To the angler who loves to fish the beaches, shores, jetties, bridges and piers of Florida.
Friday, January 5, 2018
From Todd &Trey @ Juno Bait -Juno Beach
INSHORE: Not much to write about on the inshore fishing side of this things this week; thanks largely to poor weather conditions for the first part of the week. Cold weather could really help fire up the inshore flats around Muyon Island and Hobe Sound. This weather could push in pompano, ladyfish, jacks, and maybe even a few triple tail. Some sheepshead are being caught around area bridges. Snook fishing was tough this week with cold weather.
SURF/PIER: Extremely poor water clarity (looks a lot like chocolate milk right now) has surf fishing slowed to a crawl this week. As soon as it clears things should really go off. Expect a good number of Spanish Mackerel, bluefish, and pompano to be around when water conditions improve. Could see some triple tail around the Juno Beach Pier as well.
Sebastian Inlet Report
We have another frigid day at the inlet but it looks like temperatures will start warming up over the weekend and by Monday we will see low 70’s. We have winds blowing out of the Northwest at 10 mph, gusting to 15 and there is a moderate chop on the water. NOAA has a small craft advisory in effect through this afternoon. Conditions will calm down a little tomorrow but pick back up on Sunday, giving us choppy conditions for boaters over the weekend.
Anglers are starting to file out onto the north jetty again and Tommy Turowski at the Sebastian Inlet Bait and Tackle Shop reports big Reds and Sheepshead were biting yesterday afternoon. A few Snook were landed on jigs as well. Now that conditions are settling down, look for the bite to pick up even more for Sheepshead. Fishing with small crabs, sand fleas, clams and shrimp around structures such as docks and bridge pilings will produce results. Historically, a cold snap like this one will get those Flounder moving as well. Blues should start making an appearance although we haven’t seen many so far. A good variety of species should start making appearances as the weather begins to cooperate. Get out and try your luck!
Our first angler of the day is Tung Pham of Orlando. Tung made it over to the inlet and fished the south beach. Tung landed the 26.5” slot Red and the huge 21” Black Margate in the surf.
Our other angler is Brad Fawcett of Toledo, OH. Six days ago our anglers were fishing in shirt sleeves! Brad fished the north jetty on December 29th when he landed the 29” C/R Snook in our photo. Brad landed the Snook using shrimp around 3:00 p.m. The fish was released unharmed right after the photo.
Wednesday, January 3, 2018
From David Ronald Hartwell @ Big Dave's Land Based Lessons. How To Get Tight
We may have covered this before but I feel it bears repeating. When most folks fish with lures, they rarely consider how the fish they were targeting was hooked. It all boils down to types of strikes, a predation strike and a reaction strike. Understanding the differences between these types of attacks can help you improve your catch rate with lures of all types.
By definition, a predation strike is what happens when the fish has actually tried to eat your lure. This means that you successfully fooled the fish into thinking your lure was actually a prey item. A predation strike is most often made obvious by the fact that your lure has either mostly or completely been engulfed by the fish. Fish like snook or trout are famous for utterly inhaling lures. When your lure is deep inside the fish's mouth, its hard to deny that it was truly trying to eat it.
A reaction strike is what happens when you have either triggered a fishes aggression or curiosity. An aggressive reaction strike is hard to miss. These are hard, often savage strikes leading to excited squeals of joy from the angler. A reaction strike stemming from simple curiosity is often far more subtle. Barely a light tap on the line or unmistakable heaviness on the retrieve when there should be none. Reaction strikes are often signified by the fish being hooked on the lips or even just outside the mouth.
Lures such as swimming plugs or top water poppers in bright, flashy and unnatural colors are designed to achieve a reaction strike. Soft plastic shrimp, jerk baits and suspending twitch baits or buck tails in natural colors are designed to imitate natural prey items.
Generally, when the fishing is tough such as when the water is clear and calm, you'll want to choose natural colors to trigger a predation strike. When fish are in stained or rough water, flashy or noisy lures often prove to be the better choice to trigger a reaction strike.
Tight lines friends!
By definition, a predation strike is what happens when the fish has actually tried to eat your lure. This means that you successfully fooled the fish into thinking your lure was actually a prey item. A predation strike is most often made obvious by the fact that your lure has either mostly or completely been engulfed by the fish. Fish like snook or trout are famous for utterly inhaling lures. When your lure is deep inside the fish's mouth, its hard to deny that it was truly trying to eat it.
A reaction strike is what happens when you have either triggered a fishes aggression or curiosity. An aggressive reaction strike is hard to miss. These are hard, often savage strikes leading to excited squeals of joy from the angler. A reaction strike stemming from simple curiosity is often far more subtle. Barely a light tap on the line or unmistakable heaviness on the retrieve when there should be none. Reaction strikes are often signified by the fish being hooked on the lips or even just outside the mouth.
Lures such as swimming plugs or top water poppers in bright, flashy and unnatural colors are designed to achieve a reaction strike. Soft plastic shrimp, jerk baits and suspending twitch baits or buck tails in natural colors are designed to imitate natural prey items.
Generally, when the fishing is tough such as when the water is clear and calm, you'll want to choose natural colors to trigger a predation strike. When fish are in stained or rough water, flashy or noisy lures often prove to be the better choice to trigger a reaction strike.
Tight lines friends!
Beach Fishing With Paul Sperco Palm Beach/Martin County Area
As far as local seminars are concerned ,I will be doing a seminar on Surf Fishing for Pompano on Jan 20 and 21 at Bass Pro Shops in Port St Lucie. The Jan 20 time is 330 pm and Jan 21 start time is 2 PM. The location will be in front of the aquarium and I would plan on coming early as this is usually the most popular seminar we do all year at the store. Tackle, techniques, locations, baits, and even recipes will all be covered . If you have any questions please feel free to call the store at 772-785-7600.
