January 2010 Tampa Bay Fishing

Another year is behind us and it’s time to prepare for some 2010 fishing. A gradual cool down of the water temperature has allowed most of the inshore species to settle into their winter haunts. It’s time to switch gears over to winter time tactics and tackle. This means lighter line, smaller bait and more patience. Bait choices should include live shrimp, all styles of jigs, jerk baits and top waters. It’s hard to say what the fish will respond to from day to day since weather will play a big factor. All you can do is go with your gut feeling and have a good selection to choose from.

Trout

This is the time of year that Trout happen to get the most attention particularly due to the fact that there one of the few species of inshore fish willing to eat right now. They will also be the target species this month for many anglers now that the season has opened back up for our region. The colder it gets the easier Trout will be to find in their winter haunts which happen to be back in the deeper holes of the creeks and residential canals on both sides of the Upper Bay from Picnic Island to Dana Shores.

Creeks and canals that are lined with rocks or Oysters that drop off along the deep edges of a curve or bend are favorite ambush points for winter time Trout. On warm sunny days the fish will come up out of the deeper water to these shallower rocky edges to warm up and feed. On days when the water is nice and clear, which we have a lot of during the winter, you will be able to see the trout setting on these edges and sometimes watch as they eat your bait.

A few really good winter Trout baits are live shrimp of course, Mirro Lures, and jigs. When fishing jigs, lighter jig heads will be a better choice since the fish do move slower because of the cooler water. If you’re in an area where the tide is stronger you can move up in weight to get it down to the fish. Light weight Mirro Lures come in handy when you’re in an area that’s shallow and the fish are easy to see. This is my favorite situation to find because it sets things up for some great sight fishing. It’s a blast to watch a gator Trout swim up behind the plug, flare open that big yellow mouth and inhale it.

Redfish

The winter months provide us with some great opportunities to brush up on our sight fishing skills and there’s none better to practice on than tailing winter Reds. While the super low tides we see during the winter will land lock many fish back in the creeks and pot holes inaccessible to any vessel other than an airboat, plenty of fish will have to follow the tide to the outer edges of the flats. This is where Reds will school up in the crystal clear water setting up the perfect scenario for a skilled fly caster or any other bait you desire to use.

These fish however can spook easily and may shut down after to much pressure. This is why it is important to go push pole only in this situation. The water is usually shallow enough to wade which works just as well if not better many times. That would be another alternative for those that don’t have a pole. Those anglers that prefer not to deal with the stalking method can find plenty of fish back in the creeks and around residential docks. Any type of hard bottom or structure in the canals will hold Redfish this month.

Best of the rest

There are a few other species that get overlooked this time of year and that’s Silver Trout and Whiting. Just about every deep channel or canal will hold both of these fish and in good numbers. What they lack in size they sure will make up for in numbers. They’re a great species to put the kids on and watch them have a blast. Both fish will eat just about any soft plastic tail scented or tipped with Gulp, Squid or shrimp. Until next month, Happy New Year and tight lines.