January was a very busy month full of fishing charters with new and return clients. Despite some cold and breezy days, the fishing remained good. We caught a ton of sea trout throughout the month and were pleasantly surprised with the amount of redfish we caught.
The bait of choice in the colder winter months has been live shrimp. Usually fished around docks or other structure almost always lead to redfish of all sizes being landed.
When the wind laid down we were able to sneak offshore and consistently catch lane, mangrove, and yellowtail snapper along with a few red grouper and grunts. While offshore moving from spot to spot we would check the crab traps for triple tail.
Also using shrimp near docks, we caught a lot of sheepshead. The colder the water got the bigger the sheepshead to eat. Many of my clients happily brought home the sheepshead for dinner.
We also would catch large numbers of ladyfish, spanish mackerel, and blue fish. We would target those fish using jigs and spoons while fishing around large groups of diving birds. This face paced fun fishing leads to fish being caught two, three, and four at a time.
Last but not least, for clients who wanted something big, we would target sharks. The sharks were hit or miss this month, some trips would hook up fast and land big sharks while others we didn’t get a bite. The shark fishing should improve greatly once the weather evens out and becomes more predictable. February is filling up with trips, so book your trip soon.