Surf anglers this month will be targeting  Pompano, whiting, bluefish, an occasional redfish, and plenty of sharks along our area beaches.

January is normally an outstanding month for Playalinda Beach surf fishermen chasing Pompano, especially when the cold fronts start moving through our area. 

The Pompano bite at Playalinda during December was less than outstanding, but surf fishermen in the Cocoa to Melbourne area have been reporting filled limits on most days.  

Sand fleas are the bait of choice for the majority of Pompano fishermen but they are not very abundant in many areas during the winter,   Most surf fishermen are using fishbites, salted clam strips, blanched sand fleas, or small pieces of shrimp on their rigs when live sand fleas are not available in the surf.
 

   Surf casters in east central Florida usually have a mixed bag of species available to them along our area beaches, even during the winter months. 

Right now there are a good number of bluefish and a few Spanish mackerel in the surf along with the pompano, whiting, and black drum.    When a school of blues come by, it pays to carry a second spinning rod with a Krocodile type spoon, small nylon or feather jig, or a square lipped diving plug ready to cast.  

Some of the best surf fishing is early in the morning around sun rise and at dusk, right before it gets dark.   This follows the normal feeding habits of the majority of fish species.

The best bite is on an incoming tide with a light onshore breeze just prior to and after a front moves through the area.  An inshore breeze brings the fish closer to shore within easy casting range.   Although most surf fishermen swear that an incoming tide is the best fishing, any moving tide will bring fish into the surf zone.

On low tides, fish the deeper back ends of the deeper sandbars.   On high tides, fish closer to the beach with shorter casts.  Rising barometric pressures always trigger bites.   
Drastic drops in pressure also trigger bites.   When barometric pressures stabilize, the bite slows down and you might as well stay home..

The most important thing to remember when surf fishing is to learn to read the surf.   The way the waves break will tell you where the fish are going to be concentrated.

You can surf fish with the best possible conditions but if you are casting where there are no fish.... you're going to get skunked.  

 

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Port  Canaveral Offshore and Nearshore

Tripletail have started to show up along the Port Canaveral buoy line and as the water cools down this month, the bite and numbers of fish should continue to improve.

When water temperatures reach 70 degrees or below, we should start seeing cobia on the weed lines, buoys, near shore wrecks and reefs, and other structure.   Cobia like to follow the Manta rays and on sunny days with good visibility, anglers pitching hair jigs and live baits can have some good sight casting opportunities for.these tasty fish.

Around this time of the year you can almost always find a few cobia shadowing the manta rays in the 50 to 75 foot depths between Ponce Inlet and Port Canaveral.
A little farther offshore along the 21 Fathom Ridge, the blackfin tuna action has reportedly been pretty good .   Some guys like to fish around the shrimp boats as they dump their by catch, chum  to get the fish to the boat, and then cast baits to them.

Offshore, the bite out of Port Canaveral for king mackerel has been pretty good for the past few weeks.  Kingfish can be targeted from within site of land out as far as you want but most captains slow troll live and frozen baits on wire stinger rigs over the closer 70 to 90 foot reefs.   

Some small dolphin, blackfin tuna, and cobia are also in the mix over the same structure.  

Offshore when the wind is not blowing hard, bottom fishermen will be targeting a variety of snapper, trigger fish, black sea bass, etc.   The snapper bite will be at its peak this month and the fish are moving in to water as shallow as 50 feet.  

Gag and most other species of grouper is closed to recreational harvest in Gulf, state, and federal waters effective January 1st.  Additional information on closures can be found HERE.    

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St. Johns River

Each year around Christmas in East Central Florida large groups freshwater anglers eagerly await the arrival of the American Shad in the St. Johns River system.

Although December 25th is regarded as the kickoff date for shad season in our area, the arrival and number of American shad varies from year to year.  This year the run started very early and in November a lot of anglers reported catching shad while Crappie fishing in local tournaments.   Everybody is hoping that the early arrival is an indication of a strong run this year.  

Like salmon, American shad are an anadromous species that spend four or five years in the ocean and return to their freshwater birthplaces to spawn.  Every major river along the Eastern coast of North America from the St. Johns River in Florida, all the way north to the St Lawrence River on the Canadian boarder will experience the annual winter spawn of these two to five pound fighting dynamos.

In our area, the shad migration in the St. Johns River is usually the heaviest between Lake Monroe at Sanford, Fl. and highway 50. 
The C.S. Lee Park boat launch at highway 46 between Titusville and Sanford, Fl. is one of the most popular staging areas for shad fishermen in our area, but the launch ramps on Highway 50, Mullet Lake Park, and Lemon Bluff are also crowded when the run is in force.

