Indian River Lagoon fishing report for the week of September 17, 2026. The mullet are inside the lagoon this week, not just on the beach, and every shoreline from Titusville down to Fort Pierce has bait pushing along it in the mornings. That has the trout and redfish feeding harder than they have all summer, and Sebastian Inlet is loaded with snook.
What’s Hitting
What’s hot this week is speckled trout. Fish from 15 to 24 inches are working the mullet schools along the lagoon shorelines and on the grass flats in 2 to 4 feet, with some bigger fish in the deeper troughs. Redfish are tailing on the flats early in the Mosquito Lagoon and the north Indian River, and schools of slot fish are moving along the spoil islands. Snook are stacked at Sebastian Inlet and Fort Pierce Inlet on the falling tide, and along the beaches on either side at first light. Black drum are on the bridge pilings, and a few tarpon are rolling in the deeper lagoon channels at dawn.
Where to Find Them
Trout are wherever the mullet are pushing along the shoreline, so look for bait and birds early on the flats around Titusville, the spoil islands north of Sebastian, and the flats off Vero Beach. Redfish are on the shallow flats of the Mosquito Lagoon and around Haulover Canal at first light, tailing on the high water. Snook are on the Sebastian Inlet jetties and the rocks along the south side on the outgoing tide, and in the surf along the state park beach. Black drum are on the Wabasso and Sebastian bridge pilings.
Tides & Conditions
The lagoon is largely wind-driven away from the inlets, and the light west winds this week have kept the water clear on the west shore. At the inlets, moderate tides between the moons have set up a good morning outgoing. Water is in the low to mid-80s and clearing after the summer rains. Afternoon storms are still around but less frequent.
Tackle & Tactics
For trout, a soft plastic jerkbait or paddle tail worked around the mullet schools, a walking topwater at first light, or a live shrimp or pigfish under a popping cork on the flats. Redfish on the flats want a weedless gold spoon, a soft plastic, or a live shrimp or cut mullet on 20-pound fluorocarbon. Snook at the inlet want a live finger mullet on a 5/0 circle hook or a flair hawk jig on 40-pound leader. A 7-foot medium spinning rod with 15-pound braid covers the lagoon.
Local Intel This Week
The Sebastian Inlet State Park ramp is the closest launch to the inlet, with the Wabasso Causeway ramp, the Fort Pierce Inlet State Park area, and the Parrish Park ramp in Titusville serving the rest of the lagoon. Shore anglers are catching snook from the Sebastian Inlet jetties and the Fort Pierce jetty, and trout and reds from the causeway shorelines. Fish are concentrating around the mullet schools on the flats and at the inlets on the outgoing tide. Snook season is open on the Atlantic coast; check current FWC regulations, slot sizes, and seasons before keeping fish.
This Week’s Tip
When the mullet are on the flats, the trout sit under and behind the school rather than in it. Cast past the bait and bring your lure back through the trailing edge, and keep it low. A soft plastic fished a foot under the mullet gets eaten when a topwater in the school gets ignored.
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