January Fishing Forecast

In past several years, January has traditionally been a cold month aroundthe Treasure Coast. Hopefully, 2015 will show us another mild winter andyou won’t have to worry about the water temperatures as much this year. Fishing in deeper water will provide you with better results on mostdays. Working your lures and baits much slower will also give you abetter chance at success. Fish tend to become lethargic in cold water andare slow in moving to strike at lures. Finding water that is a coupledegrees warmer than the surrounding area can also give you an edge on findingfish. Water temperatures have been mild so far. We had greatresults last year on fishing deep sand holes on the flats that were beingwarmed by the sun. We will certainly be doing that again this year.

January is typically a windy month and it will continue the tradition ifrecent weather gives you an insight to the coming month. You might enjoyone or two days a week that is calmer, but expect it to be windy mostdays. Using the right ramps can make your day a little easier in dealingwith the weather. There are many ramps around the area that allow you tolaunch depending on wind direction. The river can be rough some days, butyou can still fish most days if you plan your trips carefully. It is agreat month to fish in spite of weather conditions that might not be to yourliking.




Bridges will continue to produce sheepshead, black drum, croakers, sandperch and bluefish. Most of the anglers on the catwalks prefer live orfrozen shrimp for these fish. The inlet and turning basin will be full ofbluefish, jacks and mackerel this month. Live or dead bait on a jig headwill give you plenty of action along with silver spoons or shiny lures. Around seawalls, channel edges or deeper structure you can find grouper forcatch and release action in January. Snook action around the jetties andbridges will be active mostly at night for anglers using feather jigs, TerrorEyz and live bait. Snook closed on December 15th, so it will be catch andrelease for them.




Redfish can be found around docks and sitting on the flats on warm, sunnydays. DOA shrimp, Terror Eyz or CAL jerk baits work great for wintertimefishing. We had fantastic results around mangroves for redfish lastyear. 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 fishingwill depend on water temperatures for their location, but they will be in thearea throughout the winter. Surf anglers will be targeting these fish ondays when the beach is fishable. Flounder should be found around thejetties on the beach side and on sand flats around the inlet. If you canfind warmer water on the flats, you will most likely find trout feeding in thoseareas. Last year, we were rewarded many days as the sun would warm up apatch of water and get the fish actively feeding. Trout fishing in 2014rewarded us with many big fish in the 25” to 30” range. CAL jerk baitsand Deadly Combos were very successful on the trout, and 2015 should prove tobe another good year. Ladyfish and jacks will be all over the river forfun action for the little ones.

January Tips: Dress for the weather. We might get one or twodays each week that might be warmer, but most days will be on the coolerside. There can be a 30 degree swing in temperature on some days. Dressing in layers can keep you comfortable throughout the day inJanuary. Once you become cold, it's hard to warm back up again. Keep yourself comfortable and enjoy some good fishing in January. Staywarm and safe and enjoy the winter!

Remember, fishing is not just another hobby....it's an ADVENTURE!