Inglis/Yankeetown January Fishing Report

The nature coast had a cold December, pushing the fish deep inside. This month, look for reds in the shallows that get sun early. I would hit areas of mud or hard bottom that will warm quickly; that is where you will find the reds. These reds will not be very fast, so cut bait, a mud minnow, or soft bait that you can place in front of them, will be the ticket. In addition, this is a airboats favorite time of year (or mud boat, jet boat, etc.). These styles of boats have the ability to push way back to where those hiding red fish are.

Large trout will be in the neighborhood, but again with the cooling temperatures, slow your presentation way down. When you think you are going slow enough, slow it even more.  Shrimp on a jig head from Captains Cove, or a soft plastic like Gulp or Zman will do the trick.

With the gag grouper season now closed, you can turn your nearshore attention to sheepshead.  Sheepshead will be heading offshore to spawn. Look for structure, preferably large rocks and rubble. Anchor up and drop, I recommend shrimp on a drop rig. If the shrimp bite is slow, change over to fiddler crabs, this will get them chewing. These fish are spawning, we keep our limit to five per person, so we can continue to have an excellent fishery; I hope you will too.

January can be cold, but with the right tips and tricks, the fishing can be hot! Please reach out to me at capterichasty@gmail.com with any questions you may have or if you would like to book a charter. In addition, check out We Be Tailing, live Wednesday nights at 7:00, for more tips and tricks at the ShastyMcNasty Fishing Facebook page.

Capt. Eric Hasty
ShastyMcNasty Fishing LLC
www.shastymcnastyfishing.com
352-220-3206