From Capt. Charlie @ Fishing Center - Ft Pierce
In past several years, January has traditionally been a cold month around the Treasure Coast. Hopefully, 2018 will show us another mild winter and you won’t have to worry about the water temperatures as much this year. Fishing in deeper water will provide you with better results on most days. Working your lures and baits much slower will also give you a better chance at success. Fish tend to become lethargic in cold water and are slow in moving to strike at lures. Finding water that is a couple degrees warmer than the surrounding area can also give you an edge on finding fish. Water temperatures have been mild so far. We had great results last year on fishing deep sand holes on the flats that were being warmed by the sun. We will certainly be doing that again this year.
January is typically a windy month and it will continue the tradition if recent weather gives you an insight to the coming month. You might enjoy one or two days a week that is calmer, but expect it to be windy most days. Using the right ramps can make your day a little easier in dealing with the weather. There are many ramps around the area that allow you to launch depending on wind direction. The river can be rough some days, but you can still fish most days if you plan your trips carefully. It is a great month to fish in spite of weather conditions that might not be to your liking.
Bridges will continue to produce sheepshead, black drum, croakers, sand perch and bluefish. Most of the anglers on the catwalks prefer live or frozen shrimp for these fish. The inlet and turning basin will be full of bluefish, jacks and mackerel this month. Live or dead bait on a jig head will give you plenty of action along with silver spoons or shiny lures. Around seawalls, channel edges or deeper structure you can find grouper for catch and release action in January. Snook action around the jetties and bridges will be active mostly at night for anglers using feather jigs, Terror Eyz and live bait. Snook closed on December 15th, so it will be catch and release for them.
Redfish can be found around docks and sitting on the flats on warm, sunny days. The new 2 ¾” DOA shrimp, Terror Eyz or CAL jerk baits work great for wintertime fishing. We had fantastic results around mangroves for redfish last year. CAL paddle tails in the 411 color were a hit with the reds. Docks will be loaded with sheepshead in January with nice sized fish. They have moved in early this year and have been hungry! Pompano fishing will depend on water temperatures for their location, but they will be in the area throughout the winter. Surf anglers will be targeting these fish on days when the beach is fishable. Flounder should be found around the jetties on the beach side and on sand flats around the inlet. If you can find warmer water on the flats, you will most likely find trout feeding in those areas. Last year, we were rewarded many days as the sun would warm up a patch of water and get the fish actively feeding. Trout fishing in 2017 rewarded us with many big fish in the 25” to 30” range. CAL jerk baits and Deadly Combos were very successful on the trout, and 2018 should prove to be another good year. Ladyfish and jacks will be all over the river for fun action for the little ones.
January Tips: Dress for the weather. We might get one or two days each week that might be warmer, but most days will be on the cooler side. There can be a 30 degree swing in temperature on some days. Dressing in layers can keep you comfortable throughout the day in January. Once you become cold, it's hard to warm back up again. Keep yourself comfortable and enjoy some good fishing in January. Stay warm and safe and enjoy the winter!
January is typically a windy month and it will continue the tradition if recent weather gives you an insight to the coming month. You might enjoy one or two days a week that is calmer, but expect it to be windy most days. Using the right ramps can make your day a little easier in dealing with the weather. There are many ramps around the area that allow you to launch depending on wind direction. The river can be rough some days, but you can still fish most days if you plan your trips carefully. It is a great month to fish in spite of weather conditions that might not be to your liking.
Bridges will continue to produce sheepshead, black drum, croakers, sand perch and bluefish. Most of the anglers on the catwalks prefer live or frozen shrimp for these fish. The inlet and turning basin will be full of bluefish, jacks and mackerel this month. Live or dead bait on a jig head will give you plenty of action along with silver spoons or shiny lures. Around seawalls, channel edges or deeper structure you can find grouper for catch and release action in January. Snook action around the jetties and bridges will be active mostly at night for anglers using feather jigs, Terror Eyz and live bait. Snook closed on December 15th, so it will be catch and release for them.
Redfish can be found around docks and sitting on the flats on warm, sunny days. The new 2 ¾” DOA shrimp, Terror Eyz or CAL jerk baits work great for wintertime fishing. We had fantastic results around mangroves for redfish last year. CAL paddle tails in the 411 color were a hit with the reds. Docks will be loaded with sheepshead in January with nice sized fish. They have moved in early this year and have been hungry! Pompano fishing will depend on water temperatures for their location, but they will be in the area throughout the winter. Surf anglers will be targeting these fish on days when the beach is fishable. Flounder should be found around the jetties on the beach side and on sand flats around the inlet. If you can find warmer water on the flats, you will most likely find trout feeding in those areas. Last year, we were rewarded many days as the sun would warm up a patch of water and get the fish actively feeding. Trout fishing in 2017 rewarded us with many big fish in the 25” to 30” range. CAL jerk baits and Deadly Combos were very successful on the trout, and 2018 should prove to be another good year. Ladyfish and jacks will be all over the river for fun action for the little ones.
January Tips: Dress for the weather. We might get one or two days each week that might be warmer, but most days will be on the cooler side. There can be a 30 degree swing in temperature on some days. Dressing in layers can keep you comfortable throughout the day in January. Once you become cold, it's hard to warm back up again. Keep yourself comfortable and enjoy some good fishing in January. Stay warm and safe and enjoy the winter!
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