December report… January Forecast

December started with the most incredible Redfish run we have had in Sarasota in quite a few years. Catching 20 or more Reds in a trip was not a problem once we located the schools.
The Reds were found in deep water channels with lots of current flow and points. When we caught 1 many, many others would follow until the school decided that was enough for the day. Live Shrimp was the key as we were fishing water 10-15 feet deep. Artificals like the CAL or GULP ! series worked well, but shrimp outfished everything. The best week we had was from Dec 5-12  when my clients landed an incredible 112 Redfish. Dr. Alfie Fish, Sara and Mike Miklthun, John and Mary Listoper , Brian and Mark Howard and Dr. Larry Martin all managed to catch over 20+ Redfish . The only thing that stopped the Redfish bite was a cold front which made the water dirty and the Reds left for cleaner water. After few days of colder weather, Fishing reverted back to fishing nearshore reefs ,harbors and deep channels for the usual December mixed bag of Some Redfish , Sheepshead, Flounder, Sea bass, juvenile Grouper and Lots of Sea Trout. Tom Whitehurst from Sarasota joined me for a fun day of 7 Redfish topped by a 30” nice Sheepies , a few flounder, and tons of Sea Trout. Ed Wood and stepson , Jon and Sandi Miller, Bob ,Will and Kevin Osgood Dave Martin and grand kids Georgia and Josh and the Harris Family all encountered the same steady action. At the end of the month, the weather turned beautiful, warm and mostly calm and a fabulous Pompano run began that lasted about a week.
 These amazing fish are stunningly beautiful, strong fighters and one of the best tasting fish in the sea.
At the turn of the incoming tide, the run started in the oases and as the water rose the Pompano spread out to the nearest flat along with Spanish Mackerel, Bluefish, and Sea Trout . Ron Powell , The Hinchcliffe family, The Lang family, David Christopher  and Devin Henderson were all able to take advantage of the Pompano Run .
In All ,we caught more than 30 in the week
>>>>>>>>January Forecast >>>>
 In January, the weather completely dictates what and where we fish. In colder weather, fish hunker down in the deepest areas possible which means we fish for Sea Trout Sheepshead, and Flounder using live shrimp. When the weather is nice for a few days the fish will move onto nearby flats and feed heavily. Pompano, Bluefish, Spanish mackerel and Redfish are likely targets

In this situation. Using CAL jigs, spoons and topwaters ,the action should be great until the next cold front approaches.