Areas on the St. Johns where schools of shad are staging will vary from week to week.  The best way to find the fish is to talk to bait shop owners, local fishermen, and read the fishing reports from local shad fishing guides and fishing groups from the internet.    

When you get on the water, a congregation of fishermen anchored or along the bank will generally indicate where the fish are holding.  Slow trolling along the bottom is another great way to locate schools of shad.    When you find the fish, quarter your casts upstream and slowly drift your lure along the bottom.   Snagging on the bottom means that you're in the strike zone.

Shad also migrate up the Econlockhatchee River and when water levels are low, many anglers hike in from the Brumley Road trailhead to fish the area with light spinning and fly tackle.

American Shad in the St Johns River appear to do little to no feeding during their spawning migrations but they will hit bright, flashy lures.  Shad darts, small fixed hook Nungesser and Johnson spoons, plastic or hair panfish jigs, and Road Runners are all classic producers among shad fishermen using light or ultralight spinning tackle.
 
Fly fishermen using 4 wt to 6 wt rods with sinking lines and small #4 to #8 weighted patterns that hug the bottom also pick up good numbers of shad.  The shad dont seem to care about patterns as much as color.   Crazy Charlies, Clouser Minnows, Horrors and other weighted patterns found in most fly boxes all produce fish, but bright colors like white, yellow, chartreuse, florescent orange, and hot pink are the rule when it comes to shad fishing.  

Bring a variety of colors when the fish get picky.

American shad fillets are sweet and delicate but they have a lot of tiny bones which need to be removed before cooking, and the roe is a delicacy that is hard to beat when lightly sauteed in garlic butter.

Although the state record for American Shad on the St. Johns River is 5.19 pounds, the river average is between 2 to 3 pounds. 

Both a  freshwater and saltwater fishing license is required to harvest American shad.   Click Here for current regulations.
 

Haulover Canal
 

The bite for bull redfish, black drum, snook, and Mangrove Snapper in Haulover Canal, has been good all last month and is expected to continue throughout the upcoming month. 

The barrier to vehicle traffic at the entrance to the Bairs Cove boat launch is still up and has been on the south side of the canal for the past month or so.  Anglers and kayakers can still launch their kayaks and fish the banks of the canal using the northwest entrance, which remains open as of this date.    Local guides and anglers who normally launch from Bairs Cove are now using the Bio Lab boat ramp which is now being kept open all night long.
 

Although Haulover canal is best known for catches of big bull redfish and black drum, bank fishermen have lately been making good catches of Mangrove Snapper using shrimp and cut baits.   . Although many are under size, some nice fish were harvested during the Christmas Holidays.   

The area close to the bridge pilings has been producing some of the nicer sized Mangrove Snapper.  Fish the area with live or fresh dead shrimp or freshly caught chunks of fish on a 2/0 or 3/0 circle hook with a pinch or two of split shot to get the bait close to the bottom.   Reel like the devil when you get a bite to keep them out of the rocks.

During the last couple of weeks in December, some of the largest bull redfish seen in our area were caught by bank fishermen at Haulover using sections of blue crab for bait.  Last week a 15 year old angler landed a 44" red using a shrimp for bait and another reported catching a bull red in the over 40" category using a live pinfish.  Both were caught from the north bank of the canal.

The black drum bite at Haulover Canal last month was sporadic but some nice fish were landed in the 30 pound category.   The best action is usually around the cold fronts with shrimp being the bait of choice for most anglers.    When the bite is on in the canal, many anglers report landing up to 10 or more drum per outing.  Shrimp and blue crab sections are the baits of choice for drum in this area.

There are a couple of deep holes at the mouth of the canal at the Mosquito Lagoon that consistently produce bull reds and large black drum.  When the bite is on you can usually see several boats anchored in the area dunking shrimp and crab.   Launch your boat the at Beacon 52 boat ramp and park at the mouth of the canal out of the ICW.  Stout rods, 30 to 60 pound Power Pro or other braid, 30 pound or heavier fluorocarbon leader, a 6/0 circle hook and enough weight to hold bottom  is recommended terminal tackle.

With Bairs Cove closed, not much shrimping activity has been reported along the banks of Haulover.   Most sport shrimpers are hitting the railroad bridge and when the run gets ramped up or heading farther north to the ICW at Edgewater.
 

Some sport shrimpers on the fishing piers at the  A. Max Brewer bridge in Titusville have been making some decent pulls, but the trout and big redfish over the lights seem to be getting more shrimp than the guys with the nets over the lights.   The last couple of times I visited the area, it looked like a fish hatchery. (Click on pic above)

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