Mahi, Bonito, Sailfish, Blackfin Tuna, Wahoo, and Snapper are the best bets this month for offshore anglers. 

When offshore surface water temperatures get into the 66 degree range; scattered blackfin tuna, wahoo, and dolphin can be found around rips and color changes near the western edge of the Gulf Stream

Wintertime is wahoo time from off Florida's North East coast to the Bahamas.  Over the next few months offshore anglers can expect some of the largest fish of the year showing up in high speed spreads throughout our region.

Blue water Wahoo hunt in packs along rocky ledges, color changes, temperature breaks, and dropoffs.    When conditions are right around the full and new moons, and the north wind isn't blowing, double-digit catches are possible.

Large, dark colored trolling lures are generally used to catch wahoo, while small dark colored lures work best for blackfin tunas.  Dolphin are suckers for blue and white or pink and white skirts in front of small to medium size ballyhoo bait.

The snapper bite in our area peaks during January and anglers targeting them this month can find most snapper species in depths as shallow as 50 feet.    Right now just about every reef between 50 and 100 feet is holding good numbers of snapper  

The snapper bite on most of the 60 to 130 foot structures out of Port Canaveral is reportedly good by anglers fishing frozen squid, sardines, pilchards, mullet, and live baits on standard chicken and bottom rigs.

When the winds are cooperating offshore, bottom fishing anglers on charter and deep sea party boats out of Port Canaveral have been making good catches of mangrove snapper, mutton snapper, lane snapper, vermillion, black sea bass, triggerfish, groupers, amberjack, and cobia that also show up over the reefs.   Snapper can be found on the ledges, broken bottom, and artificial reefs often within a dozen miles offshore of Ponce Inlet, Port Canaveral, and Sebastian Inlet.

The offshore action for kingfish has been great in all the normal reef areas our of the port.  From the Carolinas south along the Florida coast, king mackerel are following baitfish into warmer waters.

King mackerel are as temperature driven as any other fish in the sea.  They seek out 68 to 73 degree water temperatures where they are most comfortable and are found among abundances of baitfish.    When they are murdering schools of migrating baitfish, they are often close to shore around the passes, jetties and beaches where shore bound anglers often catch them, but most of the larger kingfish hunt over the nearshore 30 to 60 feet or deeper reefs.  

As long as the seas are relatively calm, the bite for Kingfish along the 60 to 90 foot reefs this month should be consistent for anglers slow trolling live pilchards, mullet, pogies, and dead sardines on stinger rigs.   Fresh live baits are always the best bet for big king mackerel, especially the smokers, but they will also strike spoons and plugs trolled deep with a planer, Sea Witch and bait strip combinations.   

Most king mackerel rigs will use a mainline of 20  to 30 pound monofilament with a wire leader as heavy as the fish will let you get away with yet light enough to let the bait swim.  In our area stinger rigs are the norm.

Nearshore, there is a decent bite going on for pompano, whiting, and bluefish particularly around the inlets.  Farther south of us at Sebastian, the flounder bite has been picking up inside the inlet, west of the drawbridge.  Fingerling mullet and mud minnows seem to be the best baits right now.  A few decent pompano are also being caught inside the inlet on shrimp and Goofy Jigs.  

When the Manta rays begin showing up this month, we can expect cobia to be tagging along with them.   Cobia will occasionally follow sea turtles and bull sharks over the shallower reefs.  

On calm days with good visibility, nearshore anglers like to sight fish for Cobia using hair jigs, jig and eel combos, and a variety of live baits.

As water temperatures outside Port Canaveral continue to fall down into the middle 60 degree range, the action should only get better.

St. Johns River American Shad:

Christmas in East Central Florida is when local anglers begin to eagerly anticipate the American Shad spawning migration up the St Johns River.  

American shad are an anadromous species that spend four or five years in the ocean before returning to their freshwater birthplaces to spawn.   Every major river along the Eastern coast of North America, from the St. Johns River in Florida, to the St Lawrence River on the Canadian boarder, will experience the annual winter spawn of these two to five pound fish.

Along with their smaller cousin the Hickory shad, American shad usually begin to show up in the Middle Basin of the St. Johns River in early December and continue to migrate upstream in small schools throughout the season.   The peak of the run is from mid January through mid February, but each year is slightly different.

