Trophy-sized largemouth bass, limits of crappie, and the shad run will keep anglers busy this January in Central Florida. Water levels have dropped, and the water flow has slowed. Fishing is best when you can, but working around the cold fronts will produce best catches. Don’t forget to sign up for the Shad and Crappie Derby, it only takes one fish to win!
Bass – male fish have begun to seek bedding areas. The early spawners will have the beds prepped by the end of the month. Concentrate efforts near bedding areas, often larger female fish will be within 50 feet of the beds, usually lurking around nearby structure. Lizards and crawfish eat the eggs. Artificial lures that work well are blue/black soft plastic worms, jigs with creature baits, and soft plastic lizards. Practice catch and release on the big female bass to promote healthy fish stocks next year. Crappie – Full and new moons will see spawning activity – specks bed in colonies. Males prep beds in shallow while larger females will stage in 6-10 feet of water where drop-offs are close to the shore of the lake. January will see the river bends swell with staging females. Minnow tipped jigs tied 12 inches below a ¾ ounce egg sinker fished a foot above the bottom is sure to catch a stringer full.
American and Hickory shad should be here. Look for them between Mullet Lake Park and Lemon Bluff, and from the mouth of the Econlockhatchee River north to the mouth of Lake Harney. Shad darts and spoons work great. Match the lure size to the wild minnows. Longline troll a little faster than you would for specks, about 1.8 – 2.2 mph with plenty of line out so that the lure is near the bottom. While trolling for specks and shad last year in January, many anglers got into the sunshine bass catching fish up to 6 pounds. Light tackle fun for sure.
