By: Capt Roan zumFelde
Wow, is it just me or did 2019 just fly by in a flash? 2020 is upon us hope everyone had a great holiday and did not do anything to crazy for New Years.
Real quick, January fishing in SWFL is usually a little difficult. Cold Fronts disturb our usual sunny warm conditions and can create havoc on our freshwater species, especially in our canals. Bass and crappie fishing is the one exception. The bass do not seem to care too much for the change in pressure but the cooler temps do not seem to bother them much. On a super bright note, if you are a pan fisherman and love to eat crappie this is one of the best months to fish. Trafford and all the lakes in our area will be stacked up with the edible little creatures. Let us focus on the bass fishing for a second. If all goes well weather wise and we have moderate temps and no hard freezes then you should find some bedding bass on both the new moon and especially the full moon in January. This goes mostly for the lakes, but do not rule out the canals especially along I75 closer to Ft. Lauderdale. Pitching creature type baits on braided line usually works the best, a good pair of polarized glasses are a must so you can see what is going on. Pitch in and around their bedding area, pay close attention to your line and lure. Most of the time they are not really eating, they are just trying to move a potential threat to their eggs. I like to use a very visible soft plastic for this operation so I can see when the fish picks it up. I am not a huge fan of people fishing bedding fish, but it is a fact of life that it if you want to catch a big bass this is one of the most productive ways. I do ask though, please take a quick pick or get a weight and return her to the water near the bed so that she can continue to do what she needs to do. Crappie, or specks as some call them, well; they eat well. Great numbers are caught this time of the year and you really haven’t lived until you sit down to a plate of fried crappie with cheese grits! Most productive way to find concentrations is to drift fish with a tiny crappie jig. Once you find a concentration it is time to deploy the Missouri minnows, either on a jig or on a hook with a bobber and small split shot, they really cannot resist them.