Depending on the year, water levels, and temperatures, shad can be caught in the Middle and Upper Basins of the St. Johns and tributaries like the Econlockhatchee River until sometime in March; but fish can be in the river as early as May and as late as October.   When water levels are low, many anglers hike in from the Brumley Road trailhead to fish the Econ with light spinning and fly tackle.

The middle and upper basins of the river are considered to be prime shad fishing areas.  

On the lower part of the Middle Basin where the water is deeper and wider, most shad fishing is done south of Lake Monroe and north of Lake Harney.  

Boaters can launch their vessels from Mullet Lake Park, Cameron Wright Park, and Lemon Bluff and slow troll small lures until they locate a school of fish.    When a concentration of fish is located, they drop anchor to fish the area.  

American shad travel in loose schools, so where one fish is located, you will generally find others.   Anglers usually catch several fish using this technique before the fish move on; then the tactic is repeated until more fish are found.    Most anglers in this area use small shad darts, jigs, or small spoons.

Fly fishermen use sinking lines and weighted flies to get their lures down closer to the fish.

On the upper part of the Middle Basin, the best shad fishing occurs south of Lake Harney and north of S.R. 50 (C.S. Lee Park, Hatbill Park, and the Highway 50 Boat Ramp).  

The most popular area is the section of river between S.R. 46 and Puzzle Lake, which includes the mouth of the Econ. When the water is in its banks, the river from Puzzle Lake through Hatbill to S.R. 50, twists and turns in a maze of swift current winding channels. 

Although this entire stretch of river is perfect for shallow draft boats, kayaks, and canoes, it also has a lot of airboat traffic and the largest concentration of 10 foot plus alligators in the country.   It is also a good area for fly fishermen and anglers using conventional light spinning tackle.  
 
Both American and Hickory shad are found in areas of the river with a good current and a nice firm, clean bottom.  

Shad are broadcast spawners and do not normally congregate in slow moving water with mucky or silty bottoms.   Good areas to target are areas of the river that split and come together, the heads and tails of pools in the river bends, areas outside the current along deep pools, eddies and seams, areas where the speed of the current increases or decreases, and areas where the water depth noticeably changes.

American Shad in the St Johns River appear to do little to no feeding during their spawning migration, however, they will still strike bright, flashy lures.   

The trick to catching shad is to look for spawning or feeding fish.   Spawning fish will generally ignore a fly or lure.   Feeding fish on the other hand will aggressively strike flies and small lures on the top or just under the surface.   
 

 Shad darts, small fixed hook Nungesser and Johnson spoons, plastic or hair panfish jigs, and small Road Runners are all classic lures for shad fishermen using light or ultralight spinning tackle.

A 4 wt to 6 wt fly rod with a sinking line and small #4 to #8 weighted patterns that hug the bottom is perfect for catching shad.   The fish don't seem to care about patterns or color as much as the profile of the fly.    

Clouser Minnows, Crazy Charlies , Horrors, Muddler Minnows, and other small weighted patterns found in most fly boxes will all produce fish, but bright colors like white, yellow, chartreuse, florescent orange, and hot pink are preferred when it comes to shad fishing.  Keeping a variety of weighted and color patterns with you when the fish start getting picky is a good idea. 
                                                                 
When searching for shad, look for diving birds that feed on small minnows or concentrations of grass shrimp.    It's a good bet that areas where birds are feeding are probably where the shad are feeding.

The best way to find where the fish are on any given day is to talk to local fishermen, bait shop owners, local shad fishing guides, or search the internet for shad fishing reports.    When you find a general area, congregations of fishermen along the bank or anchored just off the bank will be a dead giveaway to where the fish are holding.   

Don't be shy about asking questions, most anglers are happy to provide information about the bite and what baits are hot.

Shad fillets are sweet and delicate but they have a lot of tiny bones that should be removed before cooking.  The roe is a delicacy that is hard to beat when lightly sautéed in garlic butter.

The average size for shad in the St Johns is around 2 to 3 pounds.   There is a 10 fish aggregate bag limit for American and Hickory Shad if you plan on harvesting them.  A Florida freshwater and saltwater fishing license is required to fish for them.
  

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