Fishing so far this January has been good with the exception of the day or two after the last cold front at the end of last week.

I fished two days ago with Dan McGuire from WI. He wanted to fly fish so we headed out in the am with a medium falling tide with light winds out of the east. Because of the recent cold front and subsequent cool evenings the water in Rookery Bay was gin clear. This doesn’t happen very often as the water is typically off color because of either mullet stirring it up, or algae or tannins from the mangroves. The fishing was tough but we did see alot of reds and a couple of snook. I also love the clear water and use it as an opportunity to look at the bottom to identify the troughs, cuts, holes and flats. Although the fishing was tough we had a fun day with beautiful conditions.

Over all the trout fishing has been pretty good. Season opened January 1 so we can now keep the trout as long as there between 15-20”. The redfish fishing has continued to be good on higher tides. Many of the fish are in the slot while a good number of shorts are mixed in. Snook fishing has been slower as the water temps need to be up a few degrees for them to become active.

Typically this time of year we don’t catch alot of huge fish but a good variety. Some times we’ll count species which is fun. I’ve found trying to catch 10 species is a good goal which is tough but attainable. Recently we had a 10 species day which included trout, jacks, ladyfish, redfish, snapper, whiting, sheepshead, pompano, a catfish and a silver trout. Not all our target species but we had a ball working for the goal of 10.

The fishing should stay good the rest of the winter and will just get better as we approach spring and summer.

Spring will be here before we know it so if you’d like to book some May-June tarpon trips give me a call. If your going to be in town in the near future call se we can discuss tides and conditions.

Happy New year!

Capt. Mark Ward
239-450-9230