish in an effort to land shark.
Sandfleas woo pompano, as well as frozen clams. Besides pompano, sheepshead and drum also like clams.
According to Notarnicola, frozen squid sliced in pieces will land almost anything in the river. It also can be used offshore. Spanish sardines also are used by offshore fishermen. Menhaden chum is an effective ground-up fish.
“It brings fish to your boat,” Notarnicola said. “You’re teasing them. If you put chum in a bag, they’ll follow you and eat that as well. The secret is the scent. When I trolled, I’d have three or four poles at 30, 40 and 50 feet. I’d stagger the bait and fish a whole section.”
Cigar minnows, goggle eyes and thread herring are all offshore baits.
For those who want to go fishing at the last minute and don’t have a license, a quick call to 1-888-347-4357 can solve that dilemma as long as the potential fisherman has a credit card.
Farther west in Indian River County, the Stick Marsh is a hidden jewel for bass fishing, rowing or just getting away from it all.
Evencio Hernandez, a native of Veracruz, Mexico, who is the co-owner of Stick Marsh Bait Bucket, is excited about the change in seasons.
“It’s now speck season and customers are coming down from the north,” Hernandez said. “The summer was slow; people prefer fishing in the winter time. There are so many people who don’t know what the Stick Marsh is.”
According to Hernandez, wild shiners have been the best bait for bass.
Worms have worked well for bluegill and shellcracker. Minnows have been the best bait for speckled perch, which also is known as black crappie.
Crickets have been used for bluegill; red worms and wigglers have enticed shellcracker and night crawlers have brought in shellcracker as well as tilapia from private farms.
Hernandez also sells domestic shiners, which range from 3 to 4 inches and are raised on farms. Wild Shiners are 6 inches or bigger and they are caught on the lakes. Chicken liver is a bait used to catch catfish.
“I don’t like to fish in a parking lot of people,” Hernandez said. “That’s why I like the Stick Marsh. I can fish on a bank one day, go to this side the next day or another side on another day.”
Felipe Gomez, the owner of Stick Marsh Bait & Tackle, has seen the surge in crappie catches.
“They’re using shiners for the bass and minnows for the crappie. They just started using the shiners in the last couple of weeks,” said Gomez, a native of Guadalajara, Mexico who lives with his family in Fellsmere. “They’re coming back with 15 or 20 crappie from the Stick Marsh. The bass are biting now; the cold weather makes for a lot of change.”
Gomez works a lot of hours and doesn’t have time to go to the Stick Marsh. He does enjoy fishing at a small pond near his house.
“I can catch bass, bluegill and catfish there,” the 52-year-old Gomez said. “But my favorite fish is crappie. I like to fry it with butter and pepper. I like the wild and mushy taste.”
Lizelena Gomez, 20, helps her father at the shop.
“I let my dad do the cooking — he’s good at it,” said Gomez, who hopes to become a nurse someday.”
