Southwest Florida Fishing Report: Anglers facing typical January weather challenges
Multiple weather fronts complete with wind, waves and cold ambient temperatures are keeping Southwest Florida anglers on their toes both shallow and deep.
Typical for the month of January, fishing and catching throughout the teeth of winter can be a tricky proposition often met with mixed bag results.
Timing a January outing between fronts is critical to catching success. These brief periods provide for cleaner water, lighter winds and overall acceptable conditions. However, it does take time for the seas/wind to subside, water quality to return to normal clarity and the targeted species to reacclimate back to typical feeding or behavior.
Prior to and after the latest cold front, the various bites and conditions struggled to get back to full speed. Out on the offshore grounds, residual seas and chalky water hampered the ability to comfortably make runs out beyond the horizon and record limits of red grouper. However, excellent catches of snapper did come over the rail, along with scattered reports of cobia.
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Closer to shore and in the shallows, anglers finding clean water were rewarded with speckled/silver trout, sheepshead and mangrove snapper hook-ups, along with some bonus catches of snook.
Despite high winds and seas within the inshore arena, clean water can indeed be located. Playing or working the tides, specifically the first part of incoming and last part of the outgoing will offer the best quality combined with effort locations protected from wind.
Once again, the fishing week looks to be filled with low pressure systems and multiple frontal passages. The unsettled conditions will once again level the playing field and force anglers to be creative as to where they go and what to throw. While there will be catches recorded, several days ahead will possibly be great days to be fish.
Remember, forecasts are always subject to change and should be monitored closely leading up to departure time. By utilizing various apps, online forecasts, real-time observation and always listening to your captain will ensure safe sailing, fun and hopefully catching success.
Offshore: “In between fronts we have been getting out and catching on our half-day excursions,” Capt. Kraig Dafcik said. “The Gulf has been bumpy, and the water is stained, but the snapper have been cooperating."
Docked at Port O Call Marina, Dafcik has been pointing the bow of his multi-passenger charter boat the Alabama northwest of Gordon Pass and settling on vast areas of natural bottom in the 12- to 15-mile range.
Anchored up, Dafcik’s angling groups have enjoyed catches of lane/mangrove snapper, porgies, white grunts and a scattering of hard-charging sharks. Cut squid and herring were used for bait.
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Naples/Estero Bay: “Winter is officially here in Southwest Florida,” said Capt. Steve Nagy of Bonita Springs Fish and Guide Service. “Fishing the cold fronts can be very challenging, but it can be done with a positive attitude and focus.”
Easing away from the dock with a solid cool water game plan has found Nagy targeting species less affected and more tolerant to cooler weather and water. Armed with tackle trays full of soft plastic jigs, light weights, circle hooks and a well full of live shrimp, Nagy has managed to keep his angling crews hooked up and happy.
Focusing his efforts around barnacle-encrusted dock and bridge pilings, good catches of sheepshead found their way into the landing net using live and cut shrimp presented on the bottom using a ¼-ounce jig head and a lightly weighted knocker rig.
During the higher tide phase, Nagy has also been drifting deeper mangrove shorelines and semi-protected flats while casting a variety of jigs and live shrimp presented under a traditional popping cork. Taking the bait were quality sized speckled trout, silver trout and jack crevalle.
Ten Thousand Islands: “We have had to search high and low on some days to locate cleaner water due to the cold fronts and wind,” Capt. Chris Turner said. “The water is cold, but there are fish to be caught if you are patient and savvy.”
Turner has enjoyed cold water catching success casting live shrimp and jigs around oyster bars, hard bottom points and deeper mangrove shorelines possessing an abundance of downed natural structure. Instructing his crews to cast and slowly retrieve has been effective for hook-ups.
Snapping up Turner’s bait in the cold conditions has been a mixed bag of sheepshead, speckled trout, silver trout, mangrove snapper, black drum and a few redfish.
Turner recommends fishing before a frontal passage, taking advantage of a falling barometer and several days afterward once the cleanup phase has begun. Focusing on deeper water, submerged natural structure and a slow presentation will get the bites, according to Turner.
If you have a report to share email captwill@naplessportfishing.com.
Anglers, email your photos to news@naplesnews.com and we will compile your images into an online gallery that’s featured each Thursday morning at www.naplesnews.com. Do not submit photos of fish caught illegally.
This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: Naples, Fort Myers anglers facing typical January weather challenges
