With January usually being one of the coldest months in Florida, you might have to adjust your fishing. During this month, you will have to adjust your fishing on a daily basis, depending on the temperature. This can be a variety of things from tactics, baits, presentation, locations, tackle, and species. Some days will be good for targeting snook and reds, while other days it would be better to go after trout and sheepshead when it is colder.
Some of the things you will have to deal with in January in the Tampa Bay area that affect your fishing are the water temperatures, wind, water clarity (usually extremely clear), negative tides, and cold fronts.
One advantage during this month is that there will not be as many people on the water like the rest of the year when it’s nicer out. This means there is a good chance that some of your spots will not be bothered. The warm days between the cold fronts can have great action on the flats, since the shallow water with dark grass will warm up quicker than the surrounding deeper water. Days like this are when you can sight fish redfish, snook, and trout. You will have to be stealthier than usual due to the clear and shallow water. These conditions will make the fish very spooky, especially the redfish. If you are throwing artificials like Saltwater Assassin’s 4” Sea Shad on an unweighted Owner Twist lock hook. This will be a lighter presentation that will help not spook the fish when it lands in the water. When casting, do not cast too close to the fish, as this will usually spook them in this type of scenario. Cast near the fish and reel your presentation in a way that looks like a bait crossing the fish’s path, but trying to flee. Bait, do not attack fish lol.
Some of the things you can do to up your odds of getting hits with the clearer water are to downsize your leader to a 25 or 20lb Seaguar fluorocarbon leader and use smaller hooks, like a 1-1/0 sized hook with like bait. Ares to look for are the shallow water flats near deeper water. These types of areas will allow the fish to go into deeper water during the night to stay warm and then migrate onto the shallow flat as it becomes warmer during the day. Another area to look at is your power plant outflows, which will stay warmer as long as the outflow is flowing.
On colder days, fish like trout and sheepshead do not mind the colder temperatures and will be more willing to bite. Trout can be found concentrated in potholes on those negative tide days. Sheepshead can be found on residential docks, rock piles, jetties, and bridge pilings. Sheepshead will eat shrimp, but crabs are their favorite. So, a fiddler crab on a small 1-1/0 circle hook with no weight or the lightest weight possible to keep you in the strike zone where the fish are is a great setup with 20-25lb fluorocarbon leader.