Redfish, Black Drum, and Seatrout: A Winter Fishing Report

Well, the new year has been a tough start with a lot of undesirable conditions and pretty slow fishing. We had two or three weeks of lots of wind, rain, and below-average temperatures. Getting towards the end of January, we had that cold front that dropped the water temps dramatically. The inlet got down to 50°, and I saw low 50s in the Intracoastal. I saw a few dead tarpon and snook, but it was not as bad as I thought it was going to be. They pile up in dead-end canals and other areas trying to stay warm. I found hundreds of snook sunning, and it’s quite a sight with a lot of 30-40” fish.

The focus since all the cold weather has been the shallows. Redfish, black drum, and seatrout have been around oyster bars, and you can find some good schools this time of year on the flats. Some days they bite; some days they drive you crazy and won’t touch a bait. The water has been really clear, which can also make things more difficult. Once the fish get spooked, they may not bite. Also, with the water being so clear, it helps to go with a lighter leader and smaller hooks if you’re using live bait. I typically use a 1/0 circle hook on a 10 lb fluorocarbon leader.

There have been some seatrout in some of the deeper holes around oyster bars in Spruce Creek. Black drum have been around the bridges, along with some sheeps. I’ve been fishing back in the Tomoka, as well as the basin, and the same things are going on up there. Redfish, black drum, and also some flounder have been hanging out in the basin. You might find a school of reds or drum up in the shallows.

Now that we are finally having some much better conditions, the fishing should really start picking up. Hopefully, someone turns the switch back on at the inlet too because, on my last two trips there, I barely marked a fish on the fishfinder and didn’t catch a single one, so I didn’t hang out long. Hoping for a fishy February!