SWFL Fishing Forecast for January, 2022

Well fellow anglers, we have experienced one of the warmest starts to winter than I remember for a very long time. This is not what I would consider a bad thing, however it makes me wonder what our spring may look like? Well lets do something out of the ordinary. Lets just say that we have a later winter, actually it seems to me our winters have been later the past few years or we don’t have a winter at all. What this means for our fishery that requires a cooler winter, fish such as sheep head have a more successful spawn when we have stronger fronts that push through. Another fishery that seems to do better with cooler water is sea trout. Often after we have a major front, these guys school up in large schools in deeper areas. So cooler water is not a bad thing, its just about adjusting, and switching our gears as anglers.

As a mate on the Kingfisher charter boat out of the Kingfisher Fleet. I was lucky enough to be the mate for probably one of the greatest near-shore captains that ever fished South West Florida. We very rarely ran past 18-20 miles, on a yearly basis, however Capt. Jim Smith kept our anglers on fish. January was the month if you looked in our cooler, it was stacked with sheep’s that would make you question the fishery. On top of them would be gag grouper that you didn’t thank swam in our local waters. All of these fish was caught just off the coast of South West Florida. We very rarely fished in depths of water over 45′. Was it due to that we did not have the boat traffic {anglers} back then? That is a very good possibility. However I do know back then it was about filling up the box, and I promise Capt. Jim Smith could do that like I’ve never seen.

Maybe as our generations change, us as anglers change. I myself can admit as a guide I have changed! There was a time if I did not return with my full limits it was not a success. Looking back on those days was it really a success?

I can say with much happiness, I no longer look at my days with clients on what we have killed. We look at our days at how many fish we’ve caught and released. These days my clients count how many fish they caught and released, verses if we killed our limit. As we evolve as anglers, hopefully it continues toward counting the number of fish you release and enjoying the time on the water.

If you would like to experience some of Charlotte Harbor’s finest fishing give me a call or send me an email. All of our trips are private and customized to fit you and your party’s needs.

You can also follow me on Twitter @ backbayxtremes for daily and weekly updates.

Capt. Dave Stephens
941-916-5769

Captain Dave Stephens * (941) 916-5769 * Back Bay Xtremes * PO Box 510746, Punta Gorda FL 33951

Flats Fishing Charters for Charlotte Harbour, Punta Gorda, Florida