Indian River Lagoon: January 2020

2. John had an exciting morning catching drum, sheepshead and many other species. This nice sheepshead was headed for dinner!

Hard to believe that another year has arrived!  Happy New Year! January should provide anglers with lots of exciting action 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.

Redfish can be found around docks and sitting on the flats on warm, sunny days. Try a D.O.A. shrimp around mangroves and docks for reds. The trout bite has greatly improved this past year and it should continue to get better. Snook season is closed for now and it will continue to be catch and release. Bridges, docks and the inlets will be the best opportunities to catch snook this month.

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 drum and sheepshead have once again arrived early, and action has already been steady for these tasty 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. 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. Enjoy fishing in January on the Treasure Coast!

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

Have a wonderful 2020, thanks, and good fishing!

FORECAST BY: Captain Charlie Conner
www.fishtalescharter.com
captaincharlie@fishtalescharter.com
772-284-3852

My son, Joe, was visiting from Oklahoma and his first catch was this nice seatrout while fishing around docks in Fort Pierce. Photo credit: Capt. Charlie Conner