Southwest Florida Fishing Report and Forecast – January 8, 2021

While the recent series of cold fronts has dropped water temperatures down around 65 degrees, the good news is that we’ll start seeing a nice warming trend later this month. This warming trend also happens to coincide with a full moon on the 28th, which should equate to some fantastic fishing.

Water levels are down in many South Florida canal systems due to our dry conditions this time of year, which concentrates higher populations of fish into fewer areas. Look for current, forage, and structure to help you key in on the best spots.

With the warm up, we’ll start to see many of our freshwater exotic species, including peacock bass and mayan cichilds, become more active again. Bright fire-tiger colors like chartreuse, green, and orange are my top choice when fishing for exotics using marabou jigs or flies. Once water temperatures are on the rise, use faster retrieves to elicit strikes.

We’ll also see our largemouth bass develop hearty appetites once our weather stabilizes over the next couple of weeks. Bass are currently in pre-spawn mode, which means they’re starting to put on extra weight in preparation for spawning. Warming waters paired with the full moon will bring a wave of bass up onto beds here in Southwest Florida. Over the next two to three weeks, focus on depths of 2 to 5 feet near hard bottom and a variety of vegetation. During this period, soft plastic creature baits and jigs will work well.